Chinese GP: Race - RE-CAP & RESULTS

CHINESE GP - RACE - RE-CAP & RESULTS

    Daniel Ricciardo claimed his first win of the season in the Chinese Grand Prix after taking advantage of a late safety car.

    Tyre strategy was crucial in China and, when a collision between the Toro Rossos of Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley brought out the safety car Red Bull gambled with a late pit stop that put Ricciardo and team-mate Max Verstappen on fresh soft tyres.

    Verstappen and Ricciardo had been running third and fifth before the safety car but both were able to storm through the order after putting on fresh tyres.

    A number of clean, decisive overtakes put Ricciardo in the lead with about 10 laps remaining. From there, he quickly distanced himself from the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and finished nearly nine seconds ahead of the rest of the field. The victory comes a day after an engine failure almost left him unable to qualify.

    Verstappen was also performing bold overtakes to join Ricciardo at the front of the field, but the younger Red Bull driver was much less clean. Trying to find a way past Sebastian Vettel for third, Verstappen made contact with the Ferrari, sending both drivers into a spin and allowing Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton past. Both drivers were able to continue, but Vettel dropped down the order, eventually finishing seventh. Verstappen was handed a 10 second penalty, but managed to build up the gap to Nico Hulkenberg in sixth so it didn’t impact his decision.

    Vettel had held the race lead early, ahead of Bottas and Raikkonen, but the Mercedes managed to get ahead in the pit stops. Bottas held the position before the safety car but couldn’t put up any challenge to Ricciardo when the Red Bull arrived.

    Raikkonen put pressure on Bottas in the closing stages of the race, but was unable to run close enough to make a move. The pair finished second and third, both taking their second podiums of the season.

    Hamilton, who was left frustrated when he didn’t pit during the safety car, finished fourth ahead of Verstappen and Hulkenberg.

    An alternative pit stop strategy that saw Fernando Alonso pit after every other driver allowed the McLaren driver to finish seventh ahead of Vettel and Carlos Sainz, who tried to challenge the Ferrari in the final laps.

    Kevin Magnussen was the final points finisher ahead of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez.

    Brendon Hartley was the only retirement. Both Toro Rossos survived their collision, with the safety car only brought out so marshals could clear debris, but Hartley was forced to pit with five laps remaining due to a gearbox problem

RESULTS:

1. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / + 25 Points
2. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / + 18 Points
3. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 15 Points
4. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 12 Points
5. Max Verstappen / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / + 10 Points*
6. Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany / + 8 Points
7. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Renault / Spain / + 6 Points
8. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 4 Points
9. Carlos Sainz / Renault-Renault / Spain / + 2 Points
10. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark / + 1 Point
11. Esteban Ocon / Force India-Mercedes / France
12. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
13. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Renault / Belgium
14. Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
15. Sergey Sirotkin / Williams-Mercedes / Russia
16. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
17. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France
18. Pierre Gasly / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France**
19. Charles Leclerc / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco

RETIRED - Brendon Hartley / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand / Gearbox

* - (Gasly) 10-Second-Time-Penalty for causing a collision with Hartley
** - (Verstappen) 10-Second-Time-Penalty for causing a collision with Vettel

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Chinese GP: Qualifying - RE-CAP & RESULTS

CHINESE GP - QUALIFYING - RE-CAP & RESULTS

    Sebastian Vettel scored another pole position while Mercedes had to settle for the second row of the grid. Daniel Ricciardo, who suffered from an engine failure in FP3, barely made it out in time for Q1 and ended up securing 6th.

    Marcus Ericsson received a 5-Place-Grid-Penalty after ignoring yellow flags after his team-mate, Leclerc, spun out in Q1. Ericsson had finished 20th in Q1 so his position was not compromised.

HOW IT WORKS:

Q1 = 18 minutes. All cars allowed to go out. At the end of the session, the five slowest are eliminated.

Q2 = 15 minutes. The remaining cars go out. At the end of the session, the five slowest are eliminated.

Q3 = 12 minutes. Final 10 cars go out. The final order at the end of the session is how the grid will line up. Fastest car starts from Pole Position.

