Chinese GP Review

The Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai proved to everyone that it was certainly not going to be a one horse race for the championship, as Brawn's initial domination atfter the first two races came to an end.

Having looked strong all weekend, the Red Bull team put their drivers in 1st and 3rd, with Vettel being the lead driver, the pair being split by a light-fuelled Fernando Alonso in his Renault. Meanwhile the Brawns only achieved 4th and 5th with Barrichello out-qualifying his teammate for the first time this season. They were closely followed by the Toyota of Jarno Trulli.

Due to heavy rain, the race began behind the safety car. The race finally began proper after eight laps and it was only a couple of laps later when Webber and Vettel pitted for their first stops of the race. This allowed Button to lead after passing his teammate on lap 11, and the early stopping Alonso. Button proved to be the only driver to really challenge the Red Bull of Mark Webber, Vettel on the otherhand drove a perfect race in the wet and looked untouchable in a race reminiscent of Micheal Schumacher. The McLarens also performed well, Hamilton having fought his way up to 5th but dropped back down the field following a spin. This was another race that Ferrari would rather forget after 2008 runner-up Felippe Massa retired with an electronic problem and 2007 Champion Kimi Raikkonen failed to break into a points scoring position finishing tenth.

The final points finishers were as follows:

1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Mark Webber
3. Jenson Button
4. Rubens Barrichello
5. Heikki Kovalainen
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Time Glock
8. Sebastien Buemi