China – Race: Surprise victory for Ricciardo, Vettel 8th!

Daniel Ricciardo comes back from far away! Just barely qualified on Saturday, the Australian experienced a happy fate during the Chinese Grand Prix, winning the sixth victory of his career.

Starting sixth on an exceptionally hot track, 39 degrees, 24 more than during qualifying; the Red Bull driver took advantage of the situation by making an unexpected second stop on lap 31, simultaneously with Max Verstappen. A pitstop prompted by the crash of the two sister Toro Rosso cars, with Gasly hitting Hartley in the hairpin of the fourteenth turn, at the end of the long straight. The safety car was deployed to allow marshals to clear the debris on the track. [VIDEO]

The major collision between Gasly and Hartley! #ChineseGP 🏎️🇨🇳

(RE)WATCH 📺: https://t.co/jeBXNzbn6I pic.twitter.com/SDrEmP1qpo — La F1® sur CANAL (@LaF1SurCanal) 15 April /f1/actualite/22631-chine-qualifications-vettel-sur-le-fil-.html

Still sixth, the Australian was then equipped with new soft tires, unlike the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, who remained on their medium tires.

The turning point of this crazy race: faster on the restart, Ricciardo strung together overtakes with surgical precision. “Dan the Man” achieved the feat of passing both Ferraris and both Mercedes in eight laps! The peak was on the 45th lap with this move towards the sixth corner: an inside overtake on Bottas, without DRS, for the lead of the Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo stormed through the last eleven laps to finally finish with a nine-second lead over Valtteri Bottas.

LAP 46/56: @danielricciardo TAKES THE LEAD! #ChineseGP 🇨🇳 #F1 pic.twitter.com/cupKVZ3k56

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 15, 2018

Second at the finish, the Finn from Mercedes led the pack since the 21st lap, thanks to Vettel’s pit stop made one lap too late, overestimating the degradation of his ultra-soft tires from the start. Ricciardo even took advantage of the kamikaze action by his teammate Max Verstappen. The Dutchman collided on the 43rd lap, hitting Sebastian Vettel at the hairpin, meaning two fewer competitors for the win. Deemed guilty of this incident, the young Red Bull driver received a ten-second penalty under the checkered flag and slipped from fourth to fifth place.

Winner in Melbourne and Sakhir, the Ferrari driver lost everything this time. Having already lost the lead to Bottas during his first stop, the collision with Verstappen dropped him three more positions. Sixth in his damaged Ferrari, Vettel was even overtaken by Hülkenberg’s Renault and Alonso’s McLaren at the end of the race. Still leading the overall standings, the German now has only a nine-point lead over Lewis Hamilton.

LAP 55/56: And Alonso sneaks through to take P7! #ChineseGP 🇨🇳 #F1 pic.twitter.com/GXTHNLpQ1x

— Formula 1 (@F1) 15 avril /f1/actualite/22631-chine-qualifications-vettel-sur-le-fil-.html

The Mercedes driver thus regained eight points from Vettel in a similarly complicated personal race. The four-time world champion was never able to overtake his opponents on the track, staying behind Kimi Räikkönen throughout the race. Hamilton even attempted the undercut on lap 19, without success. Fortune was on his side on lap 39, avoiding a collision with Verstappen just before the long left curve of the sixth corner.

Third in the end, Iceman benefited in his own way from the events, even if the Finn might have regrets. Pushed back to third place by a strong move from Vettel at the start, the 2007 world champion was sacrificed at the end of the first stint to block Bottas and thus allow his teammate to catch up. It was in vain: this time, Scuderia Ferrari is the big loser of the race. But on the other hand, Mercedes has never experienced such a long series of races without a victory since the turbo engine arrived in 2014. The Brackley firm has still not won in …

Carlos Sainz and Kévin Magnussen complete the top 10 of an epic Chinese race, just ahead of Esteban Ocon, who finishes at the doorstep of points in eleventh place, after being stuck behind Romain Grosjean for many laps.

#F1 #ChineseGp 🇨🇳
Great victory for #Ricciardo…one of the best drivers ever in overtaking@F1🎥 #Red Bull pic.twitter.com/yiI5CP0qYm

— Alessandro™️🏎️ 🏁 (@BerrageizF1) April 15

INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF RACE): Best #ChineseGP ever? #F1 pic.twitter.com/swi6LQExwh

— Formula 1 (@F1) 15 avril 2018