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After showing their skills in wheel-to-wheel battles in Bahrain a fortnight ago, drivers had to resort to tyre saving in China to ensure they completed the race on a 2-stop strategy. In the end, it was Lewis Hamilton who came out on top when the chequered flag was waved, with Nico Rosberg finishing second, after an impressive recovery drive to ensure a third straight Mercedes 1-2. Fernando Alonso again showed why he’s considered the best driver on the grid with an impressive drive to third place. Here are our top 5 drivers from the Chinese Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton
Having qualified for the race on pole position by over half a second, Lewis Hamilton made a clear getaway and extended his lead to over 1.5 seconds by the end of the first lap over second placed Sebastian Vettel. From there, Hamilton was on cruise control mode with no real apparent issues. Despite using less fuel than any other driver in the top 10, the 29-year-old managed to build a lead of 18 seconds over the course of the 54 lap Chinese Grand Prix. This included the time he lost (approximately seven seconds) by delaying his first pit stop and coming in only on lap 17. With this result, Hamilton moves to eighth place in the all time list of race winners, tied with legends Jim Clark and Niki Lauda, with 25 Grand Prix wins.
Nico Rosberg
Having lost in a straight duel with Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain, Nico Rosberg arrived in China with a mission in hand. But with brake problems and consequently two poor flying laps in qualifying, Rosberg was on the back foot while starting the Chinese Grand Prix. To make matters worse, he encountered a prolonged telemetry loss which resulted him in making a poor get away at the start of the race. What followed was an amazing recovery drive, with Rosberg gaining back the positions he had lost during the first lap of the race. Eventually on lap 42, he passed the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso to take second place in the race.
Fernando Alonso
Ferrari brought a few upgrades to Shanghai this weekend that Fernando Alonso felt more comfortable with. Now with a car of his liking, Alonso made a great start and overtook Daniel Ricciardo and slow starter Nico Rosberg to take third place by the end of the first lap. He jumped Vettel in the pits to take second, a position he held for majority of the race but had to concede to the fast charging Mercedes of Nico Rosberg. Nevertheless, it was another great showing by the Spaniard who is widely regarded as the best driver on grid currently. After the race, Alonso admitted that he was driving at the same level as in 2012, when he nearly won the world title despite having a car that was widely acknowledged as only the fourth or fifth fastest on the grid.
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo’s impressive stint as a Red Bull driver continued in the smoggy city of Shanghai with the Australian comprehensively beating his world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel. Ricciardo qualified in second place, but lost out to Vettel on the run down to turn 1. After the first quarter of the race, Red Bull ordered Vettel to make way for Ricciardo, who at that moment of time was on a different strategy (both of them later completed the race on a two-stop strategy). Vettel defied the order, forcing Ricciardo to fight his way past the German. In the end, Ricciardo finished the race in fourth place, four seconds behind third placed Fernando Alonso, but more importantly, 20 seconds ahead of Vettel.
Nico Hulkenberg
Nico Hulkenberg quietly scored another strong result for Force India despite struggling with the Pirelli tyres. The German out qualified his teammate Sergio Perez on Saturday, putting his VJM07 in eighth place on the grid. On the opening lap, he overtook the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg who had a brush on the opening lap. Rosberg eventually found a way past Hulkenberg but the latter didn’t have any issues holding Bottas behind. On lap 10, Felipe Massa in the other Williams had a dreadfully slow pit stop, promoting Hulkenberg to sixth position – a position he held till the end of the race.
