Formula 1 finally headed back to China after the COVID-19 pandemic, where home hero Zhou Guanyu was cheered on passionately – moving the Sauber driver and 2004 Fernando Alonso fan considerably.
Zhou was granted a post-race celebration on the grid behind the podium-sharing Red Bull drivers – Lando Norris absent from the initial congratulatory shots between the dominant Max Verstappen and the shakier Sergio Perez having been unaware he was supposed to head there on the in-lap.
Such scenes for Zhou are unusual and suggests F1 is still working hard to crack the Chinese market at what is effectively a second attempt in 20 years.
Verstappen winning commandingly is, of course, not rare. But in one of his two Shanghai victories there was one infrequent development. That, plus plenty more, features in our assessment of the main takeaways from the season’s fifth round – including its first sprint event.