Norris shows his class in following Verstappen on to Shanghai podium

Victory at the Chinese Grand Prix belonged by no small distance to Max Verstappen but the plaudits were earned in a Shanghai surprise by McLaren's Lando Norris.

- Giles Richards

The British driver's debut Formula One win remains elusively out of reach but in China he demonstrated once more that it is only a matter of time before the flag finally falls for this exceptional talent who claimed a second place so unexpected that it left his team all but gobsmacked.

Norris had not even bet on himself to finish in front of the Ferraris but not only were the prancing horses vanquished as the 24-year-old came good but Red Bull too were given a reminder that without Verstappen their control of the sport would be far from complete.

Verstappen won with another dominant drive but had to re-establish his lead twice in a race interrupted by two safety cars, extending his title advantage over teammate Sergio Pérez, who was third, to 25 points. All very much by the 2024 F1 playbook, remarkable only perhaps in the almost breathtaking advantage in pace he demonstrated.

Behind him however Norris and McLaren confounded expectations, including their own, with a stunning performance. Taken in context it was exactly the frisson of unexpected exhilaration F1 requires as Verstappen eases towards his fourth title.

Before the race, being held for the first time since 2019 after an enforced absence caused by the pandemic, the McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella, had warned it would be "damage limitation" given the car's weakness in the low-speed corners that dominate in Shanghai.