A hot Shanghai race track on a Sunday afternoon was the scene of the Chinese Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton started the race on pole; his first for Mercedes AMG Petronas.
Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus was behind him in second with the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa up next. After failing to set a time in Q3, Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull started 9th with team-mate Mark Webber starting from the pit lane after he ran out of fuel in Q2 yesterday, but was allowed to participate in the race. Seven drivers started on medium tyres, with the rest electing to start on softs.
Hamilton got a good start off the line as did the Ferraris of Alonso and Massa. Raikkonen’s slow start saw him drop to fourth place earlier on. On lap 5, Hamilton was displaced by both Ferraris as Alonso powered past and Massa seized the opportunity and got past as well. Hamilton then headed to the pit in what was a double Mercedes pit stop, first for Lewis and then for Nico Rosberg, who came in immediately after him. Elsewhere on track, Esteban Gutierrez misjudged his braking point and ran his Sauber straight into the back of Adrian Sutil’s Force India; retirement for the Mexican and a long, lengthy pit stop in the Force India garage which saw flames licking from the overheating brakes. Race over for Sutil. Alonso pitted on lap 7, leaving the lead in Massa’s hands with Kimi diving for the pit lane as Massa did later on as well. This left Nico Hulkenberg in the lead for Sauber, a lead he held on to for the next 7 laps. On lap 16, a sudden braking move from Perez saw Raikkonen shunt his Lotus Renault into the McLaren. Front wing damage notwithstanding, Raikkonen continued, but it had slowed him down considerably. On lap 18, Mark Webber pitted his Red Bull in a hurry and left only to find his rear wheel leaving him; his disastrous weekend ending right there. Approaching half distance, Alonso and Button came in from the front, pitting simultaneously as Vettel took the race lead. The pit stop poker continued as the tyre wear issues were being ironed out.
With just 12 laps to go, Button came out on the losing end of a battle with Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton which saw him lose not just one, but two places. Button then opted for fresh rubber with 6 laps to go. 2 laps later, Vettel did the same. Now the pressure was piling on Hamilton with a charging Vettel gaining on him. Alonso was a good 10 seconds clear ahead of a resurgent Raikkonen who it appeared had made the best of his tyre strategy as the race drew to an end. Fernando Alonso took the chequered flag for Ferrari, his first win this season. Kimi Raikkonen finished a strong second for Lotus with a battling Hamilton and Vettel finishing third and fourth respectively. Jenson Button brought his McLaren home in fifth.
Vettel still leads the driver’s championship with 52 pts, though Raikkonen has caught up with 49 pts. Alonso’s win takes him up to third with 43 pts. The constructor’s championship still has Red Bull up top on 78, but Ferrari are now just 5 pts behind, on 73. Lotus are third with 60 pts. The Bahrain Grand Prix is up next and the wait is much shorter. See you next weekend!
