Round 3 of the Formula 1 championship took place in China on Sunday and if you weren’t lucky enough to catch the race, make sure you record a repeat or watch it on the internet because it was an absolute cracker. Before the start of the race we knew that Lewis Hamilton would start from the back of the grid because of his failure to qualify after suffering engine issues. A new engine and having the defending champion start from the back of the grid was always a mouth-watering prospect and it delivered just that.

1^st Nico Rosberg

After starting from pole position the German lost the lead to the surprise package of Daniel Ricciardo but after the Aussie picked up a puncture Rosberg took the lead and never looked back to win the race by over 30 seconds. Three out of three for the championship leader.

2^nd Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari had a poor start to the race. Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen made contact in the first corner following a late dive up the inside from Daniil Kvyat which scared Vettel into slightly open his steering. Unfortunately it was straight into the back right wheel of Räikkönen. The German dropped down the field with front wing damage but still fought back valiantly for a podium position.

3^rd Daniil Kvyat

A great start plus the advantage of pitting at the perfect time under the safety car saw the Russian finish on the podium. After all the chaos at turn 1 the marshals had no other choice than to send out the safety car. Right time, right place benefitted Kvyat perfectly.

4^th Daniel Ricciardo

It was a case of “What could have been” for the Australian who will rue the debris on the track. The Red Bull racing driver was leading before picking up a puncture which ended his podium hopes.

5^th Kimi Räikkönen

After being tagged by his teammate on the first corner of the opening lap the Fin dropped to the back of the field but he had plenty of company in the likes of Lewis Hamilton. Räikkönen came out tops in that battle to come home in a well deserved 5^th place.

6^th Felipe Massa

With all the drama around him, Massa managed to keep his nose clean and had a “quiet” run to the finish line. Don’t be fooled, there was plenty of overtaking needed with numerous teams opting for very different tyre strategies across the entire field. 

7^th Lewis Hamilton

The defending champion had one instruction, keep out of trouble at the start of the race and make it through the first corner. Did he listen, well he tried, but unfortunately the concertina effect that began with the Daniil Kvyat’s lunge down the inside of Vettel saw Hamilton lose his front wing. Unavoidable contact with Felipe Nasr saw Hamilton enter the pits at the end of the opening lap, his first stop of five throughout the race. The Brit fought his way up towards the podium positions but his car never looked comfortable after the collision in turn 1 and he would eventually slip back to 7^th.

The two Torro Rosso’s finished 8^th and 9^th with Max Verstappen winning the inter-team battle against Carlos Sainz Jr.  

In part 2 we look at each team’s performances and rate their chances for the rest of the season.

Chris Fletcher

Totally mad about everything that burns rubber, Two or Four Wheels; Motogp, Superbikes, Motocross, F1 etc... When in doubt, MORE THROTTLE!!! Follow him @ChrisFletch46