The Front Runners
Alonso took his tenth win for Ferrari, their 220th in Formula 1, with a perfect strategy and protection of tyres that also combined with great pace to take him into the lead and on to a fairly comfortable win. Supported by Massa finishing in a somewhat disappointing sixth place, Ferrari have jumped right back into the title hunt for both drivers and constructors and both drivers look comfortable and consistent with the car. Raikkonen brought Lotus a deserved second place, battling through front end damaged received against Perez on lap 16 to underline their pace on the dry day that they wanted, being characteristically light on its tyres as Grosjean brought home further points in ninth. Mercedes weekend didnt end with the strength that first practice showed, just taking third place with Hamilton as he struggled for pace in the final laps and Rosberg retiring with rear suspension failure on lap 23 caused by an earlier slow puncture, costing them valuable championship points and showing they still have work to do. Red Bull will likely feel this a Chinese Grand Prix to forget, as they misjudged the strategy and it didnt really plan out, with the early pitting Ferraris, Lotus and Mercedes not dropping as far behind as might have been expected. Vettels full-throttle attempt to get second was cut short by lack of laps and a mistake whilst attempting to clear the Caterham, and it must be wondered whether Red Bull should have switched to the option tyres a couple of laps earlier to allow him full use of their grip and lap times. Mark Webbers weekend, already compounded by qualifying problems and a penalty went from bad to worse as he collided with sister team Torro Rosso, then limped out of the race with a loose rear wheel that rolled across the track, ending any chance of him repeating his 2011 performance where he drove from 18th to a podium finish. Jenson Button drove a solid race for McLaren, using his smooth driving style to maximise the tyre life, achieving an impressive 26 laps on his final set of medium tyres as part of a two-stop strategy before thrashing it to the line on the option tyre to take a fifth place that would have been beyond the McLaren on a conventional three-stop strategy. Daniel Ricciardo was a standout performer of the day, converting his surprise seventh place on the grid into the same finishing position, his best finish yet and taking home six points for Torro Rosso with a solid drive in what was at times a busy area of the track, managing to keep himself out of trouble. Hulkenberg was definitely one of the front-runners of the race, leading for a period and putting the same pit-stop tactics as Red Bull to work in a bid to jump the option qualifiers at the early stops. Unfortunately it didnt work out despite the impressive pace and he succumbed to midfield runner Paul di Resta by the end of the race, taking home just a single point.