GRID LINE-UP:

1. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany

2. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland

3. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland

4. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain

5. Max Verstappen / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands

6. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Australia

7. Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany

8. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico

9. Carlos Sainz / Renault-Renault / Spain

10. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France

11. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark

12. Esteban Ocon / Force India-Mercedes / France

13. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Renault / Spain

14. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Renault / Belgium

15. Brendon Hartley / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand

16. Sergey Sirotkin / Williams-Mercedes / Russia

17. Pierre Gasly / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France

18. Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada

19. Charles Leclerc / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco

20. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden*

* - (Ericsson) 5-Place-Grid-Penalty for ignoring yellow flags in Q1

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Chinese GP: Free Practice #2 - RE-CAP & TIMES

CHINESE GP - FREE PRACTICE #2 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Lewis Hamilton once again topped the time-sheets for Mercedes, setting a 1:33.482. Raikkonen, again, was in 2nd with a 1:33.489. 

    A bit further back, in third, was other Mercedes driver, Bottas, who ended the session with a 1:33.515. He finished just ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

    McLaren had an OK session with Fernando Alonso taking tenth with a 1:34.632. Vandoorne was a few spaces down in 14th with a 1:35.163. The Belgian suffered  from an unsafe release when a wheel was not fastened securely during a pit-stop.

    This makes the 4th incident involving unsafe releases that are due to unsecured tyres. Magnussen and Grosjean both retired because of this in Australia while Raikkonen retired in Bahrain from the same issue.

    Both Renault drivers were on the pace for this final practice session of the weekend. Hulkenberg finished up in 6th, just behind Verstappen. Hulkenberg's fastest time was a 1:34.313. Team-mate, Sainz, set a 1:34.473 to go 8th.

    There was light rain at the end of session, but all drivers got at least 1-2 proper runs ahead of Qualifying.

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:33.482 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain

2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:33.489 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland

3. Valtteri Bottas - 1:33.515 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland

4. Sebastian Vettel - 1:33.590 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany

5. Max Verstappen - 1:33.823 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands

6. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:34.313 / Renault-Renault / Germany

7. Kevin Magnussen - 1:34.458 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark

8. Carlos Sainz - 1:34.473 / Renault-Renault / Spain

9. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:34.557 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Australia

10. Fernando Alonso - 1:34.632 / McLaren-Renault / Spain

11. Sergio Perez - 1:34.792 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico

12. Pierre Gasly - 1:34.849 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France

13. Esteban Ocon - 1:34.874 / Force India-Mercedes / France

14. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:35.163 / McLaren-Renault / Belgium

15. Brendon Hartley - 1:35.333 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand

16. Sergey Sirotkin - 1:35.340 / Williams-Mercedes / Russia

17. Marcus Ericsson - 1:35.624 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden

18. Charles Leclerc - 1:35.916 / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco

19. Romain Grosjean - 1:36.471 / Haas-Ferrari / France

20. Lance Stroll - 1:37.147 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada

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Chinese GP: Free Practice #1 - RE-CAP & TIMES

CHINESE GP - FREE PRACTICE #1 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    The first practice session of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend saw Lewis Hamilton bag the top time, despite a high-speed spin. Hamilton's time, a 1:33.999, put him ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas. 

    Raikkonen, in second, set down a 1:34.35. The Ferrari driver surprisingly also completed the least amount of laps. Team-mate, Vettel, ended the session in 6th with a 1:34.861.

    Bottas, in 3rd, finished with a quickest time of 1:34.457.

    The session saw light rain here and there throughout the hour and a half of running, but no major downpour or storms.

    Red Bull also carried their times into the top 5, with Ricciardo finishing in 4th with a 1:34.537 and Verstappen right behind in 5th with a fastest time of 1:34.668.

    Bahrain's 4th place finisher, Pierre Gasly, ended the session just outside the top 10, in 11th with a 1:36.037. Meanwhile, team-mate, Hartley, was further down in 16th with a 1:36.715.

