Rate the Race: 2024 Chinese Grand Prix sprint race

14 comments on “Rate the Race: 2024 Chinese Grand Prix sprint race”

1. 

   Nikos (@exeviolthor)
   20th April 2024, 5:29

   Spring races are such a let down…
2. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   20th April 2024, 6:39

   One of the most straightforward sprints to date despite the good battling towards the front.
3. 

   kuvemar
   20th April 2024, 7:31

   Gotta admit, that was pretty terrible. But one of the good things about the sprint is that we now already know that the race is going to be even more one-sided, so there’s really no point in staying up any further for quali or getting up early for the race tomorrow.

   3/10
4. 

   MadMax (@madmax)
   20th April 2024, 10:21

   Boring RBR dominance with ever growing car advantage. Would need wet races for anything interesting.
   1. 

      Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      20th April 2024, 22:29

      Absolutely, if you go back and check the 2023 wet races, it’s very likely verstappen would still end up winning, but at least there would be more action and more true overtakes.
5. 

   S
   20th April 2024, 10:38

   3. It was pretty ordinary, to be honest. The only action of note was Alonso’s tyres dying – and the team subsequently retiring the car (which wouldn’t have happened if the points system covered all finishers).

   Unfortunately, it’s not a race format problem – it’s a fundamental F1 problem, and it is present everywhere they go.
   But even worse than that, they simply don’t want to fix it.
   1. 

      AlanD
      20th April 2024, 20:11

      The only action of note was Alonso’s tyres dying

      S, did Alonso’s tyres just run out of grip? I rgought he’d picked up a puncture and assumed he’d used Sainz’s wing as a bacon slicer, but it wasn’t clear from the coverage I saw quite why he’d retired.
6. 

   Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
   20th April 2024, 12:21

   In a shortened race, the lead car pulls up a 13 second gap. Cant really give a score of more than 5.
7. 

   GmP (@gmp)
   20th April 2024, 16:30

   8/10 Enjoyable battles, surprising second place finisher. Perfect winner.
8. 

   bull mello (@bullmello)
   20th April 2024, 16:55

   Is there a finishing drivers tally here of the Sprint race?
   Couldn’t find it…
9. 

   Gusm.ai
   20th April 2024, 17:45

   Apparently only reverse grids can save sprints.
   But if sprints only can be save by reverse grids, it might not ne worth saving.
   1. 

      Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      20th April 2024, 22:22

      No, it is worth saving imo, they have to be different enough from races to have different results and fights, and if pit stops and 1\3 duration is not enough to make a difference there’s that option.
10. 

    Esploratore (@esploratore1)
    20th April 2024, 22:27

    9 (3%)
    8 (21%)
    7 (18%)
    6 (15%)
    5 (8%)
    4 (13%)
    3 (8%)
    2 (8%)
    1 (8%)
    Total Voters: 39

    Wow, almost only negative comments despite the poll being pretty positive, I went for 7, and over half of voters gave it 6, 7 or 8 and slightly less than half gave it a failing grade.

    I gave it 7 because of the interesting battles up front between sainz, alonso, leclerc and occasionally some others, and also because of the unusual cars leading for a big part of the race, howevert I was disappointed no one really tried to keep verstappen behind, probably it wouldn’t have been enough anyway, but if norris hadn’t exagerated not conceding the lead to hamilton, if alonso had been his own fighting self vs verstappen too and if hamilton hadn’t made that mistake, I think the race would’ve been quite a bit better, verstappen would likely still have won but it’d have been much closer.

    Again, the poll results were pretty positive and this might be the 3rd sprint race which beats the main race in score, unless something shocking happens.
    1. 

       EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
       21st April 2024, 1:44

       Well I am going to go against the grain and give a positive comment. As much as my personal jury is out on the format per se (and would have been quite happy had they not existed), I also rated the race as a 7 . In hindsight a 6 may have been more appropriate, however the point remains as I have consistently stated that the poll is to rate the race, not to rate your fondness for the format.

       There was a fair amount of procession admittedly. But this was perhaps highlighted by the close running groups. I’d much rather this and the potential for overtake that it provides, than huge gaps. And I have to admit that I was heading toward – though perhaps not actually reaching – the edge of my seat at times. As for the predictability of Verstappen winning; well that is a bit of a dampener, but objectively the driver/team combo deserved the win.

       Like others, I find the potential prediction for the main race that the sprint hints at somewhat disheartening. But the parc ferme changes make this less of a certainty. And in any case, given that we do not know this as fact, one cannot rate this race based upon that possibility. After all, if the main race throws up some decent variation, one cannot come back and re-rate the sprint. And of course one shouldn’t, as the entertainment that the sprint provided would not have changed.

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