2011 Chinese Grand Prix
2011 Chinese Grand Prix
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2011 Chinese Grand Prix

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2011 Chinese Grand Prix
Race 3 of 19 in the 2011 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 17 April 2011
Official name 2011 Formula 1 UBS Chinese Grand Prix
Location Shanghai International Circuit
Shanghai, People's Republic of China
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.451 km (3.387 miles)
Distance 56 laps, 305.066 km (189.559 miles)
Weather

Fine and Dry[1] Air Temp 22 °C (72 °F)[1]


Track Temp 32 °C (90 °F) dropping to 26 °C (79 °F)[1]
Pole position
Driver
Red Bull Racing-Renault
Time 1:33.706
Fastest lap
Driver Australia Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault
Time 1:38.993 on lap 42
Podium
First
McLaren-Mercedes
Second
Red Bull Racing-Renault
Third
Red Bull Racing-Renault
Lap leaders

The 2011 Chinese Grand Prix (formally the 2011 Formula 1 UBS Chinese Grand Prix)[2] was a Formula One motor race held on 17 April 2011 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It was the third round of the 2011 Formula One season. The 56-lap race was won by McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton after starting from third on the grid, also becoming the first ever multiple winner of the Chinese Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel finished second in a Red Bull Racing, having started from pole position, and teammate Mark Webber completed the podium, in third place having started eighteenth.[3]

As a consequence of the race, Vettel's lead in the World Drivers' Championship was cut to 21 points by Hamilton, who moved into second place in the championship. Hamilton's McLaren teammate Jenson Button, who finished fourth in China, fell 9 points behind Hamilton in third, a single point ahead of Webber. In the World Constructors' Championship, Red Bull's championship lead was also cut from 24 points to 20 by McLaren, with Ferrari a further 35 points behind in third position after drivers Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso finished in sixth and seventh places respectively.

Report

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Background

[edit]

Heading into the race, Sebastian Vettel led the Championship on the maximum 50 points after winning the first two races. Jenson Button was in second place in the standings after a 2nd and a 6th that put him on 26 points - just over half Vettel's total, and almost a race win behind. The other McLaren of Lewis Hamilton and yet to reach the podium, Mark Webber, were third and fourth respectively, both on 22 points. Fernando Alonso was fifth with 20 points, followed by Heidfeld on 17, Massa on 16 and Petrov on 15. In both races thus far in 2011 the podium had featured Vettel as the winner, a McLaren in second place and a Renault in third.

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the yellow-banded soft compound as the softer "option" compound. This was the same tyre selection that Bridgestone had chosen bring to the Chinese Grand Prix for the previous year.[4][5]

In the Constructors' table, Red Bull Racing led with 72 points, one and a half times McLaren's score (48), and double Ferrari's (36). Despite having two podiums, Renault were still behind Ferrari; but only just - with 30 points - and were putting up a good fight for the time being. Sauber were fifth in the standings, with 6 points, Toro Rosso and Force India had 4, and Mercedes had 2. By this point of the season, Williams were yet to finish a race.

Qualifying

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Sebastian Vettel took a comfortable pole position in qualifying, with the second placed Jenson Button 0.7 seconds behind him and Button's McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton in third. Mark Webber had a torrid session, eliminated in the first part of qualifying after electrical problems in the earlier free practice, placing him 18th on the starting grid.[6]

Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes found himself fourth, Rosberg also recorded the fastest time of the first part of the qualifying session. Behind him were the Ferraris of Alonso and Massa, who had been unable to keep up with the pace of Red Bull or McLaren, Alonso recording a time almost a second off Vettel's pole position lap. Vitaly Petrov recorded a time in part two that got him through to the final part of qualifying, however, his car developed problems and stopped on the track, meaning he was unable to take part in the final session and would take the tenth place on the grid.[6]

Race

[edit]

Lewis Hamilton faced a stressful situation just minutes before the start of the race; a fuel problem with his car meant that if he had started his journey to the grid just 35 seconds later, he would have had to start from the pit-lane.[7] Hamilton however, went on to a thrilling three-stop race, overtaking his two-stopping rival and World Drivers' Championship leader Sebastian Vettel on lap 52 of the 56 lap race.[7] Vettel had had a poor start to his race, being beaten on the first lap by both McLarens, with Jenson Button initially holding the upper hand, but his teammate Hamilton putting in a series of fastest laps that would ultimately give him victory to Button's fourth-place finish.[8] Also Hamilton performed an overtake on his teammate in Turn 1, about the midpoint of the race to take second place.

