With Hamilton taking victory in China, he now draws level on points with Vettel. The race, however, didn’t go as Mercedes had planned, with Bottas finishing further down the order. For McLaren, it was a double DNF but for others the results were something to celebrate. A round up of all the action from the whole Chinese GP weekend.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton P1
Taking his third grand slam of his career, taking pole, fastest lap, leading every lap and taking victory; Hamilton was dominant in China. However, it wasn’t as easy as in previous years. Just one tenth seperated him and Vettel in qualifying and if it hadn’t been for an early safety car period, the fight for the victory would have been much closer.
But it was an incredibly strong performance from the three time world champion who didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend. He now draws level on points with Sebastian Vettel, as the pair look forward to a season long fight for the title.
Valtteri Bottas P6
Missing out on a front row start by a tiny margin, just one thousandths of a second, he looked set to challenge for a podium at least. Initially, he was running well but lost time pitting during the safety car, as he had to wait for Hamilton to stop first. This dropped him down to fifth. At this stage a podium was still on the cars.
Then, still under safety car conditions, he spun whilst trying to heat up his tyres. He slipped way down the order, and later described it as a ‘stupid mistake’. But he managed to fight his way back up to 6th, within touching distance of Raikkonen in sixth at the end.
With his teammate currently leading the championship, Bottas is under pressure to perform, especially given that he is under a one year contract for Mercedes.
Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel P2
Another strong race for Vettel, although he lost out during the safety car period. He had pitted just a couple of laps prior to Giovinazzi’s crash, under the VSC. However, his rivals all pitted under safety car, so he dropped down the order. But, he had some great fights on the way to second place, most notably his close wheel-to-wheel racing against Ricciardo.
Picking his way through the pack lost him time to Hamilton and he was over eight seconds down with just a handful of laps remaining. Despite pushing hard, he was unable to make up the time and had to settle for second place. But he was still very happy with the result and is looking forward to taking the fight to Mercedes.
Kimi Raikkonen P5
With power problems early on, Raikkonen found a podium finish out of sight. He also grew frustrated at his team for not bringing him in for his second stop at the same time as Vettel, making him wait an extra 5 laps. This meant he came out behind the Red Bulls. He was disappointed with his eventual fifth position, saying that he could have done much better.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen P3
Suffering engine issues in qualifying, Verstappen started the race way down in 16th. But, it was another sensational performance from the Dutchman – up to seventh by the end of lap 1. He benefitted from the VSC and safety car periods to put him in contention for a podium finish.
After the safety car, he easily passed Raikkonen and then his teammate was next. After just eleven laps he had made up 14 places to run second, an incredible feat. But he soon came under pressure from Vettel, holding him off for a few laps before a mistake on lap 28. He had a massive lock up at the hairpin, handing Vettel the position.
Pitting soon after this, he dropped down the order but with his rivals also pitting, this lost him very little. He then found himself in an intense battle with his teammate, who was on fresher tyres. But he somehow managed to keep him behind for 20 laps until the finish, taking a podium and was voted driver of the day for his performance.
Daniel Ricciardo P4
A tough day for Ricciardo, who was overshadowed by his teammate today, despite finishing a strong fourth. He benefitted from the safety car, running second after the restart. But he couldn’t match the pace of his teammate, who easily passed and pulled ahead.
In the closing stages of the race, it looked as if he could take Verstappen, who was struggling for grip on fading rubber. He made a few attempts but failed to make the pass stick and wasn’t quite close enough.
Williams
Felipe Massa P14
Starting a promising sixth, Massa was hoping for good things come the race on Sunday. However, the Williams struggled for pace in the wet weather, outperformed by their rivals. In a painful race, he dropped to ninth on the first lap alone. Struggling on the tyres all race long, he made three stops and lost a great deal of time. Ending the race 14th was a huge disappointment but they hope to come back stronger next weekend in Bahrain.
Lance Stroll DNF
Making it into Q3, Stroll started the weekend very strong. However, his race was over almost as soon as it had begun. Clipped by Perez at turn 10, he ended up in the gravel and out of the race. After the issues in Australia, he has not yet finished a race but will definitely try to have a better weekend next race.
Force India
Sergio Perez P9
After a poor start, Perez dropped five or six places by the first corner. Then he was involved in the incident with Stroll at turn ten, receiving a puncture. Making a switch to dry tyres at this point, however, proved to be a strong decision and he set about making up positions right away. Overall, a good result in the tough conditions.
Esteban Ocon P10
Losing out with the yellow flags in qualifying, Ocon started the race down in 17th place. However, a strong recovery drive saw him once again finish in the points. He could have been a couple of places higher had it not been for a miscommunication with the team, when he came into pit before he was called in, losing about 15 seconds. To finish 10th after all this was an impressive result, with Ocon so far looking impressive at Force India.
Toro Rosso
Carlos Sainz P7
The only driver starting the race on slicks, Sainz had a spin on the opening lap and was running last, so after lap one it looked as if it was a massive mistake. However, he took advantage of the extra grip provided by these tyres and began to climb back through the pack.
After the safety car period, he was flying at one point lapping quicker than Mercedes and Ferrari ahead. He ended the race an impressive 7th, giving his team more points to add to their tally.
Daniil Kvyat DNF
After a good start to the race, it looked like points may be within reach for Kvyat. However, a hydraulic issue midway through the race forced him to retire on lap 18. He is looking forward to next weekend, where he is hoping for a stronger race and score points.
Haas
Kevin Magnussen P8
An impressive race for Magnussen secured Haas four points. A strong qualifying saw him start 12th, but a disappointing start dropped him down the field. However, a strong strategy and a good race saw him climb his way up the pack to finish ahead of both Force Indias and inside of the top ten.
Romain Grosjean P11
Starting down in 19th after receiving a grid penalty for ignoring the yellow flags in qualifying, Grosjean knew the race was going to be tough. But a strong drive and some impressive overtakes meant that he made his way up the order to 11th, just missing out on the top ten.
Renault
Nico Hulkenberg P12
Starting a strong 7th, Hulkenberg pitted on lap one for slicks, dropping right to the back of the pack. By lap 10, he was down in 14th. But worse was to come, he first received a five-second penalty for speeding under VSC followed by a ten-second penalty for speeding behind the safety car. In the end, he missed out on the top ten with a disappointing 12th place.
Jolyon Palmer P13
Lining up 20th after receiving a penalty in qualifying, Palmer took a gamble by pitting for slicks early on. This didn’t pay off as he then spun and lost further time. He lost a lot of temperature in the tyres under the VSC so the first half of the race was incredibly tough and he lost the chance to finish inside of the top ten.
McLaren
Fernando Alonso DNF
Alonso was impressive early on, once again outperforming his car, running inside the top ten whilst his car was still running. By lap 10, he was up to seventh place – just 9 seconds off the leaders. However, technical issues hit again for Alonso, a driveshaft failure ending his race early.
Stoffel Vandoorne DNF
Another tough weekend for Vandoorne, dropping out again in Q1. Then, during the race, he retired on lap 17 with a fuel issue. Hopefully, next race will be better for him.
Sauber
Marcus Ericsson P15
After a good start, Ericsson was running well early on. However, he struggled on the tyres all race and finished in last place.
Antonio Giovinazzi DNF
After a strong showing in Australia, Giovinazzi was hoping for another good weekend in China. However, he had a crash in qualifying so started the race way back down the order. Pitting under the VSC for slicks, he then crashed immediately after, losing control of the car in the wet conditions.