[F1] Chinese Grand Prix : 19.04.09

Kuali Baba
17 Apr 09, 13:10

Venue: Shanghai International Circuit
Laps: 56
Race starts at 1500HRS SIN

First used in 2004, the Shanghai circuit moves to an early season slot for the first time this year. Designed by Hermann Tilke, it features a mixture of long medium- and low-speed corners. Traction on the exits is crucial, especially for the long back straight. The abrasive surface also makes it harsh on tyres, and it will be interesting to see how the super-soft spec tyres will hold up in the race.

After two controversial twilight races, we move back to a traditional afternoon race. The contentious diffusers of the Brawn, Williams and Toyota cars have been declared legal, and these teams are expected to maintain their advantage for the next 2 weeks. 2 of the 5 races held here so far have been affected by rain.

Kuali Baba

17 Apr 09, 13:12

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time              Laps
               1.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:37.334 +         22
               2.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes    (B)  1:37.450 + 0.116   18
               3.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes    (B)  1:37.566 + 0.232   19
               4.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:37.672 + 0.338   23
               5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:37.752 + 0.418   20
               6.  Trulli        Toyota               (B)  1:37.764 + 0.430   19
               7.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:37.860 + 0.526   24
               8.  Glock         Toyota               (B)  1:37.894 + 0.560   21
               9.  Alonso        Renault              (B)  1:38.089 + 0.755   19
              10.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:38.195 + 0.861   24
              11.  Raikkonen     Ferrari              (B)  1:38.223 + 0.889   23
              12.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:38.274 + 0.940   20
              13.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:38.307 + 0.973   26
              14.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes (B)  1:38.319 + 0.985   18
              15.  Massa         Ferrari              (B)  1:38.418 + 1.084   20
              16.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber           (B)  1:38.456 + 1.122   21
              17.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes (B)  1:38.460 + 1.126   19
              18.  Kubica        BMW Sauber           (B)  1:38.463 + 1.129   18
              19.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:38.730 + 1.396   25
              20.  Piquet        Renault              (B)  1:38.825 + 1.491   20
              
              All timing unofficial

Kuali Baba
17 Apr 09, 17:01

Pos Driver       Team                       Time              Laps
1. Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B) 1:35.679           35
2. Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B) 1:35.704 + 0.025   36
3. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes        (B) 1:35.881 + 0.202   35
4. Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B) 1:36.105 + 0.426   32
5. Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B) 1:36.167 + 0.488   22
6. Trulli       Toyota                (B) 1:36.217 + 0.538   42
7. Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B) 1:36.377 + 0.698   32
8. Glock        Toyota                (B) 1:36.548 + 0.869   40
9. Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B) 1:36.674 + 0.995   34
10. Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B) 1:36.800 + 1.121   34
11. Sutil        Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:36.829 + 1.150   30
12. Massa        Ferrari               (B) 1:36.847 + 1.168   34
13. Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B) 1:36.941 + 1.262   28
14. Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B) 1:37.054 + 1.375   33
15. Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B) 1:37.219 + 1.540   34
16. Piquet       Renault               (B) 1:37.273 + 1.594   36
17. Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B) 1:37.491 + 1.812   34
18. Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B) 1:37.544 + 1.865   28
19. Alonso       Renault               (B) 1:37.638 + 1.959   28
20. Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.750 + 2.071   31
HiAy3Captain
17 Apr 09, 17:03

swee swee
cassie
17 Apr 09, 17:04

let's hope they actually finish the race this time around!
Kuali Baba
18 Apr 09, 12:29

Third free practice - Glock, Webber and Vettel have had their gearboxes changed. Alonso also has mechanical gremlins.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.133 17
2. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:36.272 + 0.139 22
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.330 + 0.197 17
4. Button Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) 1:36.463 + 0.330 16
5. Piquet Renault (B) 1:36.464 + 0.331 16
6. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:36.528 + 0.395 18
7. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.547 + 0.414 13
8. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.560 + 0.427 17
9. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:36.568 + 0.435 17
10. Barrichello Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) 1:36.642 + 0.509 17
11. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:36.702 + 0.569 14
12. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:36.742 + 0.609 14
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.742 + 0.609 16
14. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.834 + 0.701 17
15. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:37.330 + 1.197 8
16. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:37.349 + 1.216 7
17. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.534 + 1.401 17
18. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.732 + 1.599 18
19. Alonso Renault (B) 1:38.003 + 1.870 6
20. Glock Toyota (B) 1:39.110 + 2.977 6
Kuali Baba
18 Apr 09, 15:13

Edit: Webber and Vettel changed only the boot that connects the gearbox to the driveshaft, which failed in both cases.

