What started as a competitive sprint in China, eventually turned into business as usual.
Lando Norris lost his advantage from pole position as soon as the lights went out, with Lewis Hamilton racing into the lead and forcing him off into Turn 1.
However, Max Verstappen displayed intimidating pace and overtook Hamilton on lap 9 to claim his eighth sprint win.
Ferrari team-mates Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were battling for a podium place for much of the race, the two even bashing wheels at the hairpin as the Spaniard tried to force his team-mate wide.
Sainz was involved in another incident with Fernando Alonso during the session, receiving damage to his front wing, while his countryman suffered a puncture and retired a couple of laps later, later receiving a ten-second penalty for his part in the incident.