F1 reconvened in China at the Shanghai International Circuit for the third round of the 2016 Formula 1 season.
Nico Rosberg entered the race weekend on a charge after two consecutive wins, could Lewis Hamilton break his run of success?
FP1
Rosberg set the pace in a disrupted first practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix after a late improvement moved him ahead of Mercedes team-mate Hamilton.
Three left-rear failures on the soft Pirelli tyre hit the headlines, two for Williams driver Felipe Massa and one for Renault’s Kevin Magnussen.
The issues caused two red flags, with Pirelli launching investigations, before running resumed with eight minutes left on the clock.
Rosberg improved with a 1:38.037 to go quickest, with Hamilton one tenth further back. Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top five, although the latter two were over one second off the pace.
Daniil Kvyat, Carlos Sainz Jr, Jenson Button, Nico Hulkenberg and Max Verstappen completed the top 10. Fernando Alonso returned to the race track in 12th, while Magnussen, Esteban Gutierrez and Massa failed to set timed laps.
FP2
Raikkonen ended second practice for the Chinese Grand Prix at the top of the timesheets for Ferrari with a 1:38.896 on the super-soft tyre, ahead of team-mate Vettel.
The Finnish driver set his best time mid-way through the session, with Vettel ending up just over one tenth further back. Rosberg and Hamilton - who has a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change - were third and fourth.
Following earlier qualifying simulations, teams switched focus to longer runs. Ricciardo, Verstappen and Hulkenberg were next up, with Sainz, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas completing the top 10.
Alonso was given official permission to race after FP1 and was 11th quickest, with Button 12th and Kvyat 13th. Jolyon Palmer was 15th for Renault but his team-mate Magnussen was ruled out of the session after the problem he suffered in the morning.
Romain Grosjean was 16th for Haas, while the second VF-16 of Gutierrez suffered more issues. Having missed out on running in practice one, the Mexican lost out on further track time after an early brake problem.
FP3
Vettel ended the rain-hit third practice session for the Chinese GP fastest for Ferrari after limited running in tricky conditions.
The weather conditions meant wet weather tyres were used early on, before switching to the intermediates late on. Vettel put in a 1:57.351 to go quickest, seven tenths clear of Bottas.
Perez was third for Force India, while Sainz set his best time on the wet tyre and was fourth. Gutierrez was 2.2 seconds off the pace in fifth, ahead of Palmer, who suffered a right-rear puncture during the session.
Magnussen, Pascal Wehrlein, Verstappen and Hulkenberg completed the top 10. Felipe Nasr, Raikkonen, Massa and Rio Haryanto were the only other drivers to set timed laps.
Qualifying
Rosberg will start the Chinese Grand Prix from pole position after setting the pace in qualifying, while his team-mate Hamilton suffered reliability problems.
Round three of the 2016 F1 season marked a return to the old knock-out qualifying system, after two unpopular attempts with the elimination-style format.
Mercedes will start from both sides of the grid in Shanghai, with Rosberg claiming pole with a 1:35.402. Meanwhile Hamilton was eliminated in Q1 after an ERS issue and will start from last place with his grid penalty.
Ricciardo will complete the front row, ahead of Raikkonen, Vettel, Bottas, Kvyat and Perez. Sainz Jr and Hulkenberg round out the top 10, but the latter failed to emerge in Q3 after a loose wheel caused him to stop at the end of the second session.
Massa, Alonso, Button, Grosjean, Ericsson and Nasr were eliminated in Q2. The Saubers put in late improvements in the opening session to progress through but couldn’t make it any further. The red flag for Hulkenberg’s parked car brought an early end to the second segment.
Magnussen, Gutierrez, Palmer and Haryanto dropped out of qualifying in Q1. Wehrlein failed to put in a time after crashing early on, hitting a bump and passing through a puddle on the pit straight on slick tyres.
He spun into the wall and brought out a long red flag. He was classified 22nd but will start 21st thanks to Hamilton’s penalty, with the three-time champion starting last on the grid and giving him plenty of work to do for Sunday’s race.
Race
With Rosberg starting at the front and Hamilton lining up at the back of the grid, we were all set for a fascinating Chinese GP.
The revs rose, the lights went out and the third round of the 2016 F1 season got underway. Off the line, Rosberg had a decent start but Ricciardo drew alongside him, storming into the lead.
The two Ferraris made contact twice round the first complex of corners, with Raikkonen dropping down the field.