Vettel, Alonso and Webber make up the top 3 after qualifying. Glock will drop to 19th for his gearbox change.

Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:36.565 1:35.130 1:36.184 11
2. Alonso Renault (B) 1:36.443 1:35.803 1:36.381 21
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:35.751 1:35.173 1:36.466 19
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:35.701 1:35.503 1:36.493 21
5. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:35.533 1:35.556 1:36.532 19
6. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:36.308 1:35.645 1:36.835 21
7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:35.941 1:35.809 1:37.397 23
8. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:36.137 1:35.856 1:38.089 19
9. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:35.776 1:35.740 1:38.595 17
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.284 1:35.965 1:39.321 21
11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:36.525 1:35.975 14
12. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.646 1:36.032 10
13. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:36.178 1:36.033 11
14. Glock Toyota (B) 1:36.364 1:36.066 14
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.673 1:36.193 13
16. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.906 10
17. Piquet Renault (B) 1:36.908 10
18. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:36.966 8
19. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.669 10
20. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.672 10
Kuali Baba
18 Apr 09, 22:47

Car weights at the end of qualifying:

Pos. Driver Car weight
1. Vettel 644.0kg
2. Alonso 637.0kg
3. Webber 646.5kg
4. Barrichello 661.0kg
5. Button 659.0kg
6. Trulli 664.5kg
7. Rosberg 650.5kg
8. Raikkonen 673.5kg
9. Hamilton 679.0kg
10. Buemi 673.0kg
11. Heidfeld 679.0kg
12. Kovalainen 697.0kg
13. Massa 690.0kg
14. Glock 652.0kg
15. Nakajima 682.7kg
16. Bourdais 690.0kg
17. Piquet 697.9kg
18. Kubica 659.0kg
19. Sutil 648.0kg
20. Fisichella 679.5kg
Kuali Baba
19 Apr 09, 14:33

Latest update: The track is soaking wet!
Kuali Baba
19 Apr 09, 17:40

Last year, the bottom of Hamilton's trophy fell out; this year, Vettel got cut by his prize! Chinese quality has struck again!
cassie
19 Apr 09, 18:17

Well at least it's not the same problem, technically. Fix and patched one hole and another one pops up. Let's see what happens next year.
566117
19 Apr 09, 18:40

Chinese GP result - 56 laps

1.  VETTEL       Red Bull      1hr57m43.485s
2.  WEBBER       Red Bull      +10.9s
3.  BUTTON       Brawn         +44.9s
4.  BARRICHELLO  Brawn         +1m03.7s
5.  KOVALAINEN   McLaren       +1m05.1s
6.  HAMILTON     McLaren       +1m11.8s
7.  GLOCK        Toyota        +1m14.4s
8.  BUEMI        Toro Rosso    +1m16.4s
9.  ALONSO       Renault       +1m24.3s
10. RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       +1m31.7s
11. BOURDAIS     Toro Rosso    +1m34.1s
12. HEIDFELD     BMW           +1m35.8s
13. KUBICA       BMW           +1m46.8s
14. FISICHELLA   Force India   +1 lap
15. ROSBERG      Williams      +1 lap
16. PIQUET       Renault       +2 laps
R. SUTIL        Force India   +6 laps
R. NAKAJIMA     Williams      +13 laps
R.  MASSA        Ferrari       +34 laps
R.  TRULLI       Toyota        +38 laps

Fastest lap: BARRICHELLO 1m52.592s