Fernando Alonso has won the Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton following an excellent display of tire management and sheer pace.
The Spanish driver made a strong start from third, staying on pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton’s tail in the early stages of the race before making a move on the Mercedes into turn one. From there, Alonso didn’t look back, leading by as much as 19 seconds at times, and he eventually claimed the win 10 seconds ahead of Raikkonen.
This video is no longer available. Click here to watch more NBC Sports videos!There was a great split in strategies throughout the race, but Alonso managed to pit at the right times to stay ahead of Hamilton and Raikkonen. The Lotus driver got the jump on Hamilton at the final round of stops, pitting a few laps early to take advantage of the undercut.
Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button both started on the harder tire, and they got ahead after the soft runners pitted. Button managed to stop just twice, coming home in 5th, whilst Vettel utilized the soft tires late on to come home a close fourth, just 0.2 seconds behind Hamilton. Felipe Massa ran as high as 2nd at one point, but he could not match his teammate’s pace, finishing 6th ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. This was the Toro Rosso driver’s best ever finish in the sport, and he very nearly caught the Ferrari at the end. Paul di Resta also ran strongly to finish 8th after pitting late, whilst Romain Grosjean will be disappointed with 9th after challenging Raikkonen and Hamilton early on. Nico Hulkenberg completed the points, and Sauber’s strategy seemed to cost them after the German driver ran with compatriot Vettel early on.
Nico Rosberg failed to finish after stopping three times, and Mark Webber’s weekend ended in retirement also after his rear-right wheel came off his car. Red Bull are expected to be sanctioned for this, whilst many drivers are under investigation for using DRS under yellow flags.
For Alonso, this win marks his return to form after failing to finish in Malaysia, and he will be pleased to have taken 13 points out of Vettel’s championship lead. After a rather uneventful qualifying, the race turned out to be an excellent display of both tire management and great racing, and Formula One fans will be hoping for more of the same in Bahrain next weekend.