It was a terrible start for Hamilton from last on the grid. He collided with Nasr and lost his front wing, costing him crucial time. Kvyat, Perez and Hulkenberg moved up to third, fourth and fifth, with Vettel falling to eighth.
The German started his recovery by passing Massa, who then fell behind Button. Raikkonen, Hamilton, Grosjean and Nasr all pitted after early drama. Rosberg reclaimed the lead on lap three with the help of DRS, but there was drama for Ricciardo as he picked up a right-rear puncture and dived into the pitlane.
The safety car was deployed at the end of lap four due to debris, bringing Raikkonen, Ricciardo and Hamilton back into the action. The majority of the field pitted for repairs and new tyres, which mixed up the order even more.
The top 10 was Rosberg, Massa, Alonso, Wehrlein, Gutierrez, Kvyat, Palmer, Haryanto, Perez and Bottas when the safety car pitted at the end of lap eight. The Manor drivers soon fell down the order, while Vettel and Hamilton looked to swiftly make up ground.
The drama behind helped Rosberg establish a comfortable lead by lap 11, with a four second gap to the chasing Massa. Vettel was the man on the move, passing Bottas and Wehrlein in close succession to jump up to sixth by lap 12. Meanwhile Hamilton overtook Raikkonen and set his sights on the top 10.
By lap 15, Vettel, Ricciardo and Hamilton had moved up to fourth, 10th and 11th. Raikkonen pitted for the second time and switched to the mediums, falling to 22nd. Rosberg remained in the lead and had a clear nine-second advantage over Kvyat.
Hamilton dived into the top 10 with a move on Button on lap 16. There were double yellow flags out at the final corner due to debris from Vettel's front wing, but the pieces were quickly cleared and the Ferrari pitted on lap 18 for soft tyres. However, there was no new nose waiting for him and he emerged in 13th.
Rosberg was seemingly in a completely different race, extending his lead to 13 seconds by lap 19. Kvyat then pitted from second at the end of the tour, with Massa following him in. Rosberg moved onto a new set of the soft Pirelli tyre at the end of the next lap, retaining first place.
Bottas and Hamilton stopped for fresh rubber and dropped to seventh and 14th. The Mercedes soon made up ground and was running just behind Raikkonen in 11th on lap 26. Button was running fourth but hit tyre troubles on the medium compound, swiftly falling behind Perez and Bottas.
He lost several more places and McLaren opted to pit him for new mediums. Hamilton was told to "give it everything" on lap 30, as he started to lose ground on Raikkonen. He then stopped for the hardest tyre compound and returned to the track in 14th. By lap 35 Rosberg's lead was a staggering 29 seconds.
Kvyat and Vettel took their battle to the pits on lap 36, emerging in third and fifth on medium and softs respectively. Raikkonen was between them but he soon lost out to his team-mate. Rosberg's tyres looked in poor shape despite his considerable lead and he stopped for the prime compound at the end of the next lap.
Ricciardo and Raikkonen briefly ran second and fifth before both pitting for softs. Hamilton muscled his way past Bottas at Turn 9 and moved up to fifth, with Ricciardo following him through. The Red Bull took the fight to the Mercedes and displaced him on lap 43. He then did what Hamilton couldn't and overtook Massa at the hairpin.
The three-time champion was struggling on his tyres and Raikkonen, on fresher softs, passed him at Turn 14 for sixth. The Finn then moved ahead of his former team-mate Massa. Up at the front, Rosberg had a 32-second lead over Vettel, while in the midfield several drivers were battling for the fastest lap honours on the super-soft tyre.
After the dramatic start, things settled down for the final laps, as the order sorted itself out following a variety of different strategies.
Rosberg crossed the line to claim his sixth consecutive victory and third of 2016, winning by almost 40 seconds. Vettel recovered to second, with Kvyat third for Red Bull, ahead of team-mate Ricciardo.
Raikkonen and Hamilton bounced back with fifth and seventh, split by Massa's Williams. Verstappen and Sainz passed Bottas late on to claim eighth and ninth, with the Finnish driver completing the top 10 after losing ground late on. Perez, Alonso and Button were next up.
Gutierrez picked up his first finish of the year, ahead of Hulkenberg, Ericsson, Magnussen, Wehrlein, Grosjean, Nasr, Haryanto and Palmer.
