China 2010

AFTER ALL THE FREE PRACTICE SESSIONS, MCLAREN LOOKED TO BE THE TEAM TO BEAT - FERRARI HAD PROBLEMS WITH YET ANOTHER ENGINE, RED BULL SEEMED TO BE OFF THE PACE AND ONLY MERCEDES OF THE TOP FOUR TEAMS LOOKED LIKELY TO CHALLENGE.

AFTER SATURDAY QUALIFYING, IT WAS ODDS-ON THAT RED BULL HAD IT IN THEIR POCKET WITH 2 PERFECT LAPS FROM SEBASTIEN VETTEL (POLE POSITION) AND MARK WEBBER (SECOND) THAT ENABLED THEM TO LOCK-OUT THE FRONT ROW.

ON SUNDAY, THE WEATHER CHOSE TO INTERVENE WITH LIGHT RAIN JUST BEFORE THE START. IT WAS NOT HEAVY ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY INTERMEDIATE TYRES BUT THE INDICATIONS WERE THAT IT WOULD GET HEAVIER. SO ALL THE TEAMS STARTED ON DRY-WEATHER TYRES.

FERNANDO ALONSO WAS JUST A LITTLE TOO EAGER TO 'TEST THE WATER' SO TO SPEAK AND JUMPED THE START. SEBASTIEN VETTEL HAD HAD TO HAVE A NEW CLUTCH FITTED BEFORE THE START AND SEEMED A LITTLE SLOW OFF THE LINE.

CONSEQUENTLY, THIS ALLOWED NICO ROSBERG AND LEWIS HAMILTON TO GET INTO THE ACTION AT THE FIRST TURN. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS, THE RAIN CAME DOWN MORE HEAVILY AND MOST DRIVERS OPTED TO PIT TO CHANGE TO INTERMEDIATE TYRES. SIGNIFICANTLY, NOTABLE ABSENTEES FROM THE PITS WERE NICO ROSBERG, RUNNING 2ND BUT POTENTIAL LEADER BECAUSE OF FERNANDO'S CERTAIN PENALTY FOR THE JUMP START, AND JENSON BUTTON, CURRENTLY 3RD. THEY PREFERRED TO STAY OUT ON THE SLICK TYRES.

ONCE AGAIN, JENSON'S ABILITY AS AN UNOFFICIAL WEATHER FORECASTER PROVED SUPERIOR TO ALL THE OFFICIAL VERSIONS THAT THE OTHER TEAMS WERE USING BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THIS DECISION WON HIM THE RACE. OH YES, A CERTAIN SKILL WHEN DRIVING AN F1 CAR PLAYED NO SMALL PART BECAUSE, IN A RACE THAT PROVED AS TOPSY-TURVY AS CAN BE IMAGINED, HE WAS ABLE TO FEND OFF ALL COMERS.

FERNANDO SERVED HIS DRIVE-THROUGH PENALTY, NICCO'S TYRES LET HIM DOWN AT ONE POINT AND THAT ALLOWED JENSON THROUGH AND JENSON BUILT UP A GOOD LEAD ONLY TO SEE THE SECOND SAFETY CAR INCIDENT REDUCE THAT TO ZERO AGAIN. AT THAT POINT, ALONSO WAS 74 SECONDS ADRIFT OF THE LEADER BUT, IRONICALLY, HIS DAY WAS SAVED YET AGAIN BY A SAFETY CAR INCIDENT (A GENUINE ONE THIS TIME UNLIKE SINGAPORE 2008) AND HE MADE IT IN TO 4TH BY THE FINISH - A 74 SECOND GAP AT THE FINISH WOULD HAVE PUT HIM IN 14TH, ALL OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL.

LEWIS HAMILTON HAD ANOTHER EXCITING RACE - PITTING 4 TIMES TO JENSON'S TWICE - AND IN ONE OF THE PIT STOPS HE AND SEBASTIEN VETTEL HAD A GAME OF CHICKEN DOWN THE PIT-LANE FOR WHICH THEY HAVE BOTH BEEN OFFICIALLY REPRIMANDED. DESPITE ALL THIS, BY THE END HE WAS CHALLENGING BUTTON FOR THE LEAD AND THEY DID APPEAR TO BE GENUINELY FIGHTING EACH OTHER RATHER THAN PLAYING FOLLOW-MY-LEADER.

NICO HAD A WELL-DESERVED 3RD PLACE FINISH AND NOW LEADS HIS ILLUSTRIOUS TEAM-MATE 4 - 0 IN QUALIFYING AND RACE FINISHES. MICHAEL HAD A PARTICULARLY TORRID RACE AND WAS OVERTAKEN MANY TIMES BUT DON'T WRITE HIM OFF YET. THE UPRATED PACKAGE FOR THE MERCEDES DUE AT BARCELONA WILL, NO DOUBT, INCLUDE MEASURES TO MAKE THE CAR FIT HIS STYLE MORE THAN IT DOES AT PRESENT AND MAY POSSIBLY DISADVANTAGE ROSBERG. TIME WILL TELL.

THE TWO RED BULL DRIVERS HARDLY FEATURED, THE FERRARIS FARED A LITTLE BETTER BUT THE BIG WINNERS WERE JENSON BUTTON, HIS 2ND VICTORY OUT OF THE FOUR RACES SO FAR AND LEADING THE TITLE RACE BY 10 POINTS, AND MCLAREN WHO TURNED A 13-POINT DEFICIT IN THE CONSTRUCTORS TITLE RACE TO A 19-POINT LEAD.

THE ONLY QUESTION STILL UNRESOLVED AS THE RACE FINISHED WAS 'WOULD THE F1 PARTICIPANTS EVER MAKE IT OUT OF CHINA IN TIME TO GET TO BARCELONA IN 3 WEEKS TIME' - ONLY THE ERUPTING ICELANDIC VOLCANO AND, PARTICULARLY, THE ASSOCIATED ASH CLOUD THAT HAS CLOSED EUROPEAN AIR SPACE, KNOWS THE ANSWER TO THAT.

Race Results posted by
David Little
19th April 2010

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