F1 Chinese Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates as Max Verstappen starts on pole and Lewis Hamilton in 18th

Here are the standings in lap two.

Verstappen gets away quickly and stays in first but Alonso has gone aggressive from third and seems to have overtaken Perez around the outside!

Carlos Sainz has lost a couple of places, while teammate Charles Leclerc has lost a place too.

Lewis Hamilton has lost a place too, while teammate George Russell has gained two places.

Alonso, in second, is 1.830 seconds behind.

Max Verstappen leads the pack around the 3.387 miles of the Shanghai International Circuit.

The majority of the grid are on medium tyres, with the exception of some of those from 11th and further back, including Lewis Hamilton, who is on soft, as is Lance Stroll.

Will we have similar early drama to that of the last race in Suzuka earlier this month?

Final preparations underway before the formation lap.

Aston Martin are making some last-minute adjustments to Fernando Alonso’s car, while on Sky Sports they’re discussing Red Bull and Ferrari’s superior tyre degradation. The two leading teams have two new sets of hard tyres left, while Mercedes and McLaren only have one.

5. Aston Martin – 33 points

9. Kick Sauber – 0 points

The Chinese national anthem is playing out as the drivers line up and prepare for lights out.

Here are the updated driver standings after the result of yesterday’s sprint race.

1. Max Verstappen – 85 points

2. Sergio Perez – 70 points

3. Charles Leclerc – 64 points

4. Carlos Sainz – 59 points

5. Lando Norris – 40 points

6. Oscar Piastri – 34 points

7. George Russell – 25 points

8. Fernando Alonso – 24 points

9. Lewis Hamilton – 17 points

10. Lance Stroll – 9 points

11. Yuki Tsunoda – 7 points

12. Oliver Bearman – 6 points

13. Nico Hulkenberg – 3 points

14. Kevin Magnussen – 1 point

15. Alex Albon – 0 points

16. Zhou Guanyu – 0 points

17. Daniel Ricciardo – 0 points

18. Esteban Ocon – 0 points

19. Pierre Gasly – 0 points

20. Valtteri Bottas – 0 points

21. Logan Sargeant – 0 points

Hamilton started second, and rolled back the years at the Shanghai International Circuit by beating pole-sitter Lando Norris off the line, and taking control of the 19-lap charge to the chequered flag.

But Verstappen, who started fourth, ended Hamilton’s dream of re-entering the winner’s enclosure for the first time in 867 days when he blasted past the Mercedes driver on the ninth lap.

Verstappen crossed the line 13 seconds clear of Hamilton with Sergio Perez taking third.

A reminder of how you can watch today’s race.

Formula 1 returns to China after a five-year absence as the ShanghaiInternational Circuit hosts the fifth race of the 2024 season – and the first of six sprint weekends.

Max Verstappen returned to winning ways last time out in Japan, cruising to another victory and leading home a third Red Bull one-two finish of the season, with team-mate Sergio Perez again second-best.

The race begins at 8am BST and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, and ESPN in the United States. Sky’s coverage of Sunday’s race starts at 7am (BST).

The race highlights will be aired on free-to-air Channel 4 at 12:30pm (BST) on Sunday.