Mercedes AMG was back in form at the 2015 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix, with reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton leading home teammate Nico Rosberg at yesterday’s race at the Shanghai International Circuit. The Briton never looked under threat, having managed to lead from pole to secure his fourth win in China and the 35th of his F1 career.
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Rosberg finished 0.714 of a second back, with the German later expressing some frustration by stating in a post-race press conference that Hamilton managed his tires a lot (i.e. intentionally drove slow) in the middle stint and that that had meant Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who finished third, 2.988 seconds behind the leader, was able to catch up. Hamilton denied this, stating that Rosberg could have attempted to overtake him but didn’t.
In fourth was Ferrari’s other driver Kimi Räikkönen, whose race was boosted by an excellent start from sixth on the grid. The Finn looked to have the better pace at the end and was closing rapidly on his teammate due to fresher rubber, but the race ended under the safety car due to car failure of Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen on the pit straight. Sadly for the Dutch youngster, he was running a very strong eighth prior to his retirement.
Fifth and sixth places went to the Williams men Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas respectively, while Lotus’ Romain Grosjean finished seventh and in the process scored his team its first points this season. Verstappen’s car troubles meant Sauber’s Felipe Nasr was promoted to ninth in the end, while rounding out the top ten was Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.
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The only other major incident of the day was McLaren driver Jenson Button’s run into the rear of Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado. As the action between Button and Maldonado intensified, the pair passed and re-passed each other before colliding on the high-speed entry to Turn One. Pastor was pushed into a spin, ending his race. Button was able to finish 13th but was later given a five-second penalty that pushed him down to 14th.
Following the results of the Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton remains on top of the 2015 Drivers’ Championship standings with 68 points versus Vettel in second with 55 points and Rosberg in third with 51 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes leads with 119 points versus the 79 of Ferrari and 48 of Williams. The next race on the calendar is the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.
Below are the full results for the 2015 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix:
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG
2) Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG
3) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4) Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari
5) Felipe Massa, Williams
6) Valtteri Bottas, Williams
7) Romain Grosjean, Lotus
8) Felipe Nasr, Sauber
9) Daniel Ricciardo, Infiniti Red Bull Racing
10) Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
11) Sergio Perez, Force India
12) Fernando Alonso, McLaren
13) Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso
14) Jenson Button, McLaren
15) Will Stevens, Marussia
16) Roberto Merhi, Marussia
Ret) Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso
Ret) Pastor Maldonado, Lotus
Ret) Daniil Kvyat, Infiniti Red Bull Racing
Ret) Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
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