Top five stats from the Chinese Grand Prix - MotorSportsTalk

Kimi Raikkonen just keeps racking up the points: China was his 20th top ten finish in a row. Here’s more on that and four more interesting stats from the Chinese Grand Prix.

Raikkonen hits 20 in a row

Kimi Raikkonen is Mr Consistency in F1 today. China was his 20th consecutive race in the points. During that time he’s has two wins, nine podiums and one wayward trip up a closed escape road in Brazil.

If he finishes the next five races in the points he will beat Schumacher’s record for scoring in 24 consecutive races – though Schumacher managed it at a time when there were fewer points available.

Alonso matches Mansell

Fernando Alonso is steadily climbing the list of F1’s most successful drivers of all time. His Chinese Grand Prix victory was his 31st, meaning he draws level with 1992 F1 champion and 1993 IndyCar champion with Nigel Mansell.

Ten more wins will put him on a par with Ayrton Senna. A further ten will see him equal Alain Prost. And after that he will need another 40 to match record holder Michael Schumacher’s 91 Grand Prix victories.

Ricciardo’s best result

Daniel Ricciardo came home in seventh place, which is his best result so far in Formula One. It’s also better than his team mate Jean-Eric Vergne has managed as the pair vie for a promotion to Red Bull.

Five champions in the top five

For only the second time in F1 history, the top five finishing positions were filled by world champions: Fernando Alonso (2005, 2006), Kimi Raikkonen (2007), Lewis Hamilton (2008), Sebastian Vettel (2010, 2011, 2012) and Jenson Button (2009).

Alonso unstoppable in China

This was the tenth running of the Chinese Grand Prix and it was fittingly won by the only driver who’s finished every lap of every race at Shanghai: Fernando Alonso.

Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Felipe Massa have also started all ten races.

More statistics from the Chinese Grand Prix

Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”