Mark Webber drove a spectacular race from 18th on the starting grid to bring his Red Bull to the chequered flag in 3rd position, beating Jenson Button for the final podium place on only the last lap.[8] Button had made a terrible mistake on the 15th lap when bringing his car into the pits, stopping in the Red Bull pit before being waved off by the Red Bull mechanics into his own McLaren pit one place ahead. The mistake cost Button time, as it did for Sebastian Vettel who was also coming into the pits and had to wait behind Button for him to realise his error; although Button entered the pits in the lead, but exited behind Vettel.[7] Jaime Alguersuari lost a wheel on his exit from the pits on lap 10, forcing his retirement from the race.[8] He was the race's only retirement, meaning that this race set the record for the most finishers (23). The record was beaten later in the season, in Valencia, where all 24 starters finished the race.

The race cut Sebastian Vettel's championship lead to 21 points from second placed Lewis Hamilton, with Red Bull constructors lead to McLaren falling to 20 points. Hamilton was ecstatic after his victory, saying "It was one of the best races I've experienced. It feels amazing to be able to bring home a victory for the guys in the factory."[8]

Due to the lack of all but one retirement in the course of the race and the size of the grid at the time, Narain Karthikeyan posted a finishing position of 23rd for HRT. This would earn Karthikeyan the title of the lowest finishing position ever recorded in Formula One history at the time. This record would then be broken five races later when Karthikeyan posted a 24th finishing position at the 2011 European Grand Prix.

Classification

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Qualifying

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Grid
1 1 Germany Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:35.674 1:34.776 1:33.706 1
2 4 United Kingdom Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.924 1:34.662 1:34.421 2
3 3 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.091 1:34.486 1:34.463 3
4 8 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:35.272 1:35.850 1:34.670 4
5 5 Spain Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:35.389 1:35.165 1:35.119 5
6 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.478 1:35.437 1:35.145 6
7 19 Spain Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:36.133 1:35.563 1:36.158 7
8 15 United Kingdom Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:35.702 1:35.858 1:36.190 8
9 18 Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:36.110 1:35.500 1:36.203 9
10 10 Russia Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:35.370 1:35.149 no time1 10
11 14 Germany Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:36.092 1:35.874 11
12 17 Mexico Sergio Pérez Sauber-Ferrari 1:36.046 1:36.053 12
13 16 Japan Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:36.147 1:36.236 13
14 7 Germany Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:35.508 1:36.457 14
15 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:35.911 1:36.465 15
16 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Renault 1:35.910 1:36.611 16
17 12 Venezuela Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1:36.121 1:36.956 17
18 2 Australia Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:36.468 18
19 20 Finland Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1:37.894 19
20 21 Italy Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1:38.318 20
21 25 Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:39.119 21
22 24 Germany Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:39.708 22
23 23 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1:40.212 23
24 22 India Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1:40.445 24
107% time: 1:41.941
Source:[9]

Notes

  1. ^ – Vitaly Petrov stopped on track during Q2. While the lap time he posted managed to get him into Q3, he was not able to take further part in the qualifying session.

Race

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 3 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 56 1:36:58.226 3 25
2 1 Germany Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 56 +5.198 1 18
3 2 Australia Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 56 +7.555 18 15
4 4 United Kingdom Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 56 +10.000 2 12
5 8 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes 56 +13.448 4 10
6 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari 56 +15.840 6 8
7 5 Spain Fernando Alonso Ferrari 56 +30.622 5 6
8 7 Germany Michael Schumacher Mercedes 56 +31.026 14 4
9 10 Russia Vitaly Petrov Renault 56 +57.404 10 2
10 16 Japan Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 56 +1:03.273 13 1
11 15 United Kingdom Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 56 +1:08.757 8
12 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Renault 56 +1:12.739 16
13 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 56 +1:30.189 15
14 18 Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 56 +1:30.671 9
15 14 Germany Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 55 +1 Lap 11
16 20 Finland Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 55 +1 Lap 19
17 17 Mexico Sergio Pérez Sauber-Ferrari 55 +1 Lap 12
18 12 Venezuela Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 55 +1 Lap 17
19 21 Italy Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 55 +1 Lap 20
20 25 Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 54 +2 Laps 21
21 24 Germany Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 54 +2 Laps 22
22 23 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 54 +2 Laps 23
23 22 India Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 54 +2 Laps 24
Ret 19 Spain Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 9 Wheel 7
Source:[10]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

