Hamilton back on top in Shanghai, Vettel a close 2nd; Verstappen P3 after another wonder drive in the wet

Mercedes’ hard-charging ace Lewis Hamilton was back to his winning ways at the Shanghai International Circuit dominating the Chinese Grand Prix from pole and taking his first victory of the year. In the new season’s second contest Hamilton avenged his defeat two weeks ago in Australia by driving a masterfully fast and controlled race and keeping all comers in his rearview mirrors. In the end, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was the closest contender on a damp day following up his victory in Melbourne with a solid P2 some 6.25 seconds adrift of the English Mercedes driver. Vettel proved again that the new Prancing Horse will be a force to be reckoned with and a genuine threat to mighty Mercedes’ recent run of unchallenged dominance. The two most talented drivers from the most competitive F1 factory teams are now tied in Championship points and it looks for all the world that we will be treated to a genuine nip-and-tuck year long chase between teams and star pilots to see who comes out on top.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

As good as Hamilton and Vettel were special mention must be reserved to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The 19-year-old wunderkind started way back in P16 after mechanical issues ruined his qualifying effort. But just as he put on a passing clinic in the rains of Brazil last year the Dutchman once again excelled in wet conditions in China, making up a ton of positions right after the lights went out to start the race and then carving his way through tougher traffic. After hustling and dicing with essentially all the top contenders including both Ferraris and Hamilton’s Mercedes, Verstappen found himself dueling with his teammate Daniel Ricciardo for the last podium place as the laps wound down. Despite the more experienced Aussie’s pressure tactics and his keen desire to repay his junior partners exception earlier pass on him Verstappen held on for P3, another amazing drive in this talented kid’s growing legend. For Ricciardo the disappointment over missing out on a podium must have been eclipsed by his strong P4 finish and ability to contend with the best drivers in the field after an utterly miserable DNF at his home Grand Prix in Australia a fortnight ago. It should be interesting, however, to see if Red Bull can replicate these strong performances in the perfectly dry conditions that as we are sure to have in Bahrain next weekend, as their Renault power plant still seems down on pure power.

Vettel’s Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen was again not quite up to speed and complained throughout the race about lack of torque. Unable to stick with the elite pack and bested by Vettel for a second race weekend the Iceman settled for a P5 finish. Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas also had a disappointing day with an inexplicable spin behind the safety car early on costing the Finn big time. Bottas was able to recover somewhat but came home back in P6, a big letdown after qualifying P3. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz was the only driver to take the big gamble to start on slicks starting the race and with a poor opening lap that saw him lose control several times it looked like a huge mistake. But with no more rain falling and the track drying relatively quickly the Spaniard hung on and was somewhat vindicated, eventually coming home a very solid P7. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen put on an impressive drive displaying impressive passing skills to score the American team’s first points of the season by taking P8 well ahead of his more heralded stablemate Romain Grosjean, who could not overcome his poor starting position and missed out on points at P11. The two Force India’s of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon rounded out the Top 10 by finishing P9 and P10 respectively, a particulary good drive from the young Frenchman Ocon who started dead last from 20th on the grid.

Top 10 finishers in the Chinese Grand Prix:

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

Other race notes: Williams had a terrible weekend and scored no points, once again seeming to lack enough downforce to compete at such a twisty track in such cool conditions. Canadian rookie Lance Stroll was out on Lap 1 after a collision with Perez beached him the gravel and Felipe Massa was easy prey for several mid-pack teams when he simply could not get enough heat in his tires. The veteran Brazilian finished P13 despite qualifying 7th. Honda-powered McLaren also had an awful day despite good pace by Fernando Alonso, as they saw both their cars DNF again for the second race in a row. But perhaps the worst weekend belonged to stand -in rookie Sauber driver Antonio Giovinazzi, who crashed heavily on Lap 4 entering the start-finish straight away in an almost identical fashion to his shunt in Saturday qualifying. It must have been a real punch in the gut for the financially struggling Sauber team after working hard to get the car race ready in the first place and Giovinazzi did his F1 career no favors with his nightmare weekend in Shanghai.

The next race is in but one week’s time as the teams hustle off to ultra-dry Bahrain. It should be quite a contrast from rainy China and with the score 1-1 between Hamilton and Vettel and Mercedes and Ferrari you know the battle for supremacy is only going to get hotter in the desert. Hope to see you then!