F1 analysis of Chinese GP

2007-10-08 08:10

 

Shanghai - A team by team analysis of Sunday's Chinese F1 Grand Prix (listed in championship order):

Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen 1, Felipe Massa 3

Raikkonen had a flawless race for his fifth win of the season, getting past Hamilton when the Briton started struggling with worn tyres and never looking back. Massa held off Alonso at the start but the Spaniard passed him on the first pit stop and the Brazilian had to settle for third.

BMW Sauber: Nick Heidfeld 7, Robert Kubica retired

A hydraulic leak on lap 34 while leading put paid to what looked like being a good result for Kubica. Heidfeld made up a couple of places at the start but was passed by Liuzzi on lap four and a further error in the choice of tyres at his first pit stop left him with just two points.

- Renault: Heikki Kovalainen 9, Giancarlo Fisichella 11

A first pointless race for Renault since last year's Hungarian Grand Prix. Kovalainen lost several places in the first few laps because of poor grip, while Fisichella's second pit stop robbed him of a better finish.

Williams: Alex Wurz 12, Nico Rosberg 16

Rosberg had a poor start but it was a puncture on lap 29 that effectively ended his hope of points. Wurz was running well in the wet but struggled towards the end of the race as the track dried out.

Red Bull: David Coulthard 8, Mark Webber 10

Coulthard was disappointed to finish eighth after starting fifth and put it down to a change to dry tyres just before another shower fell on the circuit. Webber had a similar problem and rued going back to the pits for wet tyres as the rain ended.

Toyota: Jarno Trulli 13, Ralf Schumacher retired

Schumacher, in his penultimate race for Toyota, spun off on the first lap to set the tone for the rest of the day. Hit by Liuzzi, he survived until lap 25 before another off ended his race. Trulli lost a few places at his pit stop and found himself in all too familiar surroundings at the back of the field.

Toro Rosso: Sebastian Vettel 4, Vitantonio Liuzzi 6

Struggling Toro Rosso catapulted themselves from last to seventh in the championship, ahead of Honda, with the team's best result. Only four other teams have scored that many points in one race this year. Vettel started 17th on a one-stop strategy, Liuzzi 11th.

Honda: Jenson Button 5, Rubens Barrichello 15

Button gave Honda their best result of the season to overtake Honda-powered Super Aguri. Button was 11th at the end of the first lap but then climbed through the field. Barrichello collided with Aguri's Davidson on lap two and went to the back of the field. He made three stops.

Super Aguri: Takuma Sato 14, Anthony Davidson retired

Sato was running well until a mechanical problem caused his car to start "bouncing". Davidson's collision with Barrichello on lap two damaged his brakes and he limped on for a few more laps before retiring in the pits.

Spyker: Sakon Yamamoto 17, Adrian Sutil retired

Sutil switched to dry tyres too early and had a nasty crash into the barriers at the final corner. Yamamoto survived the tyre gamble but still ended up as the last of the finishers.

Mclaren: Fernando Alonso 2, Lewis Hamilton retired

Hamilton had been passed by Raikkonen and was struggling with worn tyres when he headed for the pit lane on lap 31 and a mistake left him the gravel with his dreams of winning the title in China gone. Alonso was held up by Massa early on but passed him on the first pit stop and kept his championship hopes alive into the season finale.


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