2011 Chinese Grand Prix

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from Grokipedia
The 2011 Chinese Grand Prix was the third round of the 2011 Formula One World Championship, held on 17 April 2011 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China.[1] The 56-lap race, covering a distance of 305.066 km (189.559 miles), was won by Lewis Hamilton driving for McLaren-Mercedes, marking his second victory at the circuit and his first win of the season after a dramatic overtaking maneuver on the final laps.[1][2] Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing finished second after leading much of the race, while teammate Mark Webber recovered from 18th on the grid to take third place.[1][2] The event took place under fine and dry conditions, with air temperatures around 22 °C (72 °F) and track temperatures starting at 32 °C (90 °F) before dropping to 26 °C (79 °F), contributing to a challenging tire management scenario throughout the weekend.[3] Pole position was secured by Sebastian Vettel with a lap time of 1:33.706, ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button and Hamilton in third.[4] The race highlighted contrasting pit strategies, as Hamilton and Webber employed a successful three-stop approach using softer Pirelli compounds to gain pace in the closing stages, while Vettel's two-stop plan kept him ahead until Hamilton passed him on lap 52.[2] Notable incidents included a pre-race fuel leak on Hamilton's McLaren that nearly prevented his start but was resolved just in time, and Button's costly error of pitting into the wrong garage (Red Bull's) on lap 14, dropping him to fourth after recovering strongly.[2] The race saw only one retirement, with Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari sidelined on lap 9 due to a rear wheel failure; this resulted in a then-record 23 classified finishers, with HRT's Narain Karthikeyan posting the lowest finishing position in F1 history at that time in 23rd (later broken by Karthikeyan himself with 24th at the 2011 European Grand Prix).[1][2][5][6] Overall, the Grand Prix underscored McLaren's resurgence against Red Bull's early-season dominance, with Hamilton's win reducing Vettel's championship lead to 10 points after three races.[1][2]

Report

Background

The 2011 Formula One World Championship began with the Australian Grand Prix on 27 March, where Sebastian Vettel secured victory for Red Bull Racing ahead of Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren, marking a strong start for the defending champions. The following round, the Malaysian Grand Prix on 10 April, saw Vettel claim his second consecutive win in wet conditions, with Jenson Button finishing second for McLaren, highlighting the competitive early-season battle between Red Bull and McLaren. The Chinese Grand Prix, held on 17 April as the third round of the 19-race season, arrived amid ongoing development in the new 2.4-litre V8 engine era and the reintroduction of kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) after a two-year absence.[7][8] Heading into Shanghai, Vettel led the Drivers' Championship with 50 points from his two victories, followed by Hamilton with 33 points and Button with 26 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull held a commanding lead with 60 points, ahead of McLaren on 59 and Ferrari on 30, underscoring the Austrian team's early dominance despite close competition from their rivals. Teams continued to refine their cars, with McLaren introducing minor aerodynamic adjustments to the MP4-26's floor and sidepods for better downforce efficiency, while Red Bull emphasized reliability enhancements to the RB7 following the variable conditions in Malaysia. The Shanghai International Circuit, a 5.451 km track featuring a mix of long straights, high-speed corners, and a distinctive tightening hairpin, had hosted Formula One events since its debut in 2004. The layout demanded versatile setups, with the 1.2 km front straight ideal for overtaking and the 16-turn configuration testing tire management over 56 laps, totaling 305.066 km. Previous winners at the venue included Lewis Hamilton in 2008 for McLaren. Pirelli, Formula One's sole tire supplier in 2011, allocated the hard compound (marked silver) as the prime tire and the soft compound (marked yellow) as the option for the Chinese Grand Prix, requiring teams to use both during the weekend to gather data on degradation. This selection suited the circuit's abrasive surface and variable weather, promoting strategic diversity in pit stops and setups.