    Down in 20th was Lance Stroll, who struggled to find pace and only managed a 1:37.277.

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:33.999 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain

2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:34.358 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland

3. Valtteri Bottas - 1:34.457 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland

4. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:34.537 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Australia

5. Max Verstappen - 1:34.668 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands

6. Sebastian Vettel - 1:34.861 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany

7. Kevin Magnussen - 1:35.178 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark

8. Carlos Sainz - 1:35.616 / Renault-Renault / Spain

9. Romain Grosjean - 1:35.718 / Haas-Ferrari / France

10. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:35.800 / Renault-Renault / Germany

11. Pierre Gasly - 1:36.037 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France

12. Fernando Alonso - 1:36.044 / McLaren-Renault / Spain

13. Sergio Perez - 1:36.051 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico

14. Esteban Ocon - 1:36.351 / Force India-Mercedes / France

15. Sergey Sirotkin - 1:36.691 / Williams-Mercedes / Russia

16. Brendon Hartley - 1:36.715 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand

17. Charles Leclerc - 1:36.723 / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco

18. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:36.756 / McLaren-Renault / Belgium

19. Marcus Ericsson - 1:36.909 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden

20. Lance Stroll - 1:37.277 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada

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Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Toro Rosso

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - RED BULL TORO ROSSO HONDA

Pierre Gasly - “I have only been to the Shanghai International Circuit in my role as reserve driver with Red Bull Racing, so this week will be the first time I actually get to drive on the track. It’s always exciting to discover a new place and a new circuit and this one looks like being a pretty cool one. Like most drivers I use the Playstation and I love driving this circuit on it, so I can't wait to do it for real. Those first two corners that seem to go on for ever are particularly challenging. Usually I don’t take long to learn a new track, so I hope that’s the case, because getting on the pace as quickly as possible on Friday is always the key to a good weekend. I haven’t spent too much time in Shanghai yet - I’m always excited to explore new cities, it’s quite an interesting culture as well, so it’s nice to see different ways of living compared to what we are used to either in France or in Europe, even if Shanghai is famous for its “French Quarter” too!”

Brendon Hartley - “I have driven at the Chinese track a few times in the World Endurance Championship and we had quite a bit of success there in LMP1, with two wins and a second place and that’s always good for your confidence. The WEC races here lasted 6 Hours, but split between three drivers that makes 2 hours each, so not that much different to an F1 race. I quite like the track, it’s very technical and very hard on tyres with such a long Turn 1 - where I think there’s 10 different options and lines, and there’s always some crazy passes on the inside, which is good for the driver and fun for the fans. Also entering the back straight, there’s a really long right hander which is really hard on the front left tyre, so I think tyre management will be a bit of a discussion in China. Shanghai itself is a great city, very international, with a unique Chinese flavour, but seeing the sights will have to wait, as it’s going to be a very busy week, following on immediately after Bahrain.”

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Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “Shanghai is a tricky track because it’s very different from the early stages in the year. It’s a front-limited circuit, meaning that the car needs to work well with front tires. If it doesn’t, then it gets very tricky. Overtaking in Shanghai is not impossible. There’s the long back straight with DRS helping overtaking manoeuvres. In general, if the car is good in qualifying, the race should be quite good. If not, then in the race you’re going to struggle. If you qualify in the top-10, you should finish in the top-10. If you’re not, then it’s harder. I’ve had good cars in Shanghai, therefore I’ve been able to score points.

    I like the high-speed corners at (Turns) 5 and 6. It’s just an amazing part. (And Turns 1, 2 and 3 are) very challenging. There’s a lot of demand on the front tyres, and it’s not easy to find the perfect lane. Then being up on the back straight, that long right-hand side corner, going onto the throttle, as well, is important because you’ve got one-and-a-half kilometre of straight line. You need to be as early as possible on the power.

    Overtaking in China is always pretty good – it’s always exciting. The balance is really difficult to find because there’s a lot of demands on the front tyres, which makes it tricky. One of the main concerns is trying to find a way to get the best from the front tyres.”

