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The third race of the 2013 F1 season at Shanghai had several moments that made us sit up and take notice. All the talk ahead of the race was about how the fast degrading soft tyres would impact the outcome of the 56-lap race. The incident filled race was nothing short of a roller coaster ride as the teams came up with varied strategies to cope up with tyre wear, which resulted in the race being led by 9 drivers at different stages. Here are the 5 talking points of the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix:
Awesome Alonso
Fernando Alonso put behind his disastrous outing at Malaysia last month to deliver a flawless victory at Shanghai. Doubts were being cast about his stature as the no.1 driver in Ferrari after his teammate Felipe Massa out-qualified him on four consecutive occasions. However, Alonso proved his naysayers wrong by qualifying third and winning the race.
Alonso had the perfect start, jumping ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and then overtaking Lewis Hamilton on lap 5 to lead the race. After ditching the soft tyres in his first pit stop and dropping behind several places, he stayed in the hunt by catching up with the drivers who were on a different strategy. It eventually turned out to be a very easy win – a testament to his ability and the might of the F138.
Webber woes
Mark Webber had yet another forgettable weekend. If it was due to his teammate last time around, it was due to his team this time. After incurring a penalty due to insufficient fuel in the car during qualifying, Mark had a reasonably good start to the race. He was expected to emulate his podium finish in last year’s race from the back of the grid. He was on course to repeat the feat as he was in the mix after the first round of pit stops. He was forced to pit and change the front wing after damaging it because of a clash with Toro Rosso’s Jean Eric Vergne. However, tragedy struck again after his second pit stop as his right rear was loose without the wheel nut. The irony was that he was forced to pull up at the same spot where he stopped for lack of fuel during qualifying. It must be hard being Mark Webber right now. Both those errors had nothing to do with him, rather his team was at fault which makes it even worse for the Aussie.
Reliable Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen made amends for his 14th place finish last year at Shanghai but ended up second on the podium this year. Qualifying second and starting a race from the first row for the first time since Monaco 2009, Kimi had a bad start, costing him a couple of places at the start. Then he made contact with the back of Sergio Perez’s McLaren, damaging the nose of his Lotus. Fortunately, the damage was minimal and he was able to continue his charge. He ended up pipping Hamilton to finish second, gathering 18 world championship points.
The Finn had been scoring points in every race since the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix and has proved to the world that he still has it in him to become the World Champion this year. After winning the first race of the season at Melbourne, the Iceman had an indifferent race in Malaysia after being bogged down by a grid penalty. However, his point scoring run has ensured that he is in contention for the drivers’ championship. He is in second place with 59 points after 3 races, just 3 points behind the defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel in the standings. Considering his reliability in finishing races and consistency in scoring points, he must be a firm favourite for many to become the champion at the end of this season.
Investigations and reprimands
There was plenty of drama on the track with drivers shoving into each other and using DRS under yellow flag conditions. The stewards were kept busy by such incidents, most of which were investigated after the race. Esteban Gutierrez was handed a deserved 5-place grid penalty for the next race for banging into the back of Adrian Sutil at turn 14 and causing him to retire form the race. Mark Webber’s clash with Jean Eric Vergne earned him a 3-place grid penalty at Bahrain.
A horde of drivers including Vettel, Webber, Raikkonen and Button were investigated by the stewards for using DRS under yellow flag conditions. They were let off without any punishment, citing telemetry system faults. It is an embarrassment for the FIA since it is their responsibility to ensure that drivers are unable to use DRS during the period in which it is disabled. The system in place by FIA is faulty and it is high time they put in place fool-proof technology to intimate drivers about race situations.
Tyre trouble
At the start of the season, the pundits had predicted that the outcome of this season will be hugely impacted by the new Pirelli tyres. Teams had to cope with the fast degrading soft tyres by coming up with smart strategies. The soft tyres that were used in China made life difficult for the strategists as they had to use them atleast once due to a dry race. It mixed up things very well and paved the way for a dramatic race. A bunch of drivers, including a few in the top 10, started on the medium compound tyre. They used the soft tyres during their final stint and got the most out of it. Vettel and Button reaped the rewards of starting on medium compound tyres. On the other hand, Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton ditched the soft tyres within the first ten laps and persisted with the mediums till the end. However, Felipe Massa who drove an additional lap in the soft tyres than his teammate, found himself way behind in the pecking order. That was a prime example of being on the right tyre for the right amount of time. Just a lap or so in addition and they start to fall off the cliff.
The 2013 Chinese Grand Prix was an exciting race to watch. Let’s hope that next week’s Bahrain Grand Prix follows suit.
