Background
Heading into the event, Jenson Button of Brawn GP led the Drivers' Championship by 5 points from team-mate Rubens Barrichello and by a further 1.5 points from Jarno Trulli of Toyota . Brawn GP led Toyota by 8.5 points in the Constructors' Championship, with Renault and BMW Sauber a further 12.5 points behind.
Race
Ferrari announced that its team manager Luca Baldisserri was taken off the track operations to be replaced by race engineer Chris Dyer . The reshuffle was undertaken after Ferrari failed to score a point in the first two races of the season. Ferrari also announced that both its drivers, Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa , would not use the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) in the race, citing reliability and safety issues. BMW Sauber , on the other hand, declared that Rober... Italian teams and drivers indicated their support for the victims of 2009 L'Aquila earthquake through charity initiative " Abruzzo nel cuore" ( Abruzzo in my heart ) led by Italian drivers Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella . Ferrari displayed the writing "Abruzzo nel cuore" on their cars while Trulli wore the logo on his overalls. The Toro Rosso cars had the message "Vicini All'Abruzzo" ( All neighbouring Abruzzo ) on their cars. Williams' Rosberg was quickest in the practice session on Saturday morning. Rosberg, who slid off the track onto the gravel at the start of the session, timed 1:36.133 to top the timesheets, followed by Trulli and Hamilton. Button finished fourth with Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr. clocking the fifth fastest lap time for the session. Piquet's team-mate Fernando Alonso on the other hand, whose Renault R29 car was fitted with new diffuser and without the KERS, could only manage a time good eno... "...if you only have one lap and if you have [ sic ] any mistake, you go wide or whatever, there is no second chance and it means it is the end. It was not so easy but I am very, very happy. Unbelievable we made it to pole position in the end." Robert Kubica and Timo Glock started from the pit lane. Due to heavy rain, the first eight laps of the race were run under the safety car . Sutil, Rosberg and Alonso made their first pit stops during the safety car period so they were at the back of the pack when the green flag was shown. Lewis Hamilton made early progress and overtook Jarno Trulli and Kimi Räikkönen, before he spun on lap 12 and dropped back to 10th. Meanwhile, Jenson Button overtook Rubens Barrichello for third after the Brazi... Trulli and Räikkönen were quite slow in the early laps and they dropped back. Hamilton made progress once again and was 7th on lap 11 before another mistake which dropped him one place down. Webber made his first scheduled stop on lap 14 and Vettel on the following lap. At this point, Button led from Barrichello, Vettel, Buemi, Massa and Webber. On lap 17, Robert Kubica crashed into Jarno Trulli on the run to the last corner. Kubica damaged his front wing and Trulli his rear wing, which caused him to crawl one lap slowly into the pits to retire. The safety car was deployed due to debris left on the track. While avoiding the slowing Trulli, Vettel suffered a minor collision with Buemi, who damaged his front wing in the process. Buemi made his pit stop at that point, along with both Brawn GP drivers and Sutil, who had his second stop at t... Felipe Massa suffered an electrical problem during the safety car period and he stopped on the back straight. At the restart, Sébastien Bourdais spun before the green flag and dropped a number of places. The race continued with Vettel leading from Button while Webber, Räikkönen, Hamilton, Barrichello, Kovalainen and Buemi rounded out the top eight. Piquet crashed on lap 28 and damaged his front wing but was able to continue. Button missed his braking point at the hairpin on the following lap, allowing Webber through. Webber ran wide two laps later and Button was ahead again, until Webber passed him from the outside in turn 7.
Practice and qualifying
"The car instantly felt a bit better. I can feel more stability and downforce from the front. We've definitely made a step forward for this race. The car feels much stronger through the corners and I think we've got a very positive baseline for the rest of the weekend. My first run on the options felt quite consistent".
Qualifying
Cars that used KERS are marked with "‡"
External links
31°20′20″N 121°13′11″E / 31.33889°N 121.21972°E / 31.33889; 121.21972
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Part 1 | Part 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1:36.565 | 1:35.130 |
| 2 | 7 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:36.443 | 1:35.803 |
| 3 | 14 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:35.751 | 1:35.173 |
| 4 | 23 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 1:35.701 | 1:35.503 |
| 5 | 22 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 1:35.533 | 1:35.556 |
| 6 | 9 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:36.308 | 1:35.645 |
| 7 | 16 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 1:35.941 | 1:35.809 |
| 8 | 4 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:36.137 | 1:35.856 |
| 9 | 1‡ | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:35.776 | 1:35.740 |
| 10 | 12 | Sébastien Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1:36.284 | 1:35.965 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
Hold your breath. The Shanghai air crackles – a Red Bull first! Vettel, a name etched in the history books, secures the checkered flag, the Renault engine screaming a defiant chorus as he claims his maiden victory. A 2. 0-liter heart, delivering 640 horsepower, propelled him through the corners with brutal precision, showcasing the team's strategic dominance. Webber, close behind, demonstrated the Red Bull's chassis agility, a testament to their relentless pursuit of speed.
Hold on to your helmets! The air here in Shanghai is thick with anticipation, a palpable tension as Vettel explodes from pole – the *very first* Red Bull victory, a seismic shift in this championship. Observe! Just *three* drivers, Red Bull and Brawn GP, claimed the top three spots, a brutal concentration of power. This isn't just a win; it's a statement, a calculated demolition of the established order, and frankly, a statistical anomaly considering the McLaren and Toyota presence.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The air crackles! Webber's charging, a crimson blur stalking his younger brother – can he seize this moment, this desperate gamble for the lead? Button's relentless, a blue missile cutting through the pack, but the gap… it's a chasm now, isn't it? Vettel, untouchable, a statue of pure dominance, the weight of the championship pressing down on him. This isn't just a race; this is a psychological war waged at 200+ miles per hour. The tension is a physical force, you can feel it. A single mistake and the whole thing unravels. This is what it's all about!
The rain… it's a serpent, isn't it? Coiling around the track, threatening to swallow everything whole. Look at Vettel – a predator, utterly unfazed. He's absorbing the chaos, feeding off the tension. That first Red Bull victory, a seismic shift, a declaration. Webber, beside him, a stoic shadow, a brilliant second place earned. Brawn GP, a force unleashed, Button and Barrichello seizing the moment. This isn't just a race; it's a coronation.