Kevin Magnussen - “Shanghai is a really good circuit to overtake. It always offers lots of opportunities. My favourite part is Turns 7 and 8 – the fast ones in the middle. It’s a pretty good section of the track. (More challenging are) Turns 1, 2 and 3. It’s a pretty unique place, where you enter so fast and then have to stop the car in the corner all the way down to low speed.”

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Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Williams

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING

Lance Stroll - “Last year the weather wasn’t great and I remember it being quite foggy, wet and cold at the start of the weekend. This aside, it is a good track to drive as it has high speed corners and there is a nice flow to it. Last year in qualifying we were quite competitive, but then it was a shame what happened in the race. Hopefully we will have some better weather this year, a better result and that it will be an enjoyable weekend.”

Sergey Sirotkin - “China is quite a difficult track with difficult weather conditions which can affect tyre wear and car behaviour. It has some very nice long, high-speed corners as well as quite good overtaking opportunities, and it probably has one of the heaviest braking zones of the season. So yeah, it’s a challenging track and it’s really new to me. I know that it’s not going to be easy but hopefully with a good amount of laps and some clean running, we can build our confidence and deliver a better result in Shanghai.”

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Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Red Bull

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - ASTON MARTIN RED BULL RACING

Daniel Ricciardo - “Shanghai is a track that for some reason I didn’t initially get to grips with but over the years it’s become a track I enjoy more and more. It’s a super technical track, turns 1 and 2 are pretty crazy and hard on the front tyres but if you can manage that you’re normally in for a good race. I’m still yet to get a podium there but it’s always a track I’ve had good speed on so hopefully we will have a good chance with the RB14. There are also some pretty hardcore fans in China and they get me to sign random photos from when I look about 16 walking around shopping centres somewhere in the world. I have no idea how they manage to get their hands on pictures like that, but the fans who come to the track are super passionate which is always nice to see. It’s also a really big and crazy city so I’m definitely going to try and explore a bit more of that this year.

Max Verstappen - “China was good for me last year with a podium. As the track is so wide it is good for overtaking, this usually leads to an exciting and action packed race. It is quite heavy on tyres, the fronts especially. The Chinese fans are really passionate so I look forward to seeing them out in force again and us all having a great race weekend.”

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Chinese GP: Circuit Preview

CHINESE GRAND PRIX 2018 - CIRCUIT PREVIEW 

Name: Shanghai International Circuit

Location: Jiading, Shanghai, China

Opened: 2004

Length: 3.388 Miles

Capacity: 200,000

Runs: Clockwise

Turns: 16 

Race Laps: 56

2017 RACE STATS: 

Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton

1st Place: Lewis Hamilton

2nd Place: Sebastian Vettel

3rd Place: Max Verstappen

Retirements: Lance Stroll (Collision), Antonio Giovinazzi (Accident), Stoffel Vandoorne (Fuel Pressure), Daniil Kvyat (Hydraulics) & Fernando Alonso (Driveshaft)

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Chinese GP: Track Schedule

CHINESE GRAND PRIX 2018 - TRACK SCHEDULE

April 12th / Thursday

15:00 - 16:00 - Press Conference

16:00 - 16:30 - Pit-Lane Walk (F1 Experience - F1 Experience Guests Only)

16:30 - 17:00 - Drive The Track Tour (F1 Experience - F1 Experience Guests Only)

April 13th / Friday

10:00 - 11:30 - Free Practice #1

11:35 - 13:30 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

11:40 - 12:10 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

12:00 - 13:00 - Press Conference

14:00 - 15:30 - Free Practice #2

17:00 - 17:30 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

17:00 - 17:30 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

April 14th / Saturday

08:30 - 09:15 - Team Pit-Stop Practice

08:30 - 09:15 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

08:30 - 09:00 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

11:00 - 12:00 - Free Practice #3

12:10 - 13:45 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

12:10 - 12:40 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

14:00 - 15:00 - Qualifying

15:30 - 16:00 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

15:30 - 16:30 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

April 15th / Sunday

09:30 - 10:00 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

09:30 - 10:30 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

12:00 - 13:25 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

12:10 - 12:40 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

12:40 - 13:00 - Drivers Track Parade

13:00 - 13:15 - Starting Grid Presentation

13:56 - 13:58 - National Anthem

14:10 - 16:10 - Race

* - Subject to change

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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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Chinese GP: Qualifying - Re-Cap & Results

