A sixth consecutive victory for Rosberg means he extends his championship lead. Hamilton drove an impressive race from 22nd on the grid to finish 7th, despite losing his front wing on the first corner. A collision at turn one between the two Ferraris compromised their race – but Vettel managed to finish second.
The Red Bulls had an impressive race, with Ricciardo getting in front at the start. However, a puncture on lap three dropped him way down the order. This also brought out the safety car. There was chaos in the pit lane, as many drivers came in to pit and Hulkenberg attempted to slow everyone down to benefit his teammate.
Mercedes pitted Hamilton three times during the safety car period, putting him onto the supersofts for one lap. This meant he could run the soft tyres for the rest of the race. However, later in the race they put him onto the mediums, meaning this strategy was not beneficial.
Rosberg took an easy win, ahead of Vettel and Kvyat. Ricciardo made an impressive recovery to finish 4th, ahead of Raikkonen and Massa. Hamilton recovered to seventh, behind him a big battle for the top ten. Verstappen and Sainz managed to get past Bottas in the closing stages of the race – claiming 8th and 9th. Bottas was the last of the points scorers.
Mercedes
Nico Rosberg P1, Lewis Hamilton P7
A trouble free race for Rosberg saw him take an easy victory in China. His third victory this year means he leads the championship by 36 points. A frustrating race for Hamilton, starting at the back of the grid, saw him pick up damage on the first lap. With damage to the floor, after his front wing became lodged beneath the car, and damage to the suspension – Hamilton drove an impressive race to finish seventh.
Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel P2, Kimi Raikkonen P5
Contact between both Ferraris on the first lap meant they both dropped down the order. Vettel initially blamed the incident on Kvyat as he came up the inside, forcing Vettel into his teammate. However, he later described it as a racing incident and neither driver was to blame. A seriously compromised race for both drivers was helped massively by the safety car which allowed them to catch up the rest of the pack. A fantastic drive from Vettel saw him finish on the podium.
Williams
Felipe Massa P6, Valtteri Bottas P10
A good race for Massa, benefitting from a great strategy saw him finish sixth and he was able to keep Hamilton behind. Bottas lost a lot at the start due to the Ferrari crash on the first corner, but he was able to finish in the points.
Red Bull
Daniil Kvyat P3, Daniel Ricciardo P4
A fantastic race for Red Bull means they pick up 27 points. They showed very good pace, despite the track not being the best for them. Ricciardo got ahead of Rosberg at the start, but a puncture on lap 3 saw him drop down the order. A brilliant recovery drive for him meant he finished fourth. Kvyat had a great race, after disappointment in Bahrain and Australia, he finished 3rd, behind Vettel – his second podium of his F1 career.
Force India
Sergio Perez P11, Nico Hulkenberg P15
A disappointing race for Force India, with both drivers missing out on points. After picking up a five-second penalty for holding up other cars in the pit lane, Hulkenberg dropped down the order. Perez was running well before the safety car, but this compromised his race and he continued to drop down the order.
Toro Rosso
Max Verstappen P8, Carlos Sainz P9
Verstappen lost many positions at the start because of the Ferrari incident in front. Then, the safety car meant he dropped right to the back. But, a great drive for him saw him pull off some good overtakes and finish in the points. Also losing out during the safety car was Sainz, who was held up by Hulkenberg in the pit lane. However, he still managed a top ten finish with a brilliant race.
Renault
Kevin Magnussen P17, Jolyon Palmer P22
A difficult race for Renault saw them struggle with the pace and fail to make it near to the top ten. They suffered from tyre degregation and poor set up. Hopefully they will be able to get it right in Russia.
Sauber
Marcus Ericsson P16, Felipe Nasr P20
With Nasr hitting Hamilton at the start and Ericsson colliding with Grosjean – the race didn’t go well for Sauber. They failed to get close to the points and were unable to maximise performance from the car today.
McLaren
Fernando Alonso P12, Jenson Button P13
Running well early on in the race, Alonso lost out at the safety car and managed to make it into the points. However it was good for him to be back in the car an racing again. A good first stint for Button also saw him high up in the order. Held up in the pits at the safety car, his race went downhill from there.
Manor
Pascal Wehrlein P18, Rio Haryanto P21
Both drivers ran in the top ten in the early stages of the race, however they didn’t have the pace compared to the drivers around them, so they dropped to near the back of the pack, as they expected. However, it was a good race for them and both drivers were able to get to the end.
Haas
Esteban Gutierrez P14, Romain Grosjean P19
After a fantastic first two races, Haas had a disappointing race today. A collision with Ericsson at the start meant Grosjean had to pit after the first lap – losing a lot of time. His teammate also had a tough race, with the DRS also not working on his car. However, it was positive result for Gutierrez to finish his first race for Haas.