Max Verstappen held off a spirited push from Lewis Hamilton to secure a second consecutive Dutch Grand Prix victory and extend his championship lead to 109 points.
The reigning Formula One champion edged out Charles Leclerc in qualifying to put himself in pole position ahead of Sunday's eventful race, where George Russell finished second and Charles Leclerc took third. Hamilton eventually faded to fourth.
AlphiTauri's Yuki Tsunoda and Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas both stopped midway through the race, with Verstappen's pit stop after the second safety car allowing Hamilton to take the lead.
Yet Verstappen recovered and regained the lead by going past Hamilton down the main straight on lap 61 to claim a fourth consecutive victory and 10th of the season, his joint-best return in a single year after also hitting double figures last year.
The top five retained their positions during an eventful start where Hamilton and Carlos Sainz touched cars through turn one, while Haas' Kevin Magnussen slipped off the track and hit the barrier.
Verstappen continued to keep Leclerc at bay through the opening 10 laps, responding to the Ferrari driver's early signs of pace by pressing forward to move out of DRS range.
A problematic pit stop for Sainz in which no rear-left tyre appeared available saw the Ferrari drop from third to 11th on lap 15, with Hamilton displacing the Spaniard as Verstappen stretched his lead over Leclerc.
Sainz recovered into sixth as Verstappen pitted for the first time on lap 19, with Hamilton – still winless in 2022 – taking the lead as Mercedes ran a one-two with Russell in second.
Verstappen roared back before a pit stop for Hamilton, who then got the better of Sergio Perez as the Mexican aimed to protect his Red Bull team-mate's lead.
A virtual safety car deployed after issues for Tsunoda offered a glorious chance to pit on lap 48 for Verstappen, who led Hamilton by almost 16 seconds with 23 laps to go after the Mercedes driver pitted.
Verstappen squandered his advantage by pitting after another safety car deployment, but he recovered to surge back into the lead with 11 laps to go to race to victory.
Russell and Hamilton almost collided as the former looked to overtake into second, with the seven-time world champion slipping down to fourth after Leclerc eased past him.
Sheffield United v Burnley: Kompany wants fearless approach
Vincent Kompany knows his team need to take more risks as Burnley prepare for another huge game in the fight for Premier League safety when they face fellow strugglers Sheffield United.
Burnley dropped two points in a 1-1 draw with Brighton at Turf Moor last weekend, as Arijanet Muric's own goal denied them a win that would have inched them closer to safety.
While Luton Town and Everton both suffered defeats, Nottingham Forest's draw means that Burnley sit six points from safety, though they are four points better off than the Blades ahead of Saturday's game.
Asked about the approach his side will take against another team in the relegation zone, Kompany said: "Sheffield is another different game for us, it has a bit of a cup final feeling to it as well. We know we have to go there, attack the game, and show no fear.
"Going there on Saturday, we have nothing to lose. We approach it with no fear, we have to show our strengths and go there to play our hearts out and run our socks off. We're playing to be in the Premier League and that's our goal."
United head into Saturday's match with their survival hopes having been further diminished by a 2-0 defeat to Brentford.
After failing to win any of their last eight games, Chris Wilder explained how his side has struggled to cope with the demands of the Premier League.
"Like us, they've [Burnley] found results difficult to come by, and they've taken the beatings when they've had to – as have we," Wilder said.
"They've picked up points recently. We’ve not picked up enough points that I believe our performances have deserved. We need to marry up decent performances with a big result. That's what we’re there to try and get.
"Both teams are after three points, I think we all realise where we are with that. We're in it to win it, and so will they be."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sheffield United – Oli McBurnie
McBurnie has been involved in eight goals in his last eight Premier League home games, scoring six and assisting twice. The only game in this run in which he has not registered a goal or assist was in the Blades' 6-0 defeat to Arsenal last month.
Burnley – Josh Brownhill
Brownhill has been directly involved in two goals in his last three Premier League appearances (one goal, one assist), as many as he managed in his 16 before that, with his goal last week opening the scoring.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
United have lost just one of their last 20 home league games against Burnley (W14 D5), going down 3-2 in December 2008. They have won both of their Premier League games against the Clarets at Bramall Lane.
However, only one of the five Premier League games between two newly promoted teams this season have been won by the home team (D1 L3), though that occurred in the reverse fixture between Burnley and United back in December (5-0).
Since a 1-0 win against Brentford, the Blades are winless in seven home league games (D3 L4), conceding at least twice in each match. Only twice has a team conceded 2+ goals in eight consecutive Premier League home games – Wolves in 2011-12 (11) and Norwich in 2019 (nine).
United have also conceded 84 goals in their 32 Premier League games this season; it is the most at this stage ever in a Premier League campaign, and the most the Blades have conceded overall in a league campaign since 1954-55 (86 in 42 games).
Burnley, meanwhile, have dropped 24 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, with only Brentford (30) losing more.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Sheffield United – 31.4%
Burnley – 38.8%
Draw – 29.8%
Lando Norris lands sprint race pole position at Chinese Grand Prix
Lando Norris mastered a rain-hit qualifying to secure pole position for Saturday’s sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix.
In soaking conditions at the Shanghai International Circuit, Norris finished 1.2 seconds clear of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in an all-British front row for Saturday’s 19-lap dash.