CHINESE GP - QUALIFYING - RE-CAP & RESULTS

    Lewis Hamilton will start the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix from Pole Position while rookie, Giovinazzi will start from the very back after crashing out in Q1. The Italian who is filling for Pascal Wehrlein for the second race in a row, had an off-track moment before spinning and hitting the barriers. He got out of the car without injury, but the car was damaged pretty badly and the team had to make an unscheduled gearbox change, forcing a 5-Place-Grid-Penalty.

    Max Verstappen failed to make it out of Q1 due to an engine software problem. He was originally supposed to start 19th, but after penalties were put into place, he will now start 16th. Team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo will start from 5th.

    Romain Grosjean and Jolyon Palmer were the other two to get penalties and they both received them for failing to slow sufficiently under Yellows and abort their fast laps after Giovinazzi's crash. They were given 5-Place-Grid-Penalties but because they had qualified so far back, they will only move back two spaces. After Giovinazzi's gearbox penalty, they both move back up one space.

HOW IT WORKS:

Q1 = 18 minutes. All cars allowed to go out. At the end of the session, the five slowest are eliminated.

Q2 = 15 minutes. The remaining cars go out. At the end of the session, the five slowest are eliminated.

Q3 = 12 minutes. Final 10 cars go out. The final order at the end of the session is how the grid will line up. Fastest car starts from Pole Position.

GRID LINE-UP

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain

2. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany

3. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland

4. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland

5. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia

6. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil

7. Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany

8. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico

9. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia

10. Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada

11. Carlos Sainz / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain

12. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark

13. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain

14. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden

15. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Honda / Belgium

16. Max Verstappen / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands

17. Esteban Ocon / Force India-Mercedes / France

18. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France*

19. Jolyon Palmer / Renault-Renault / Great Britain**

20. Antonio Giovinazzi / Sauber-Ferrari / Italy***

* - (Grosjean) 5-Place-Grid-Penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags

** - (Palmer) 5-Place-Grid-Penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags

*** - (Giovinazzi) 5-Place-Grid-Penalty for unscheduled gearbox change. Driver also filling in for Pascal Wehrlein

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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Chinese GP: Free Practice #3 - Re-Cap & Times

CHINESE GP - FREE PRACTICE #3 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    The third and final practice session went along as scheduled as the weather had improved overnight. There was little to no fog in sight and the track was dry. Yesterday's FP1 was delayed and then later on FP2 was delayed as well and eventually canceled as the medical helicopter could not get to the local hospital in Shanghai due to the fog.

    Ferrari topped the session with Sebastian Vettel taking the top spot with a 1:33.336. Team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen was close behind in second with a 1:33.389. Bottas, Hamilton and Massa completed the top 5.

    Italian rookie, Antonio Giovinazzi is once again filling in for Pascal Wehrlein as Wehrlein is still unfit enough to race after his ROC injury prevented him from training before the Australian GP. This will be Giovinazzi's second race with Sauber and if he performs well, this could give Sauber good reason to consider saving a seat for him for the 2018 season.

    Jolyon Palmer and Marcus Ericsson suffered from spins during the session although no major damage was done to their cars Both were able to keep going in the session. Palmer ended up finishing 9th and Ericsson finished further down the order in 18th.

    During the session, Valtteri Bottas' T-Wing came loose and flew off of the car. This could cause a potential ban of the T-Wing altogether and this also comes after Haas was asked to remove and revise theirs in Melbourne as it was deemed unsafe.