Practice Sessions

The first free practice session (FP1) on Friday morning was held in dry conditions with an air temperature of approximately 22°C. Sebastian Vettel topped the timings for Red Bull Racing with a lap of 1:38.739, 0.615 seconds ahead of teammate Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton placed third for McLaren, 2.106 seconds off the pace, while Jenson Button was fourth, 2.201 seconds down but hampered by a brief KERS malfunction that delayed his running. Nick Heidfeld completed the top five in the Renault, though he spun into the barriers late in the session after reporting handling issues; the incident did not trigger a red flag. The 90-minute session highlighted Red Bull's early dominance, with the track initially dirty from limited prior use, affecting overall lap times.[9][10] FP2, also lasting 90 minutes later that Friday afternoon under similar dry conditions, saw Vettel quickest again at 1:37.688, with Hamilton narrowing the gap to just 0.166 seconds in second place. Button was third, 0.247 seconds behind Vettel, and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg fourth, 0.255 seconds off the benchmark. Webber, however, could only manage 10th, 1.639 seconds slower, as teams shifted focus to long-run simulations on the hard and soft Pirelli compounds to evaluate race setups and tire degradation over extended stints. No significant interruptions occurred, though several drivers, including Vitaly Petrov in the second Renault, reported minor setup tweaks needed for balance. Red Bull maintained their edge in sector times, particularly through the high-speed corners.[11][12] In the shorter 60-minute FP3 on Saturday morning, conducted in dry conditions that allowed for softer tire runs, Vettel secured top spot for the third consecutive session with 1:34.968. Button was closest in second, 0.208 seconds adrift, followed by Hamilton 0.405 seconds back, demonstrating McLaren's improved single-lap pace. Rosberg took fourth for Mercedes, 0.709 seconds off, and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso fifth, 0.850 seconds down. Webber struggled in 10th place, 1.319 seconds slower than Vettel, citing suboptimal setup adjustments and traffic interference that disrupted his clean laps and dented Red Bull's pre-qualifying confidence. Ferrari remained mired in midfield, with Felipe Massa 13th. The session ran uninterrupted, underscoring Red Bull's consistent advantage while McLaren closed the gap on qualifying simulations.[13][14] Across the weekend, Red Bull exhibited superior outright pace in all sessions, often by margins exceeding a second to their closest rivals, while McLaren displayed strong consistency and Ferrari languished in midfield positions without threatening the leaders.

Qualifying

The qualifying session determined the starting grid for the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix, with no post-qualifying penalties or changes applied to the order.[4]
Pos.DriverTeamTimeGap
1Sebastian VettelRed Bull Racing-Renault1:33.706-
2Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1:34.421+0.715
3Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1:34.463+0.757
4Nico RosbergMercedes1:34.670+0.964
5Fernando AlonsoFerrari1:35.119+1.413
6Felipe MassaFerrari1:35.145+1.439
7Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1:36.158+2.452
8Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes1:36.190+2.484
9Sébastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1:36.203+2.497
10Vitaly PetrovRenault1:35.149+1.443
11Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1:35.874+2.168
12Sergio PérezSauber-Ferrari1:36.053+2.347
13Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1:36.147+2.441
14Michael SchumacherMercedes1:36.457+2.751
15Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1:36.465+2.759
16Nick HeidfeldRenault1:36.611+2.905
17Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Cosworth1:36.956+3.250
18Mark WebberRed Bull Racing-Renault1:36.468+2.762
19Heikki KovalainenLotus-Renault1:37.894+4.188
20Jarno TrulliLotus-Renault1:38.318+4.612
21Jérôme d'AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth1:39.119+5.413
22Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1:39.708+6.002
23Vitantonio LiuzziHRT-Cosworth1:40.212+6.506
24Narain KarthikeyanHRT-Cosworth1:40.445+6.739
Times reflect the fastest lap in the driver's final qualifying session (Q3 for top 10, Q2 for 11th–17th, Q1 for 18th–24th); gaps are to the pole time.[4]