Hamilton looked to have taken top spot after Norris’ best lap was deleted by the stewards only for it then to be reinstated.
“Simply beautiful,” said Norris after he was informed of his pole. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso qualified third, one place ahead of triple world champion Max Verstappen, who ran off the road on numerous occasions.
Rain threatened throughout qualifying and finally arrived for the decisive Q3 session.
Charles Leclerc was the first to fall foul of the torrid conditions when he lost control of his Ferrari. The Monegasque pirouetted through the gravel before hitting the wall at Turn 2 and braking the front wing on his Ferrari.
Verstappen also made an error, falling off the road in his first attempt, before then running through the sandtrap at the final corner. The driver, who has dominated Formula One, had to settle for fourth.
Hamilton has had a season to forget – statistically, at least, the worst of his career so far. But for a moment here, he topped the time charts only to see Norris edge him out with an impressive lap.
Norris’ time was initially chalked off for exceeding track limits but after the British driver, 23, complained he “didn’t go off anywhere”, the stewards u-turned on their decision.
“It was tricky,” said Norris. “You always know it is going to be in a session like this.
“You only have three laps. The first two I aborted so that last lap was all or nothing.
“I was nervous because I made a few mistakes, but you have to risk a lot and push and I was quick.
“I got a good final lap in for pole so I am happy, sad it is not real qualifying, but it is good enough. It gets your heart going and it is what we wanted.”
Mercedes’ wretched run looked set to continue after George Russell was eliminated in 11th but when the rain arrived, Hamilton looked at home to secure his spot on the front row.
Elsewhere, Carlos Sainz finished fifth for Ferrari ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez with Leclerc seventh.
F1 is back in China following a five-year absence and home favourite Zhou Guanyu sent the home crowd happy after he qualified 10th.
Earlier, the start of Q2 was delayed by several minutes following a second bizarre track fire of the day.
Practice was red-flagged when a patch of grass next to Turn 7 caught fire. And there was a similar incident in qualifying, this time at Turn 5.
Although both blazes were quickly extinguished, the incidents – which the FIA believe were caused by sparks flying off the drivers’ cars – will be a concern for the sport’s bosses.
Saturday’s sprint takes place at 11am local time (04:00 BST) ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s main event.
Daniel Ricciardo admits he does not deserve his F1 seat if poor form continues
Daniel Ricciardo said he has been assured by Red Bull that he is not set to lose his seat – but admitted if he continues to get his “arse whooped” he does not deserve to be in Formula One.
Following a troubled start to his first full season back on the grid, Ricciardo, 34, arrives for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix as a driver under pressure.
Ricciardo was handed a reprieve by Red Bull’s junior outfit, RB, midway through last season, after he was dumped by McLaren.
But he has failed to get up to speed in 2024, out-qualified by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda at every event, and without a point to his name.
He also crashed out on the first lap in Japan a fortnight ago, and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner – integral in bringing him back into the fold – said here in Shanghai that Ricciardo has “under-performed” so far this season.
It has even been suggested that a failure to turn his troubling form around could see Ricciardo replaced by Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson as early as the next race in Miami.
But in an interview with the PA news agency, Ricciardo said: “Everybody in the team is shutting that down. The black and white, is that I have a contract.
“However, I have to earn my spot. I don’t want these results to continue for a year, and for me to say: ‘well I should be here because it is on paper’. I am not going to be happy with that. At the end of the day, if I am getting my arse whooped I don’t deserve to be here.
“I want to get back to a place where I know I can be, and I feel confident I can get there. I am aware I have to get the results. But from my side, I am not a rookie trying to prove something or to establish myself. I do have a history in this sport. I do have a track record that says I can win.
“But if we get to December and I have not been able to extract that then maybe I will be like, ‘fine I am done with this’ or ‘I am not good enough’, but I certainly don’t feel like that in my heart.”
Ricciardo’s stock fell after two poor years with McLaren, and his career looked over when his contract was cancelled at the end of 2022. But an upbeat Ricciardo believes his troubled spell with the British team has allowed him to remain positive amid his current disappointing run.
“I went through this at McLaren and I bought into the noise because I ended up losing the belief,” he said. “I would question myself: ‘F***, maybe I have lost that edge? Maybe I can’t do it anymore?’
“But now I sit here in a different place because I do feel rejuvenated. That is why it is frustrating because in my head it makes no sense.
“If I do well here and in Miami, all of a sudden it is forgotten about. I don’t get caught up in it, but deep down, I know I have to do better.”
Ricciardo announced at his comeback race in Hungary last year that his dream is to return to Red Bull where he raced to seven of his eight career wins between 2014 and 2018.
But recent results have seen him looking over his shoulder, rather than as a potential replacement for Sergio Perez, who is out of contract at the end of the year, or even Max Verstappen, whose future with the all-conquering, but scandal-hit team, remains uncertain.
“Is it still a goal (to re-join Red Bull)? said Ricciardo. “Of course. But where I sit right now, I don’t want to talk about it because I know I have to do better.
“I am also aware that if I start talking about that, all the responses, will be like, ‘mate, focus on where you are’, which is the truth.
“And look, can anything happen in F1? Yes. But my prediction is that Max stays (at Red Bull).”
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