TIMES:

1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:33.336 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany

2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:33.389 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland

3. Valtteri Bottas - 1:33.707 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland

4. Lewis Hamilton - 1:33.879 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain

5. Felipe Massa - 1:34.773 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil

6. Max Verstappen - 1:34.946 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands

7. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:35.092 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia

8. Lance Stroll - 1:35.182 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada

9. Jolyon Palmer - 1:35.192 / Renault-Renault / Great Britain

10. Carlos Sainz - 1:35.223 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain

11. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:35.449 / Renault-Renault / Germany

12. Kevin Magnussen - 1:35.521 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark

13. Sergio Perez - 1:35.626 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico

14. Romain Grosjean - 1:35.680 / Haas-Ferrari / France

15. Daniil Kvyat - 1:35.804 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia

16. Esteban Ocon - 1:35.811 / Force India-Mercedes / France

17. Fernando Alonso - 1:35.912 / McLaren-Honda / Spain

18. Marcus Ericsson - 1:36.063 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden

19. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:36.221 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium

20. Antonio Giovinazzi - 1:36.705 / Sauber-Ferrari / Italy*

* - Notes Giovinazzi is filling in for Pascal Wehrlein

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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Chinese GP: Free Practice #2 - Re-Cap & Times (SESSION CANCELED)

CHINESE GP - FREE PRACTICE #2 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Free Practice 2 was delayed and eventually abandoned/canceled due to weather conditions in Shanghai. The fog got so bad that the local airport in Shanghai was closed. The main reason the session never got underway was because the Medical Helicopter was unable to get to the nearest Hospital, where the fog conditions were said to be worse than they were at the circuit itself.

    So instead of drivers getting any track time, most chatted with engineers and other team personal. Lewis Hamilton walked over to a seating area full of fans and signed some caps, before throwing them up into the crowd. They might have not got to see him drive, but they most certainly won't be going home disappointed! 

TIMES:

NO TIMES SET.

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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Chinese GP: Free Practice #1 - Re-Cap & Times

CHINESE GP - FREE PRACTICE #1 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Max Verstappen topped the times in a wet FP1, where only 14 drivers managed to set a lap time.

    Running was limited by weather conditions in Shanghai, but it wasn't the rain causing trouble. Smog made the visibility poor in the city, and the red flag was brought out only five minutes after the start of the session as the medical helicopter was unable to operate in the conditions. The weather led to the closure of the city airport, which didn't bode well for the possibility of better conditions.

    The green flag was brought out at about the midpoint of the session, only for running to be halted again 20 minutes later for the same reasons. The session was not restarted.

    In that time, drivers headed out on a mixture of wet weather and intermediate tyres, trying to get the most from the wet track. Multiple drivers including Kevin Magnussen and Felipe Massa spun in the greasy conditions, but only Renault's Nico Hulkenberg had a serious incident. The German beached his car in the gravel at turn three, bringing out the virtual safety car.

    Verstappen ended the session top with a 1:50.491, but it was nothing for the team to be enthusiastic about with such disrupted running.

    The truncated session will make FP2 even more essential as teams try race and qualifying simulations. Kevin Magnussen completed the most laps, managing to make his way around the circuit eight times plus instillation laps.

TIMES:

1. Max Verstappen - 1:50.491 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
2. Felipe Massa - 1:52.086 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
3. Lance Stroll - 1:52.507 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
4. Carlos Sainz - 1:52.840 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain
5. Romain Grosjean - 1:53.039 / Haas-Ferrari / France
6. Daniil Kvyat - 1:53.314 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia
7. Fernando Alonso - 1:53.520 / McLaren-Honda / Spain
8. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:54.038 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia
9. Valtteri Bottas - 1:54.664 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
10. Kevin Magnussen - 1:55.104 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
11. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:55.608 / Renault-Renault / Germany
12. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:57.445 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
13. Marcus Ericsson - 2:15.138 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
14. Antonio Giovinazzi - 2:15.281 / Sauber-Ferrari / Italy
15. Jolyon Palmer - No Time Set / Renault-Renault / Great Britain
16. Sebastian Vettel - No Time Set / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
17. Kimi Raikkonen - No Time Set / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
18. Esteban Ocon - No Time Set / Force India-Mercedes / France
19. Sergio Perez - No Time Set / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
20. Lewis Hamilton - No Time Set / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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