Fernando Alonso storms to Chinese GP victory - MotorSportsTalk

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.

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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.

INDIANAPOLIS – Roger Penske spoke with Dallara executives Monday morning about the loose tire that went flying over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catchfence and into a Turn 2 parking lot.

The left-rear wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda was sheared off in a collision at speed as Kirkwood tried to avoid the skidding No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 183 of the 107^th Indianapolis 500.

No one seriously was hurt in the incident (including Kirkwood, whose car went upside down and slid for several hundred feet), though an Indianapolis woman’s Chevy Cruze was struck by the tire. The Indy Star reported a fan was seen and released from the care center after sustaining minor injuries from flying debris in the crash.

During a photo shoot Monday morning with Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden at the IMS Yard of Bricks, Penske met with Dallara founder and owner Gian Paolo Dallara and Dallara USA CEO Stefano dePonti. The Italian company has been the exclusive supplier of the current DW12 chassis to the NTT IndyCar series for 11 years.

“The good news is we didn’t have real trouble with that tire going out (of the track),” Penske, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, told a few reporters shortly afterward. “I saw it hit. When it went out, I saw we were OK. I talked to the Dallara guys today. We’re going to look at that, but I guess the shear (force) from when (Rosenqvist’s) car was sitting, (Kirkwood’s car) went over and just that shear force tore that tether. Because we have tethers on there, and I’ve never seen a wheel come off.

“That to me was probably the scariest thing. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to fix that so that doesn’t happen again.”

Asked by NBC Sports if IndyCar would be able to address it before Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix or before the next oval race at Iowa Speedway, Penske said, “The technical guys should look at it. I think the speed here, a couple of hundred (mph) when you hit it vs. 80 or 90 or whatever it might be, but that was a pinch point on the race.”

In a statement released Monday to WTHR and other media outlets, IndyCar said that it was “in possession of the tire in Sunday’s incident and found that the tether did not fail. This is an isolated incident, and the series is reviewing to make sure it does not happen again. IndyCar takes the safety of the drivers and fans very seriously. We are pleased and thankful that no one was hurt.”

IndyCar provided no further explanation for how the wheel was separated from the car without the tether failing.

IndyCar began mandating wheel suspension tethers using high-performance Zylon material after a flying tire killed three fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a May 1, 1999 race. Three fans also were struck and killed by a tire at Michigan International Speedway during a July 26, 1998 race.

The IndyCar tethers can withstand a force of more than 22,000 pounds, and the rear wheel tethers were strengthened before the 2023 season.