The Chinese Grand Prix was one of the most unpredictable non-weather affected races for many a year, with some brilliant driving in evidence throughout the field. Even qualifying proved eventful, with Mark Webber incredibly being knocked out in the first session and several other fancied runners (Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes and Nick Heidfeld’s Renault among them) failing to make Q3, with both Toro Rossos and Paul Di Resta making it through after a red flag caused by Vitaly Petrov’s Renault. But at the front it was the same old story, Sebastian Vettel on pole yet again with the two McLarens behind.
At the start, however, Vettel bogged down, and Button led into the first corner. A relatively uneventful first stint passed without incident, until the ‘Taki Inoue Tribute Comedy Moment of the Race’™ which occurred on lap 15 as Button and Vettel pitted together. The Englishman, apparently distracted by the flashing lights and colourful fellow ‘buttons’ on his steering wheel, pulled into the Red Bull pit just as Vettel arrived for his own pit stop. The German wasn’t really delayed by a significant amount, and in fact passed Button in the confusion, but even so it was surprising the McLaren driver was not given a drive-through penalty for the incident.
After the rest of the (less eventful) first pit stops had taken place Rosberg led, benefiting at this stage from an early tyre change. Behind him Hamilton was on a charge and brilliantly passed Button, without the help of DRS, into the fast Turn 1. Vettel and an on-form Felipe Massa took over the top two positions by making just two stops in comparison to the three of Rosberg, Hamilton, Button and the fast-closing Webber, who was absolutely flying after a slow start on the harder tyre.
Soon Rosberg’s early first stop began to show, as tyre wear and fuel consumption concerns allowed Hamilton, Button and Webber past. Hamilton closed relentlessly on the increasingly struggling Vettel, and dramatically took the lead with just 4 laps to go. Vettel held onto 2nd, and behind them Webber atoned for his qualifying troubles by passing Massa, Rosberg and Button to finish an excellent 3rd. But two cars finishing on the podium for Red Bull doesn’t disguise the fact that McLaren seem to have caught up. After a 3 week break to develop their cars, and with many teams bringing major upgrades, Trukey will be very interesting indeed.
Driver Ratings
Vettel – 8
Pulled out a brilliant qualifying lap under pressure to take pole again. Made poor getaway, but used two-stop strategy to re-take lead. Unable to hold off charging Hamilton at end, but 2nd place a useful result.
Webber – 9
Displayed uncharacteristic arrogance in Q1 by qualifying on hard tyres despite KERS problems; 18th on grid the result. Struggled in early laps, but staged a magnificent recovery drive to finish 3rd despite still lacking KERS.
Hamilton – 10
Outqualified by Button, but saved extra set of soft tyres for the race, which he used to good effect. Assertively passed his team mate and tyre-hobbled Vettel on his way to a fabulous victory.
Button – 6
Good qualifying and led into first corner, but his unforgivable pit stop error cost him time. Thereafter gradually slipped off Hamilton’s pace, and surrendered meekly to charging Webber at end to finish off the podium in 4th.
Alonso – 5
A poor weekend from Alonso by his high standards- he never looked capable of challenging the McLarens or Red Bulls in either qualifying or the race. Lost out to team mate Massa in a straight fight by some 15 seconds.
Massa – 8
A fraction behind Alonso in qualifying, but made the better start and looked a candidate for the podium at one stage. Dropped to 6th in the end, showing extent of Ferrari’s problems. Nevertheless a much-improved, confidence-boosting performance.
Rosberg – 9
A brilliant performance after Malaysian malaise. Qualified and finished ahead of both Ferrari’s and looked a possible winner at one stage before backing off to save fuel, having gone quicker (and therefore used more fuel) than even Mercedes expected.
Schumacher – 7
Overshadowed by Rosberg, but a decent effort from the elder German. 14th on grid was a minor disaster, but recovered well in the race by passing numerous rivals without incident and hounding Alonso to the end.
Heidfeld – 5
Return to Australian (lack of) form after brilliant Malaysia. Only 16th on grid after red flag (ironically caused by Petrov) left him scrambling to set a time. Unable to make much progress in the race despite a quick car, and had last-lap contretemps with Di Resta.
Petrov – 7
Did well to get through to Q3 comfortably, but no car to drive there after mechanical problem. A difficult race mired in traffic ensued, but at least picked up a couple of points – exactly what you’d expect the more experienced Heidfeld to be doing.
Barrichello – 6
Did his best in qualifying, but still only 15th. Highlight of a trouble-free race was finishing on the lead lap, but outside the points. The Brazilian has indicated that he wants to help the team to improve the car – they certainly need to.
Maldonado – 5
Made Q2, but only just. Struggled badly for pace over the race distance, and was beaten home, in a straight fight, by Kovalainen’s Lotus. Has yet to really get to grips with F1 in what admittedly looks a poor car.
Sutil – 6
Outqualified by Di Resta yet again after being caught out by Q2 red flag. Was running fairly well in the race before being assaulted by Perez, which dropped him to 15th. Unlikely to have beaten Di Resta anyway though.
Di Resta – 7
Brilliantly into Q3 in qualifying, and took 8th on grid as a result. Battled well in race to finish 11th. It’s a measure of how well he has started the season that not scoring points came as a slight disappointment.
Kobayashi – 7
Another solid weekend from the Japanese driver, despite being outqualified by Perez after problems with traffic. Drove his usual great race though, and declared himself happy to pick up a point after passing Di Resta late on.
Perez – 6
Quick at times, but a messy race. Outflanked at the start and ran into Sutil at Turn 1 mid-race, damaging his front wing. Unable to recover thereafter and ended up behind Kovalainen’s Lotus.
Buemi – 6
Outqualified by Alguesuari but still in top 10, although helped by Q2 red flag. Beaten off the line in race by various midfield rivals, and excessive tyre wear ruined any chance of points.
Alguesuari – 7
Outstanding effort in qualifying to make Q3 and lined up a career-best 7th. Made similarly poor start to Buemi however, and became the races’ only retirement after his right-rear wheel made a bid for freedom shortly after first pit stop.
Kovalainen – 8
A great weekend from the Finn, who again outqualified Trulli. The race was even better, finishing ahead of Maldonado on merit and the delayed Perez too. Kovalainen is fast becoming team’s number one driver.
Trulli – 6
Didn’t do much wrong in qualifying or the race, but simply outclassed by his outstanding team mate. Finished just one lap behind the leaders, but beat only the Virgins and HRTs home.
Glock – 4
A very poor weekend. Outqualified handsomely by his rookie team mate, and a sluggish race pace meant he finished behind him as well. His driving and demeanour suggest a driver who is, unsurprisingly, struggling to motivate himself.
D’Ambrosio – 7
A breakthrough weekend for the Belgian, outperforming team mate Glock throughout. Beat him by six tenths in qualifying and was also ahead in the race, and is already doing better than Lucas Di Grassi managed in the Virgin last year.
Karthikeyan – 6
A better display from the Indian, who was only two tenths away from Liuzzi in qualifying. His race was a relatively trouble-free one stop run, but he ended up behind his team mate despite Liuzzi’s drive through penalty.
Liuzzi – 6
Outqualified Karthikeyan but by a reduced margin compared with recent races. Got close to Virgin in qualifying (just half a second slower) and set a faster race lap than Glock, but a drive-through penalty for jumping the start scuppered any chance of beating the Virgin.
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