Race

The final classification of the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix, held over 56 laps at the Shanghai International Circuit, is shown below. Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes won the race in a time of 1:36:58.226, securing 25 points under the season's scoring system (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 for positions 1 through 10).[1]
PosGridDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredPitsPts
13Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes561:36:58.226325
21Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault56+5.198218
318Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault56+7.555315
42Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes56+10.000312
54Nico RosbergMercedes56+13.448310
66Felipe MassaFerrari56+15.84028
75Fernando AlonsoFerrari56+30.62226
814Michael SchumacherMercedes56+31.02634
910Vitaly PetrovRenault56+57.40432
1013Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari56+63.27331
118Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes56+68.75720
1216Nick HeidfeldRenault56+72.73930
1315Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth56+90.18930
149Sébastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari56+90.67130
1511Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes55+1 lap30
1619Heikki KovalainenLotus-Renault55+1 lap30
1712Sergio PérezSauber-Ferrari55+1 lap40
1817Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Cosworth55+1 lap30
1920Jarno TrulliLotus-Renault55+1 lap30
2021Jérôme d'AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth54+2 laps30
2122Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth54+2 laps30
2223Vitantonio LiuzziHRT-Cosworth54+2 laps30
2324Narain KarthikeyanHRT-Cosworth54+2 laps30
Ret7Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari9Gearbox10
The table includes finishing positions, starting grid positions, drivers, constructors, laps completed, time or gap to the leader (or retirement reason), number of pit stops, and points awarded. No drivers retired other than Alguersuari.[1][4][15] The fastest lap of the race was recorded by Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) with a time of 1:38.993 on lap 42.[16]

Classification

Qualifying

The qualifying session determined the starting grid for the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix, with no post-qualifying penalties or changes applied to the order.[4]
Pos.DriverTeamTimeGap
1Sebastian VettelRed Bull Racing-Renault1:33.706-
2Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1:34.421+0.715
3Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1:34.463+0.757
4Nico RosbergMercedes1:34.670+0.964
5Fernando AlonsoFerrari1:35.119+1.413
6Felipe MassaFerrari1:35.145+1.439
7Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1:36.158+2.452
8Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes1:36.190+2.484
9Sébastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1:36.203+2.497
10Vitaly PetrovRenault1:35.149+1.443
11Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1:35.874+2.168
12Sergio PérezSauber-Ferrari1:36.053+2.347
13Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1:36.147+2.441
14Michael SchumacherMercedes1:35.508+1.802
15Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1:36.465+2.759
16Nick HeidfeldRenault1:36.611+2.905
17Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Cosworth1:36.956+3.250
18Mark WebberRed Bull Racing-Renault1:36.468+2.762
19Heikki KovalainenLotus-Renault1:37.894+4.188
20Jarno TrulliLotus-Renault1:38.318+4.612
21Jérôme d'AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth1:39.119+5.413
22Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1:39.708+6.002
23Vitantonio LiuzziHRT-Cosworth1:40.212+6.506
24Narain KarthikeyanHRT-Cosworth1:40.445+6.739
Times reflect the fastest lap in the driver's final qualifying session (Q3 for top 10, Q2 for 11th–17th, Q1 for 18th–24th); gaps are to the pole time.[4]

Race

The final classification of the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix, held over 56 laps at the Shanghai International Circuit, is shown below. Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes won the race in a time of 1:36:58.226, securing 25 points under the season's scoring system (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 for positions 1 through 10).[1]
PosGridDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredPitsPts
13Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes561:36:58.226325
21Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault56+5.198218
318Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault56+7.555315
42Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes56+10.000312
54Nico RosbergMercedes56+13.448310
66Felipe MassaFerrari56+15.84028
75Fernando AlonsoFerrari56+30.62226
814Michael SchumacherMercedes56+31.02634
910Vitaly PetrovRenault56+57.40422
1013Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari56+63.27321
118Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes56+68.75720
1216Nick HeidfeldRenault56+72.73920
1315Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth56+90.18920
149Sébastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari56+90.67130
1511Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes55+1 lap30
1619Heikki KovalainenLotus-Renault55+1 lap20
1712Sergio PérezSauber-Ferrari55+1 lap40
1817Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Cosworth55+1 lap30
1920Jarno TrulliLotus-Renault55+1 lap20
2021Jérôme d'AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth54+2 laps20
2122Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth54+2 laps30
2223Vitantonio LiuzziHRT-Cosworth54+2 laps30
2324Narain KarthikeyanHRT-Cosworth54+2 laps10
Ret7Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari9Wheel10
The table includes finishing positions, starting grid positions, drivers, constructors, laps completed, time or gap to the leader (or retirement reason), number of pit stops, and points awarded. No drivers retired other than Alguersuari.[1][4][15] The fastest lap of the race was recorded by Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) with a time of 1:38.993 on lap 42.[16]

