Chinese Grand Prix Tag

By FIA Lewis Hamilton continued to set the pace in practice ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, but after enjoying a comfortable gap to rivals in first practice, the second session saw the Mercedes driver pressured as he outpaced Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen by just seven thousandths of a second. In the morning session at the Shanghai International Circuit, Hamilton went more than three tenths of a second quicker than second-placed Räikkönen, but in the afternoon session, the Ferrari driver looked much more purposeful. Half an hour into FP2, Hamilton boltedRead More

By FIA Lewis Hamilton finished more than three tenths of a second ahead of Kimi Räikkönen as practice for the Chinese Grand Prix got underway at the Shanghai International Circuit. The Mercedes driver set his quickest lap on Pirelli’s soft tyres, while Räikkönen needed the ultrasoft compound, two steps softer in the tyre manufacturer’s range, to split Hamilton from team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who finished just under half a second behind the defending champion. In cool conditions Mercedes looked comfortably in control, with Hamilton making steady improvements throughout the session asRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix gave us a much clearer picture of the running order for 2018 than the season opening Australian Grand Prix did. The great news is that the long range pace of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull is very close this season. Of the three, Ferrari has capitalized the most on their rivals misfortune and it leads both championships with Sebastian Vettel 17 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton after opening the season with back to back victories. Ferrari leads Mercedes in theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The Formula 1 season is officially underway following an exciting Australian Grand Prix two weekends ago, but now the focus turns toward the second and third rounds of the championship. As such, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo previews the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and the Heineken Chinese Grand Prix. Our friends from Mobil 1 The Grid have brought together the Aussie’s thoughts on the first back-to-back events of 2018. Video Credit: Mobil 1 The GridRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Pascal Wehrlein will return to action for Sauber in this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. The team announced his long awaited return via social media today, just three days before Free Practice 1 on Friday. Wehrlein infamously sat out the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix due to his less than optimal fitness after the injury he sustained from his Race of Champions crash in January. Taking his place back in the team relegates reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi back to the sidelines after a spectacular debut in Australia, but anRead More

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton held off the challenge of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to take his fifth Chinese Grand Prix victory as Max Verstappen claimed his eighth career podium finish after a sensational drive that saw the Red Bull Racing driver rise to third from 16th place on the Shanghai grid. Hamilton, starting from pole, held his advantage when the lights went out and took the lead ahead of Vettel and Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo passed Kimi Raikkonen for fourth place. The order swiftly changed, however as first Williams’ Lance Stroll spun offRead More

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton powered towards the 63rd pole position of his career in Shanghai, edging out Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by just under two tenths of a second, with the German claiming second spot on the grid ahead of the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas by just 1000th of a second. Hamilton was the first to make a move in Q1 setting the early pace with a time of 1:33.333. Team-mate Bottas then slotted into P2, four-tenths behind the three-time champion. The Briton’s time in P1 was short, however, as VettelRead More

Friday’s second practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix was cancelled due to poor weather conditions that prevented the medical helicopter from operating. The first session at the Shanghai International Circuit had already been disrupted due to the helicopter not been able to land at the hospital designated for the event, and with little improvement in conditions in the following hours, the start of the second practice period, scheduled for 2pm local time, was delayed. Eventually, with around 12 minutes remaning in the time allotted, the decision was taken toRead More

Max Verstappen set the fastest lap of opening practice for the Chinese Grand Prix in a session heavily disrupted by red flags. In damp and cool conditions Verstappen found a gap between two lengthy stoppages to post a best time of 1:50.491 on intermediate tyres, a lap that put him almost 1.6s clear of Williams’ Felipe Massa. The session got under way at the scheduled time but was halted soon after as weather conditions elsewhere in Shanghai made it impossible for the medical helicopter to land at the hospital designatedRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Ever since Nico Rosberg’s maiden victory at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai International Circuit has been one of Mercedes best tracks on the F1 calendar. Despite Fernando Alonso’s a stunning victory in 2013, the silver arrows have taken pole position every year since 2012 and have won the race every year since 2014. 2016 Champion Nico Rosberg has won it twice, but it’s really three time champ Lewis Hamilton who is the king of China; he has five poles and four wins from 10 startsRead More