16 China - Raikkonen wins in Shanghai as Hamilton slips up
The Chinese Grand Prix will remain firmly in the mind of Lewis Hamilton for a long time to come. It was the event where on the brink of wrapping up his first world title, a small error ended his day and threw open the title contest heading to the final round of the championship in Brazil in two weeks time.
Kimi Raikkonen took control of the 56-lap Grand Prix at mid-distance when Hamilton slipped up and beached his McLaren Mercedes firmly in the gravel trap. From that point onwards the Finn never put a foot wrong, controlling his pace to take the chequered flag, and the 200th win for Ferrari, ten seconds clear of Fernando Alonso.
Raikkonen’s fifth win of the season moves him back into championship contention while Alonso’s runner up position moves him to within four points of Hamilton. Felipe Massa put in a late race change to finish in third position, just three second behind Alonso.
Light rain made the Chinese Grand Prix a tricky affair with everyone opting to start the race on the intermediate tyres. Hamilton led away from his pole position, quickly establishing an eight second advantage over Raikkonen before pitting on lap 16. Raikkonen remained on track another four laps and when he emerged from the pits he was just four second behind Hamilton.
This was the critical phase of the race as the rain had stopped and the intermediate tyres were struggling on the fast-drying circuit. Soon it became apparent that in not changing his tyres, Hamilton was in severe grip difficulty as Raikkonen swept by and into the lead.
Heading to the pits on lap 30, Hamilton lost rear-end grip in the slippery pit lane and as he corrected the wheel, he soon found himself beached in a small gravel trip on the right hand side of the pit lane. His rear wheels spinning, it was clear his race was run. The question for Hamilton and the McLaren team is not the driving error, but the decision to remain on track a crucial few laps too-long when it was clear he had massive grip problems.
It was a dream result for Raikkonen as he took his 14th career victory and with 100 points on the board, is now just seven behind Hamilton heading to Brazil. Alonso drove a solid race, getting the jump on Massa mid-race in the second round of stops. His second place gives him 103 points, four down on the championship leader.
Felipe Massa set the fastest lap of the race as he closed down Alonso in the final laps but will have to be content with third position.
Sebastian Vettel will be more than content with his result, as starting 17th after a five position penalty applied post-qualifying, it looked to be a long day ahead. Making best use of strategy and pitting just the once, the German rookie took a stunning fourth position in his Toro Rosso Ferrari.
Jenson Button made best of the conditions after a shaky start and took the chequered flag in a fine fifth position in his Honda. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello found himself punted off the track on the first lap by Anthony Davidson and would finish a distant 15th.
It was a good race for Tonio Liuzzi as well in the second Toro Rosso Ferrari as he held off a late charge from Nick Heidfeld to finish in sixth position. For Heidfeld, it was a case of too-little-too late after very low-key race weekend.
Team-mate Robert Kubica seemed to have got his strategy spot on as he took over the lead of the race after the front-runners all pitted for a second time mid-race. Seconds after taking the lead from Raikkonen, his three second advantage vanished as he coasted to a halt with a mechanical failure on the F1.07.
David Coulthard held off Heikki Kovalainen to claim the final point for Red Bull while Mark Webber finished tenth in the second RB3, losing ground due to being one of the first to take to the slick tyres.
It was a poor weekend for the Renault team as Kovalainen struggled in the wet conditions, slipping back through the field with handling issues hampering his pace. The Fuji runner-up would find the Renault working well in the dryer conditions at the end of the race, but was unable to pass Coulthard for the final championship point. Giancarlo Fisichella finished 11th, his second stop dropping him down the order late in the race.
Alex Wurz finished a lapped 12th in his Williams Toyota and was the first driver to opt to run the slick tyres. Team-mate Nico Rosberg was just 16th, two laps down.
Jarno Trulli had a fairly typical low-key run to 13th position in his Toyota and was never a factor. Team-mate Ralf Schumacher had an eventful race spinning out of sixth position on the first lap before hauling himself back into contention only to have another spin and retire from the race, his penultimate event with the team.
Takuma Sato survived the race to finish 14th in his Super Aguri Honda while Anthony Davidson retired with braking issues. With Barrichello 15th ahead of Rosberg, Sakon Yamamoto plodded on to finish 17th, three laps down in his Spyker Ferrari. Team-mate Adrian Sutil was similarly off the pace until a spin and subsequent impact with the Armco ended his event.
The championship is a lot more open this evening than it was this morning. The teams pack up and get ready for the season finale in Brazil in two weeks time.