Post-Race

Championship Standings

After the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix, the third round of the season, Sebastian Vettel maintained his lead in the Drivers' Championship with 68 points, having accumulated 25 points from Australia, 25 from Malaysia, and 18 from China. Lewis Hamilton's victory in China propelled him to second place with 47 points (18 from Australia, 4 from Malaysia, and 25 from China), closing the gap to Vettel from 28 points pre-race to 21 points. Jenson Button moved to third with 38 points (8 from Australia, 18 from Malaysia, and 12 from China), despite the earlier deficit. The full top 10 Drivers' Championship standings were as follows:
PosDriverTeamPoints
1Sebastian VettelRed Bull Racing68
2Lewis HamiltonMcLaren47
3Jenson ButtonMcLaren38
4Mark WebberRed Bull Racing37
5Fernando AlonsoFerrari26
6Felipe MassaFerrari24
7Vitaly PetrovRenault17
8Nick HeidfeldRenault15
9Nico RosbergMercedes10
10Michael SchumacherMercedes6
In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull Racing extended their lead with 105 points (Vettel's 68 plus Webber's 37), increasing their advantage over McLaren from 36 points pre-race. McLaren scored 85 points total (Button's 38 plus Hamilton's 47), thanks to their strong performance in China where they scored 37 points. Ferrari remained third with 50 points (Alonso's 26 plus Massa's 24). The top standings were:
PosConstructorPoints
1Red Bull Racing105
2McLaren85
3Ferrari50
4Renault32
5Mercedes16

Reactions and Analysis

Lewis Hamilton described the victory as one of his top three career wins, emphasizing the satisfaction of earning it through multiple overtakes, including a decisive pass on Sebastian Vettel in the closing stages. He credited McLaren's switch to a three-stop strategy for providing the fresher tires needed to close the gap, stating, "Every inch of the race, every second, was incredibly enjoyable." This marked Hamilton's second win at the Shanghai International Circuit, following his 2008 triumph, and highlighted a strong British performance at the venue.[17] Sebastian Vettel conceded McLaren's superior pace in the race, noting his own challenges with a poor start, tire wear, and intermittent KERS issues that hampered his defense. Despite leading much of the event on a two-stop strategy, he acknowledged the fairness of the battle, saying, "Today I was on my own. It was a bit tricky but in the end we got a good result." Mark Webber, recovering from 18th on the grid to claim third, praised his team's strategy and pit stops, remarking, "I had to pass everybody, I really earned it. The car put up such a fight and the guys never gave up." He also expressed relief at ending Vettel's early-season dominance.[18][19] McLaren expressed satisfaction with their 1-4 finish—Hamilton first, Jenson Button fourth—despite Button's pit-stop blunder where he erroneously stopped in Red Bull's garage, briefly handing the lead to Vettel. The team viewed the error as forgivable, noting it may have inadvertently aided their overall strategy by bunching the field. Red Bull had mixed emotions: disappointment over Vettel's lost win but elation at Webber's podium charge, which showcased the RB7's reliability despite KERS glitches for Vettel.[20] Pirelli highlighted how the tires' degradation profile in the dry conditions favored multi-stop approaches, with the softer compounds wearing rapidly to encourage overtaking and strategic variety—evidenced by 54 total pit stops. The three-stop strategy proved decisive for McLaren and Webber, allowing fresher rubber to exploit the track's long corners and abrasive surface.[21][3] The race's high reliability, including consistent enforcement of the 107% qualifying rule to ensure competitive starts, resulted in 23 finishers—the only retirement being Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari on lap nine. This outcome tightened the drivers' championship after Vettel's wins in the opening two rounds, reducing his lead to 21 points over Hamilton entering the next event.[5][1]
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