The predicted rain arrived ahead of the start of the Chinese Grand Prix resulting in the race starting behind the safety car, very reminiscent to the Japanese Grand Prix of 2007. After claiming pole position yesterday in style, Sebastian Vettel took advantage of his position at the head of the field and went on to dominate the 56-lap race.
It was however a far from easy victory for Vettel, who led home team-mate Mark Webber to record Red Bull Renault’s first win, as the persistent rain ensured that the result was far from certain until the very second he took the chequered flag almost two hours after the race first began.
After eight laps behind the safety car the race got underway properly on lap nine with Fernando Alonso having already relinquished his second position with a very early pit stop. The Red Bull duo of Vettel and Webber were quickly able to establish a gap over Jenson Button who passed his Brawn Mercedes team-mate Rubens Barrichello early in the race.
With an 11 second advantage at the head of the field Vettel pitted on lap 15 and Webber shortly repeated the procedure leaving Button at the head of the field. Further back down the order Jarno Trulli was really struggling in the conditions and heading to the final turn on lap 18 was hit hard from behind by Robert Kubica’s BMW Sauber. Trulli’s Toyota was extensively damaged and he was out of the race and the safety car was deployed.
Jenson Button’s 14 second lead at the head of the pack was immediately negated to nothing as he headed to the pits for this first stop. From that point onwards, Vettel and Webber dominated at the front as they traded fastest laps and eased away to a comfortable victory from Button. Webber finished 11 seconds behind Vettel and kept the pressure on his young team-mate and while he will be happy with the result for the team, having your team-mate record the team’s first victory will be tough to take.
Jenson Button took the chequered flag in third position, 34 seconds behind Vettel, while Rubens Barrichello had a low-key race in the second Brawn Mercedes and was never really on the pace of the front runners. The decision not to change his wet tyres in the second and final pit stop put him under pressure from those close behind, but the Brazilian veteran held on to retain the position.
FINAL RESULTS:
1) Sebastien Vettel - Red Bull - Renault
2) Mark Webber - Red Bull - Renault
3) Jenson Button - Brawn GP - Mercedes
4) Rubens Barichello - Brawn GP - Mercedes
5) Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren - Mercedes
6) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes
7) Timo Glock - Toyota
8) Sebastien Buemi - Scuderia Toro Rosso - Ferrari
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