Chinese GP: Kimi Raikkonen Ultimate Winner of the Weekend

Chinese GP Results
1 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:37:58.395
2 F. Alonso McLaren + 9.800
3 F. Massa Ferrari + 45.800
4 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso + 53.500
5 J. Button Honda + 1:08.600
6 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1:13.600
7 N. Heidfeld BMW + 1:14.200
8 D. Coulthard Red Bull + 1:20.700
9 H. Kovalainen Renault + 1:21.100
10 M. Webber Red Bull + 1:24.600
11 G. Fisichella Renault + 1:26.600
12 A. Wurz Williams + 1 laps
13 J. Trulli Toyota + 1 laps
14 T. Sato Super Aguri + 1 laps
15 R. Barrichello Honda + 1 laps
16 N. Rosberg Williams + 2 laps
17 S. Yamamoto Spyker F1 + 3 laps
Did not finish
18 R. Kubica BMW + 23 laps
19 L. Hamilton McLaren + 26 laps
20 R. Schumacher Toyota + 31 laps
21 A. Sutil Spyker F1 + 32 laps
22 A. Davidson Super Aguri + 45 laps

Source: PlanetF1

Lewis Hamilton's bright beginning to the Chinese GP ended off with a dramatic and tragical sizzle. At the start of the race, light rain began to drizzle down the track and the teams all opted for the Intermediate tires. Lewis Hamilton kept a strong hole on the first position, and at one point, even opened up a wide gap between him and 2nd placed Kimi Raikkonen.

The top 4 drivers - Lewis, Kimi, Fernando and Massa went into the pits and made the decision not to change their intermediate tires (which were beginning to become slick tires given their wear-and-tear) since it looked like the track was beginning to dry up. Massa began to experience problems with his intermediate tires first as he struggled for grip on the track. Fernando Alonso had a couple of run-offs but managed to keep his third place, while Lewis Hamilton, under the tremendous pressure from Kimi Raikkonen, lost out the most.

As he was coming into the pitlane for tire change, he was unable to stop his car from sliding off the track and into the gravel at the pitlane entry. He was unable to get his stuck car out of the gravel even with the help of race marshalls. That was the end of the race for him, and he collected no points at all.

Kimi Raikkonen then went on to collect the 200th victory for Ferrari, which is also the 600th time a Ferrari driver has gotten onto the podium, while his teammate Felipe Massa finished in third place, behind Mclaren's Fernando Alonso.

Sebastian Vettel, with an impressive one stop strategy, finished in the 4th spot ahead of the Honda of Jenson Button, while the other Toro Rosso Vitantonio Liuzzi finished in 6th place. Toro Rosso had a really great weekend as they collect their first points finishes. Nick Heidfeld managed a disappointing 7th position, having struggled all weekend, while Red Bull's David Coulthard took the last point-finishing spot.

With just one race left, the drivers head to the Brazillian Grand Prix in 2 weeks' time with this standing:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 107 points
2. Fernando Alonso- 103 points
3. Kimi Raikkonen - 100 points

Just 7 points separate the top 3 drivers.

For Lewis Hamilton, all he needed to do is to finish ahead of both Fernando and Kimi to win his first championship title.

For Fernando Alonso, he needs Lewis Hamilton to finish 5 points behind him, and Kimi Raikkonen to finish behind him.

For Kimi Raikkonen, he would need a victory for himself, Lewis Hamilton to finish 6th or below, and Fernando Alonso to finish 3rd or below to collect his first, and long awaited drivers' championship title.

Chinese GP Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton Takes Pole

Qualifying Times
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:35.908
02 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.044
03 F. Massa Ferrari 1:36.221
04 F. Alonso McLaren 1:36.576
05 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:37.619
06 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:38.013
07 M. Webber Red Bull 1:38.153
08 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:38.455
09 R. Kubica BMW 1:38.472
10 J. Button Honda 1:39.285
11 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:36.862
12 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:36.891
13 J. Trulli Toyota 1:36.959
14 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:36.991
15 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:37.247
16 N. Rosberg Williams 1:37.483
17 R. Barrichello Honda 1:37.251
18 G. Fisichella Renault 1:37.290
19 A. Wurz Williams 1:37.456
20 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:38.218
21 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:38.668
22 S. Yamamoto Spyker F1 1:39.336

Source: PlanetF1

Lewis Hamilton once again convince the world why he is deserving to be the youngest world champion at his debut season, with a strong show in the Chinese Grand Prix qualifying session. Never having set a single fastest timing throughout the practices (Kimi Raikkonen took the P1 in all 3 practices), Lewis stunned the crowd with an impressive performance.

