Chinese GP: Race - Re-Cap & Results

CHINESE GP - RACE - RE-CAP & RESULTS

    Before the lights could go out for the second race of the season, there was a bit of drama as Sebastian Vettel lined up just slightly off to the side of his 2nd place grid slot. He was under investigation for the incident but no word yet on if any action will be taken.

    The start was clean and drivers managed to avoid any serious accidents in the first few turns, but soon after, Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll collided slightly and Stroll was sent off track and into the gravel, making him the first retirement of the race. Stroll was also unable to complete the previous race in Melbourne due to a mechanical issue. Perez was forced to pit-early with a puncture after the accident but went on to finish the race in 9th.

     The accident was under investigation for a few minutes before it was decided that no further action would be taken on either Perez or Stroll. It had been noted that the FIA would be less strict on penalties this year and try to be more fair when deciding things about certain on-track incidents. In this case it was nothing more than a racing accident. No malicious intent intended.

    Antonio Giovinazzi, who is filling in for Pascal Wehrlein, was the next retirement after losing it on the straight. He spun out, hit the barriers at a pretty high speed and the car spun again into a stop. There was lots of damage to the front half of the car but Giovinazzi was lucky to escape unharmed. This accident happened right after Ericsson in the other Sauber, ran off track and went through the grass area before rejoining on the straight. Ericsson ended up finishing the race in 15th.

    Lewis Hamilton managed a clean and easy getaway from Vettel and Bottas during the start of the race and Bottas suffered from a spin under the safety car after Giovinazzi's crash. Bottas moved back a handful of spaces and spent most of the rest of the race playing catch-up. 

    Nico Hulkenberg ended up under investigation for overtaking Marcus Ericsson during the virtual safety car period and was given a 5-Second-Time-Penalty. He also overtook during the second VSC and was given another time penalty, but this time it was 10 seconds. He also was handed 4 penalty points for the incidents. It was a rough day overall for the Renault Team. Both drivers finished just outside of the points with Hulkenberg in 12th and Palmer in 13th. 

    While Sebastian Vettel was having a pretty easy race, the same couldn't be said for his team-mate, Raikkonen, who was telling Ferrari over the radio that there was problems with the car. He reported 'No power' and 'No torque' multiple times throughout the race. He was easily passed by multiple cars and was losing positions rapidly. Despite this, he still finished 5th for Ferrari.

    Carlos Sainz had a remarkable race for the Scuderia Toro Rosso team and brought home 6 points after finishing in 7th. He had a spin in the opening laps, but recovered nicely and had incredible pace throughout the rest of the race distant. Kvyat, however, retired with a mechanical issue mid-race.

    It was another day to forget for McLaren with the team ending their weekend with a double DNF. Vandoorne's car went first with a mechanical woe and Fernando Alonso retired towards the end of the race with a mechanical issue as well. Reliability has been an issue the last few years for the Woking team, but with Bahrain coming up in just a few days, they have something to look forward to.

    Lewis Hamilton cleanly and smoothly brought home the race win while Sebastian Vettel finished in 2nd, unable to catch up to him towards the final laps. Max Verstappen narrowly avoided missing out on the podium after a hair-raising battle between himself and his team-mate, Ricciardo at the end of the race. Ricciardo was just inches away from passing Verstappen on the final lap, but locked up and lost pace, watching Verstappen speed off and cross the line in 3rd.

    We now look forward to the twilight beauty that is also known as the Bahrain GP, when F1 returns this coming weekend.

RESULTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 25 Points

2. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 18 Points 

3. Max Verstappen / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands / + 15 Points

4. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia / + 12 Points

5. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 10 Points

6. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / + 8 Points

7. Carlos Sainz / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain / + 6 Points

8. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark / + 4 Points

9. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / + 2 Points

10. Esteban Ocon / Force India-Mercedes / France / + 1 Point

11. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France 

12. Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany

13. Jolyon Palmer / Renault-Renault / Great Britain

14. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil

15. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden

RETIRED - Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain / Driveshaft 

RETIRED - Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia / Hydraulics

RETIRED - Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Honda / Belgium / Fuel Pressure Issue

RETIRED - Antonio Giovinazzi / Sauber-Ferrari / Italy / Crash*

RETIRED - Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada / Collision Damage

* - Notes driver is filling in for Pascal Wehrlein

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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