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| © Red Bull Content Pool |
FP1
Rosberg set the pace in a disrupted first practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix after a late improvement moved him ahead of Mercedes team-mate Hamilton.
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| © Mercedes |
Three left-rear failures on the soft Pirelli tyre hit the headlines, two for Williams driver Felipe Massa and one for Renault’s Kevin Magnussen.
The issues caused two red flags, with Pirelli launching investigations, before running resumed with eight minutes left on the clock.
Rosberg improved with a 1:38.037 to go quickest, with Hamilton one tenth further back. Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top five, although the latter two were over one second off the pace.
Daniil Kvyat, Carlos Sainz Jr, Jenson Button, Nico Hulkenberg and Max Verstappen completed the top 10. Fernando Alonso returned to the race track in 12th, while Magnussen, Esteban Gutierrez and Massa failed to set timed laps.
FP2
Raikkonen ended second practice for the Chinese Grand Prix at the top of the timesheets for Ferrari with a 1:38.896 on the super-soft tyre, ahead of team-mate Vettel.
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| © Scuderia Ferrari |
The Finnish driver set his best time mid-way through the session, with Vettel ending up just over one tenth further back. Rosberg and Hamilton - who has a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change - were third and fourth.
Following earlier qualifying simulations, teams switched focus to longer runs. Ricciardo, Verstappen and Hulkenberg were next up, with Sainz, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas completing the top 10.
Alonso was given official permission to race after FP1 and was 11th quickest, with Button 12th and Kvyat 13th. Jolyon Palmer was 15th for Renault but his team-mate Magnussen was ruled out of the session after the problem he suffered in the morning.
Romain Grosjean was 16th for Haas, while the second VF-16 of Gutierrez suffered more issues. Having missed out on running in practice one, the Mexican lost out on further track time after an early brake problem.
FP3
Vettel ended the rain-hit third practice session for the Chinese GP fastest for Ferrari after limited running in tricky conditions.
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| © Scuderia Ferrari |
The weather conditions meant wet weather tyres were used early on, before switching to the intermediates late on. Vettel put in a 1:57.351 to go quickest, seven tenths clear of Bottas.
Perez was third for Force India, while Sainz set his best time on the wet tyre and was fourth. Gutierrez was 2.2 seconds off the pace in fifth, ahead of Palmer, who suffered a right-rear puncture during the session.
Magnussen, Pascal Wehrlein, Verstappen and Hulkenberg completed the top 10. Felipe Nasr, Raikkonen, Massa and Rio Haryanto were the only other drivers to set timed laps.
Qualifying
Rosberg will start the Chinese Grand Prix from pole position after setting the pace in qualifying, while his team-mate Hamilton suffered reliability problems.
Round three of the 2016 F1 season marked a return to the old knock-out qualifying system, after two unpopular attempts with the elimination-style format.
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| © Mercedes |
Mercedes will start from both sides of the grid in Shanghai, with Rosberg claiming pole with a 1:35.402. Meanwhile Hamilton was eliminated in Q1 after an ERS issue and will start from last place with his grid penalty.
Ricciardo will complete the front row, ahead of Raikkonen, Vettel, Bottas, Kvyat and Perez. Sainz Jr and Hulkenberg round out the top 10, but the latter failed to emerge in Q3 after a loose wheel caused him to stop at the end of the second session.
Massa, Alonso, Button, Grosjean, Ericsson and Nasr were eliminated in Q2. The Saubers put in late improvements in the opening session to progress through but couldn’t make it any further. The red flag for Hulkenberg’s parked car brought an early end to the second segment.
Magnussen, Gutierrez, Palmer and Haryanto dropped out of qualifying in Q1. Wehrlein failed to put in a time after crashing early on, hitting a bump and passing through a puddle on the pit straight on slick tyres.
He spun into the wall and brought out a long red flag. He was classified 22nd but will start 21st thanks to Hamilton’s penalty, with the three-time champion starting last on the grid and giving him plenty of work to do for Sunday’s race.
Race
With Rosberg starting at the front and Hamilton lining up at the back of the grid, we were all set for a fascinating Chinese GP.
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| © Scuderia Ferrari |
The revs rose, the lights went out and the third round of the 2016 F1 season got underway. Off the line, Rosberg had a decent start but Ricciardo drew alongside him, storming into the lead.
The two Ferraris made contact twice round the first complex of corners, with Raikkonen dropping down the field.