Kimi Raikkonen, on the other hand, could not match the rookie's timing and could only settle for the second spot. Ferrari's other driver Felipe Massa took the third position, while Mclaren's Fernando Alonso managed only a fourth position surprisingly, given his practice timings.

Red Bull looks set for another great weekend with David Coulthard getting the 5th position, ahead of Ralf Schumacher's Toyota, and David's teammate Mark Webber took the 7th position. Nick Heidfeld's BMW was disappointing and the German could only just manage a 8th place ahead of his teammate Robert Kubica. Jenson Button finished up the top ten position in his Honda.

Chinese GP Practice 3: Kimi Fastest But Hit By Reliability Issues

Practice 3 Times
01 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.100 15 laps
02 F. Alonso McLaren 1:36.126 13 laps
03 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:36.227 14 laps
04 F. Massa Ferrari 1:36.405 14 laps
05 R. Schumacher Toyota 36.959 18 laps
06 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:36.964 13 laps
07 R. Kubica BMW 1:37.024 23 laps
08 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:37.106 14 laps
09 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:37.176 18 laps
10 M. Webber Red Bull 1:37.315 13 laps
11 N. Rosberg Williams 1:37.323 16 laps
12 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.463 18 laps
13 J. Button Honda 1:37.564 19 laps
14 J. Trulli Toyota 1:37.679 20 laps
15 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:37.732 15 laps
16 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.759 19 laps
17 G. Fisichella Renault 1:37.791 17 laps
18 R. Barrichello Honda 1:37.920 20 laps
19 A. Wurz Williams 1:37.926 16 laps
20 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:38.577 16 laps
21 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:38.868 20 laps
22 S. Yamamoto Spyker F1 1:39.517 21 laps

Source: PlanetF1

Kimi Raikkonen sets the fastest timing for the third practice session of the Chinese Grand Prix, however, it looks like he was hit by reliability issues as he went back early into the pits and spent some time talking to his engineers.

Fernando Alonso sets the second fastest timing for the third time of the weekend, and has beaten his teammate Lewis Hamilton again. Ferrari's Felipe Massa took the fourth spot.

Williams has indicated their decision to drop Alex Wurz from the team line up next season. In an interview, Frank Williams, team principal of the Williams team has said that while Wurz "has been reliable" he is not sure if he is going to give him a chance to race again in the next season.

Chinese GP Practice 1 and 2: Kimi Sets the Pace

Practice 1 Times
01 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:37.024 23 laps
02 F. Alonso McLaren 1:37.108 18 laps
03 F. Massa Ferrari 1:37.128 21 laps
04 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:37.210 20 laps
05 N. Rosberg Williams 1:37.707 23 laps
06 R. Kubica BMW 1:38.055 23 laps
07 J. Trulli Toyota 1:38.208 30 laps
08 G. Fisichella Renault 1:38.217 16 laps
09 K. Nakajima Williams 1:38.270 30 laps
10 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:38.445 13 laps
11 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:38.551 17 laps
12 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:38.661 23 laps
13 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:38.700 25 laps
14 J. Button Honda 1:38.942 18 laps
15 R. Barrichello Honda 1:38.945 22 laps
16 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:39.238 23 laps
17 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.497 22 laps
18 M. Webber Red Bull 1:39.535 23 laps
19 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:39.539 20 laps
20 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.898 24 laps
21 S. Yamamoto Spyker F1 1:40.126 27 laps
22 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:40.149 26 laps

Practice 2 Times
01 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.607 31 laps
02 F. Alonso McLaren 1:36.613 28 laps
03 F. Massa Ferrari 1:36.630 29 laps
04 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:36.876 33 laps
05 J. Trulli Toyota 1:37.151 36 laps
06 M. Webber Red Bull 1:37.450 34 laps
07 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:37.524 32 laps
08 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:37.617 27 laps
09 N. Rosberg Williams 1:37.646 36 laps
10 G. Fisichella Renault 1:37.970 32 laps
11 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:38.062 21 laps
12 J. Button Honda 1:38.205 41 laps
13 R. Barrichello Honda 1:38.304 40 laps
14 R. Kubica BMW 1:38.379 39 laps
15 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:38.388 16 laps
16 A. Wurz Williams 1:38.531 32 laps
17 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:38.975 38 laps
18 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.062 36 laps
19 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:39.224 37 laps
20 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:39.360 37 laps
21 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.404 34 laps
22 S. Yamamoto Spyker F1 1:40.051 38 laps

Source: PlanetF1