Chinese GP: Race – Hamilton wins a splendid race!

The first twists and turns of this race in Shanghai took place on Saturday during the qualifying session, with the elimination of Mark Webber in Q1, and the problems of the two Lotus Renault GPs. Shortly before the race, Lewis Hamilton experienced an issue with his car, which almost prevented him from starting.

From the start, Sebastian Vettel is overtaken by the two McLarens and is threatened by Nico Rosberg but manages to keep the third position. Mark Webber, starting from the eighteenth place, uses hard tires and must do everything he can to climb back into the points. The two Ferrari drivers are battling with Nico Rosberg for 4th place, Felipe Massa ahead of Fernando Alonso. In 7th place, Paul di Resta is experiencing some problems with his car, while he is chased by his teammate Adrian Sutil, Michael Schumacher, and Kamui Kobayashi.

Further back in the peloton, the two Toro Rosso drivers are battling while Sergio Pérez overtakes Mark Webber. Behind the two Toro Rosso drivers, Nick Heidfeld can use his DRS and overtakes Sebastien Buemi while Jaime Alguersuari changes tires. But the Spaniard is forced to retire once his right rear wheel leaves his car in the first corner. The Toro Rosso driver initiates the first wave of pit stops, followed by Mark Webber who switches to soft tires. At the front of the race, the drivers are within less than seven seconds of each other, as Nico Rosberg makes a pit stop. On lap 14, Sebastian Vettel overtakes Lewis Hamilton on the straight and immediately heads to the pits behind Jenson Button. However, Button makes a big mistake by stopping at Red Bull’s pit area before moving a few meters further to make his stop. Sebastian Vettel takes the opportunity to overtake the McLaren driver before rejoining the track.

A little further on, Lewis Hamilton is in big trouble and is overtaken by Felipe Massa before both drivers pit, leaving Fernando Alonso in the lead. The two drivers overtake Nick Heidfeld using DRS, while the Spaniard makes his pit stop. Nico Rosberg is in the lead thanks to a slightly offbeat strategy, allowing him to be ahead of the reigning world champion. The two Mercedes drivers seem in shape with a very fast race pace, with Michael Schumacher pursued by Fernando Alonso, certainly reminiscent of the German’s last two years with Ferrari. The seven-time world champion resists the double champion’s overtaking attempts very well, causing him some trouble. The first front-runner to make a second pit stop is Jenson Button on lap 25, while Sebastian Vettel closes in on Nico Rosberg, leading the Grand Prix as he also makes his pit stop, switching from soft tires that have already done a few kilometers. Fernando Alonso finally finds the opening on Michael Schumacher at the hairpin of the straight where he uses DRS, before the latter comes in to change his tires, soft ones again.

The drivers who made their second pit stop are very fast, and Nico Rosberg makes a superb overtake on Fernando Alonso in the final corner. The Spaniard is struggling and is subsequently overtaken by Jenson Button, his tires are in agony. At the front, Sebastian Vettel is losing a lot of time and takes the gamble of switching to hard tires to try and finish the race on lap 31. Felipe Massa tries the same thing and rejoins the track a few seconds behind the German. Ahead of them, a battle for the temporary lead is taking place between Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, and Jenson Button, all three equipped with soft tires. The 2008 world champion overtakes his teammate in the first corner before the latter makes his pit stop, followed by Lewis Hamilton the next lap, while Nico Rosberg loses time at the front before switching to hard tires, rejoining ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

But after a lap, the German’s radio announces that he might be low on fuel, and he gets overtaken by the Briton after being hindered by Pastor Maldonado. Lewis Hamilton strings together some good laps and closes in on Felipe Massa, whom he overtakes at the pit lane, and then closes in on Sebastian Vettel. Just behind, Nico Rosberg overtakes Felipe Massa but makes a small error that allows the Brazilian and Jenson Button to take advantage, pursued by Mark Webber who is catching up by posting extremely fast lap times, a second faster compared to Lewis Hamilton, the best of the others.

In the pack, Sergio Pérez makes a mistake while overtaking Adrian Sutil and leans on the Force India to complete his turn, pushing it to the outside.

In the lead, Lewis Hamilton caught up with Sebastian Vettel and is well within reach of victory. The two drivers have an exciting battle that ends with Lewis Hamilton overtaking. The German driver loses a lot of time per lap, as the hard tires completely fall off, and he is caught up by Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, and Mark Webber, who is battling with the Mercedes driver. The Australian closes in on Jenson Button and overtakes him without KERS.

Lewis Hamilton therefore crosses the line first, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Sebastian Vettel’s strategy mistake cost him the victory, but the German scores big points behind Lewis Hamilton, while Mark Webber’s magnificent race makes up for it in the Red Bull team.

Results of the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix: