Max Verstappen of Red Bull has completed a Formula 1 double, taking the pole Saturday for the Chinese Grand Prix just hours after winning the first F1 sprint of the season. Teammate Sergio Perez will start alongside Verstappen on Sunday on the front row with Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Lando Norris of McLaren on the second row.
Max Verstappen, continuing his dominance in Formula 1, took Saturday's first sprint race of the season — the prelude to the full-blown Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. Verstappen passed Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes on the ninth of 19 laps and stretched out his lead to win by 13 seconds ahead of Hamilton. Sergio Perez of Red Bull was third and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was fourth.
Mario Andretti said Friday he was deeply offended by the language Formula One Management used in denying his family and General Motors the opportunity to join the global motorsports series. The 1978 Formula 1 world champion posted on social media he was “devastated” when F1 rejected Andretti and General Motors in late January in their application to expand the current grid to accommodate a two-car American team. The F1 rejection came after a six-month review of Andretti's application and the reasoning for the denial was taken personally by both Mario and Michael Andretti, as well as GM, which plans to partner with Andretti in F1 under its Cadillac brand.