It was a terrible start for Hamilton from last on the grid. He collided with Nasr and lost his front wing, costing him crucial time. Kvyat, Perez and Hulkenberg moved up to third, fourth and fifth, with Vettel falling to eighth.
The German started his recovery by passing Massa, who then fell behind Button. Raikkonen, Hamilton, Grosjean and Nasr all pitted after early drama. Rosberg reclaimed the lead on lap three with the help of DRS, but there was drama for Ricciardo as he picked up a right-rear puncture and dived into the pitlane.
The safety car was deployed at the end of lap four due to debris, bringing Raikkonen, Ricciardo and Hamilton back into the action. The majority of the field pitted for repairs and new tyres, which mixed up the order even more.
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| © Williams Martini Racing |
The top 10 was Rosberg, Massa, Alonso, Wehrlein, Gutierrez, Kvyat, Palmer, Haryanto, Perez and Bottas when the safety car pitted at the end of lap eight. The Manor drivers soon fell down the order, while Vettel and Hamilton looked to swiftly make up ground.
The drama behind helped Rosberg establish a comfortable lead by lap 11, with a four second gap to the chasing Massa. Vettel was the man on the move, passing Bottas and Wehrlein in close succession to jump up to sixth by lap 12. Meanwhile Hamilton overtook Raikkonen and set his sights on the top 10.
By lap 15, Vettel, Ricciardo and Hamilton had moved up to fourth, 10th and 11th. Raikkonen pitted for the second time and switched to the mediums, falling to 22nd. Rosberg remained in the lead and had a clear nine-second advantage over Kvyat.
Hamilton dived into the top 10 with a move on Button on lap 16. There were double yellow flags out at the final corner due to debris from Vettel's front wing, but the pieces were quickly cleared and the Ferrari pitted on lap 18 for soft tyres. However, there was no new nose waiting for him and he emerged in 13th.
Rosberg was seemingly in a completely different race, extending his lead to 13 seconds by lap 19. Kvyat then pitted from second at the end of the tour, with Massa following him in. Rosberg moved onto a new set of the soft Pirelli tyre at the end of the next lap, retaining first place.
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| © Red Bull Content Pool |
Bottas and Hamilton stopped for fresh rubber and dropped to seventh and 14th. The Mercedes soon made up ground and was running just behind Raikkonen in 11th on lap 26. Button was running fourth but hit tyre troubles on the medium compound, swiftly falling behind Perez and Bottas.
He lost several more places and McLaren opted to pit him for new mediums. Hamilton was told to "give it everything" on lap 30, as he started to lose ground on Raikkonen. He then stopped for the hardest tyre compound and returned to the track in 14th. By lap 35 Rosberg's lead was a staggering 29 seconds.
Kvyat and Vettel took their battle to the pits on lap 36, emerging in third and fifth on medium and softs respectively. Raikkonen was between them but he soon lost out to his team-mate. Rosberg's tyres looked in poor shape despite his considerable lead and he stopped for the prime compound at the end of the next lap.
Ricciardo and Raikkonen briefly ran second and fifth before both pitting for softs. Hamilton muscled his way past Bottas at Turn 9 and moved up to fifth, with Ricciardo following him through. The Red Bull took the fight to the Mercedes and displaced him on lap 43. He then did what Hamilton couldn't and overtook Massa at the hairpin.
The three-time champion was struggling on his tyres and Raikkonen, on fresher softs, passed him at Turn 14 for sixth. The Finn then moved ahead of his former team-mate Massa. Up at the front, Rosberg had a 32-second lead over Vettel, while in the midfield several drivers were battling for the fastest lap honours on the super-soft tyre.
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| © Mercedes |
After the dramatic start, things settled down for the final laps, as the order sorted itself out following a variety of different strategies.
Rosberg crossed the line to claim his sixth consecutive victory and third of 2016, winning by almost 40 seconds. Vettel recovered to second, with Kvyat third for Red Bull, ahead of team-mate Ricciardo.
Raikkonen and Hamilton bounced back with fifth and seventh, split by Massa's Williams. Verstappen and Sainz passed Bottas late on to claim eighth and ninth, with the Finnish driver completing the top 10 after losing ground late on. Perez, Alonso and Button were next up.
Gutierrez picked up his first finish of the year, ahead of Hulkenberg, Ericsson, Magnussen, Wehrlein, Grosjean, Nasr, Haryanto and Palmer.
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