Posted on 14th April 2013
There was plenty of excitement building for the Chinese Grand Prix, with the Grid as it was it promised to be a thriller. But after the problems for Mark Webber in Qualifying, the team decided to start him from the Pit Lane giving them an advantage as they could change the setup of the car for the race.
Lets dive into the best race of 2013 so far. As the 5 lights went out there was an explosion of racing action. Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton got a great start as did both Ferrari’s and Jenson Button. But it was a weoful start for Kimi Raikkonen as he got a bucket load of wheel spin off the line. All squabbling throughout the first lap there was no contact and it was good hard clean racing. The cars were even 3 abreast in places, it was fantastic stuff. At the end of lap 1 the Force India’s touched just after the hairpin, Sutil pushed DiResta off the track and the Scot lost a position to Perez. there was so much action throughout the entire field, but Webber who started from the Pit Lane on soft tyres, was pitting at the end of the first lap such was the poor performance of the option tyre this weekend.
Race leader Hamilton couldn’t manage to pull out a gap on Alonso and as the tyres started to fade, both Ferrari drivers were closing in. The Mercedes was coming under increasing pressure, Felipe Massa though was the one on the attack, he was hounding Alonso, all over the gearbox of the sister car. Raikkonen behind was lucky not to loose more places after his terrible start, but with 4 laps gone his pace was promising in the Lotus. The 4 cars were separated by less than half a second, it was epic stuff to watch.
As they started lap 5 Alonso had DRS and charged past Hamilton on the outside, but Massa behind also hade the DRS advantaged, he did the same on the inside and within just a few hundred metres Hamilton went from first to third, it was a strong show of force from Ferrari. There was also a strong show of confidence from Mercedes at the end of the lap as Hamilton went into the pits, his teammate Rosberg also pitted on the same lap, the team nailed it without any delays to either driver.
The clean racing ended rather abruptly at the end of lap 5 as Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez smashed into the back of Force India driver Adrian Sutil, subsequently ending their races. The young inexperienced Esteban totally misjudged the breaking zone, locked up and couldn’t avoid the collision with the German. It sparked several pit stops as the Safety Car was standing by, but the marshalls quickly cleared the debris without it being deployed. It was confirmed later after the race that Esteban will have a 5 place grid penalty for the next race in Bahrain.
Sutil was in the pits as the team attempted to repair the damage, the situation quickly deteriorating as the brakes overheated and a small fire had to be extinguished.
That wasn’t the only incident to take place, Mark Webber’s weekend got even worse as he came together with the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne at the turn 5 hairpin. The Toro Rosso had the racing line but Webber shoved the front end of the Red Bull on the inside, but he wasn’t side by side with Vergne. The Frenchman turned in but Webber stuck at it, and caused the collision spinning Vergne around and damaging the front wing of the Red Bull. He dived into the pits to change the front wing, his good progress in the race coming to a halt, then moments later Raikkonen and Perez have a coming together at the same corner. The Lotus having caught the McLaren got cut up by the young Mexican, Raikkonen was lucky not have more damage than just a small part of the front wing and nose tip. Sergio Perez was also very lucky to get away unscathed. The incident was investigated by the stewards but they deemed it a racing incident, unlike the Incident with Webber, where the Red Bull driver received a 3 place grid penalty for Bahrain. The poor run of luck still hadn’t finished with the Australian, at his pitstop there was a problem with the right rear wheel, it wasn’t fitted properlyand out on track he was driving very slowly, at turn 14 just 1 corner before the pit entry lane, the wheel rolled off the car, ending a quite simply terrible weekend for Mark Webber.
Mercedes had an excellent car this weekend, the Qualifying pace was incredible but the race pace was just not quite there. Hamilton and Rosberg were still having good races however, you have to remember that this team were struggling to make the podiums last season, now they are fighting for the lead, but Nico Rosberg was struck with a suspect suspension problem, he said on the radio from the start the car didn’t feel right. The team retired him on lap 23.
The strongest team on the grid without question was Ferrari, both drivers drove brilliant races. Massa however was unfortunate not to be in contention for the win after he stayed out on the soft tyre too long, this cost him critical time. Tyre strategy was critical as ever with the tyres being so delicate. Those who started on the soft tyre chose the best strategy, getting the faster medium tyres for the remainder of the race meant minimal loss of time.
Sebastian Vettel chose to start on the Medium tyre, leaving soft until his final stint. He’d worked his way up to the front of the pack, but the final pitstop on lap 52 ensured he rejoined behind the leading pack of Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton. But due to track evolution throughout the race, the soft tyre lasted very well to the surprise of many. It wasn’t over even at this late stage,his speed was quite immense, and he was gaining on Hamilton enormously. With 4 laps remaining, the gap to Hamilton was around 13.3 seconds. The Mercedes was chasing the Lotus of Raikkonen, but the pace wasn’t quite there, and he was loosing time and falling back.
Vettel however was flying, everyone was expecting the tyres to drop away, but they didn’t. The Red Bull was absolutely charging, catching Hamilton by seconds per lap, and on the final lap it was all to play for, the podium was there for the taking for Vettel. The Red Bull was ducking and darting looking for a way past and the final corner was the final chance for Sebastian, Hamilton had a massive lock up but somehow managed to keep it on track and they crossed the line and took the chequered flag with just 2 tenths of a second between them. It was an incredible fight between the two drivers, and a tremendous final spring from Vettel.
They say in China that the colour red brings you luck, Fernando Alonso in the Scarlet red Ferrari had the perfect strategy and a brilliant car to take a superb victory in Shanghai. He is the only man ever to have completed every racing lap on the Shanghai International Circuit after 10 years of racing here.
The victory ensured that a Ferrari powered car was on the podium for the 500th race, a massive success from the Italian legends, and it was achieved by possibly one of the teams best ever drivers. Fernando Alonso stood on the top step of the podium proud and delighted for the second time here in China after a simply terrific victory. It was without doubt the best race so far in 2013, action all the way through the field from start to finish. Formula 1 is back with a smile.
Tom WIlkinson’s Race Notes:
I really could have gone on and said so much, this is one of the best races I’ve ever had the pleasure to report on, just a shout out for Daniel Ricciardo who had his best ever result in 7th, he really did a fantastic job for Toro Rosso. Also Nico Hulkenberg again showed his talent in the Sauber, but unfortunately the pitstops were not quite good enough to ensure a better result. He finished in 10th position. As for Felipe Massa, he could have well been on the podium but staying out on the soft tyre a lap too long cost him in the early stages. Finally to the Williams team who had a disappointing race, but one thing I noticed was Bottas, he showed his strength and skill once again finishing ahead of more experienced team mate Maldonado. The young Finn is a talent to look out for in the future that is for sure.
There was real excitement for this Chinese Grand Prix and we were certainly not disappointed. We go racing once again next weekend in Bahrain, but it’ll take a lot to beat the quality of racing of this weekend.
You can join me on Twitter, follow me @TomWilkinsonF1 for all the action plus the very latest news from the paddock. Stay logged onto Driving For Pleasure for all my reports in the coming week.
