2015 Chinese Grand Prix: Top 10 Readers’ Results

The third Grand Prix of the 2015 season was won by Lewis Hamilton ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. The rest of the top 10 included, in order, Kimi Räikkönen, Felipe Massa, Valtteri Bottas, Romain Grosjean, Felipe Nasr, Daniel Ricciardo, and Marcus Ericsson.

Let’s see what the 143 voters have decided…

1. Lewis Hamilton

1st in qualifications

1st in race

First in FP1, FP2, FP3, qualifying, the race, and author of the fastest lap during the Grand Prix, the Briton had a perfect weekend to claim his second victory in three races and the eighth in the last ten events.

2. Sebastian Vettel

3rd in qualifications

3rd in race

Less prominent than in Sepang, due to more normal racing conditions, the four-time world champion was able for a while to tuck into Nico Rosberg’s slipstream but was never in a position to compete with the Silver Arrows.

3. Kimi Räikkönen

6th in qualifications

4th in race

Author of a disappointing qualifying, the Finn quickly regained the advantage over the Williams without being able to join the fight for the podium.

4. Nico Rosberg

2nd in qualifications

2nd in race

For the German, the weekends follow one another and look the same: qualified behind his teammate, he couldn’t attempt the slightest maneuver against him, citing a deliberate strategy by Hamilton to force him to wear out his tires during the second stint.

5. Max Verstappen

13th in qualifying

Retirement in the race (engine)

The Dutchman’s offensive race seemed destined for a substantial reward in terms of points, but a stubborn Renault engine had other plans, exploding on the main straight of the pits while he was in 8th position.

6. Romain Grosjean

8th in qualifying

7th in the race

A little less than 11 months after his last points, the Lotus driver was finally able to bring the E23 into the points, taking advantage of a calm race.

7. Felipe Massa

4th in qualifications

5th in race

Surprise of the qualifiers, managing to reach a second row that seemed promised to Ferrari, the Brazilian did not maintain his advantage over Räikkönen for long. Worse, he was quickly overtaken by his teammate before playing with him to ultimately secure a result without being threatened.

8. Valtteri Bottas

5th in qualifications

6th in the race

Always situated behind the Mercedes/Ferrari duo and ahead of the rest of the pack, the Williams cars had a rather anonymous race, like Bottas who could never trouble Massa.

9. Felipe Nasr

9th in qualifying

8th in the race

After a lackluster Malaysian Grand Prix, the Brazilian was more consistent in Shanghai where he was able to convert his good qualifying into important points.

10. Fernando Alonso

18th in qualifying

12th in the race

Qualified behind Button, the Spaniard showed himself during the GP by fighting notably with the Red Bulls out of contention at the start of the race, and later in a subtle battle with his teammate before the latter cleared the way by taking Maldonado off the track, offering two free places to the Asturias Bull.

Top 10 Reader Rankings 2015