Race 3 - Shanghai, China Write-up

Date: 11 December 2011
Grand Prix: Formula 1 UBS Chinese Grand Prix
Location: Shanghai, China
Circuit Length: 5.451km
Weather: Q: Clear. R: Clear.
Circuit Overview:



Stats:

Circuit Placing:
1st - 25pts - WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)
2nd - 18pts - HAMILTON (McLaren)
3rd - 15pts - VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
4th - 12pts - HEIDFELD (Lotus-Renault)
5th - 10pts - MASSA (Ferrari)
6th - 8pts - DAVIDSON (Mercedes)
7th - 6pts - SCHUMACHER (Mercedes)
8th - 4pts - PETROV (Lotus-Renault)
9th - 2pts - ALGUERSUARI (STR-Ferrari)
10th - 1pt - SUTIL (Force India)
11th - 0pts - CENTOFANTI (Ferrari)
12th - 0pts - di RESTA (Force India)
13th - 0pts - GRANTHAM (McLaren)
14th - 0pts - MARTIN (STR-Ferrari)

Constructor Placing:
40 - Red Bull Racing
18 - McLaren
16 - Lotus-Renault
14 - Mercedes
10 - Ferrari
2 - Scuderia Toro Rosso
1 - Force India

Overview:


Once again some of the best drivers in modern Formula 1 come together to race wing to wing in what has proven to be a ever exciting day in Shanghai, China. While some drivers new to the world of Formula 1 are still learning their cars and circuits there are still some seasoned veterans like Red Bull's Mark Webber and McLaren's Louis Hamilton coming a very close and competitive first and second in Shanghai on 11th December 2011.

Lotus-Renault and Force India both suffered a loss of one of their primary drivers Troy Porritt and Andrew Rough where they could not attend the race due to some slight technical issues. Lotus-Renault's Porritt was temporarily replaced by Vitaly Petrov and Force India's Rough with Paul di Resta.

What looked like a good start of the year to the promising up and coming star child Andrew Davidson ended up not so well in China. Davidson started off to a good race holding a good position fighting fiercely against Webber and Hamilton where he seemed to have struggled. He was reported to say, "Struggled with the car for a bit couldn't find any sort of rhythm" while trying his hardest to push for position. He managed to gain position over Webber and Hamilton to then beat them in the race to the pits to apply Prime tires where he encountered further issues after damaging his front wing and being bumped back down to 11th position at around lap 34. By lap 55 Davidson had fought hard to get back up to 6th position almost taking Massa for 5th place on the last lap. "Overall a frustrating race where I just couldn't find any rhythm." Davidson said. Is the last of his unlucky stint or will he have some words to say to his car engineers before next race?

Like many drivers in this seasons race in China, Joel Centofanti was reported to encounter many problems with his fast as red Ferrari however he came to a successful understanding with his car engineers. Centofanti was reported to say, "Maxed rear down force with decreased front provided a fairly well balanced car." He started off with what seemed to be a difficult qualifying session where he was unable to get a clear lap in due to traffic on circuit, qualifying in 11th grid position. Centofanti started the race using Prime tires to gain an advantage over other cars with quick to wear Options. He had a fairly clean race with only two spin outs and a additional two pit stops to change tires due to front tire wear and the lost of a front win on a pit lane exit on a cold set of Prime tires. Soon as lap 40 approached he placed options on his car and gained a position over McLaren's Tom Grantham. Centofanti kept his position well over taking Paul di Resta and finishing 11th.

After qualifying 12th and finishing 13th this race has not been great for McLaren's Tom Grantham. His car did not seem to be set up correctly after seeing a lot of oversteer over the live feed. He got off with a good start to the race however after a spin out and a few damaged front wings his car was almost unusable through the entire second half of the race. "I really had a problem with my car, hopefully by next race my car should run smoother." Grantham was reported to say post race.

Scuderia Toro Rosso's David Martin unfortunately did not have a successful race after coming dead last in both qualifying and race he unfortunately totalled his car coming into the pit straight on the 47th lap of the race. Hopefully Martin has more luck next race which will be at the Istanbul circuit in Turkey on Sunday 22nd January 2012 after a restful holidays break.

- The F1 Insider