As it happened: 2011 China - The Race

• 07:00

  Hello and welcome to the Factbyte Factbox for the Chinese GP.

• 07:00

  We've got just an hour to go before the third race of the season gets underway - our first back to back of the year.

• 07:02

  Sebastian Vettel starts from the best possible position, securing his third pole position of the year yesterday.

• 07:03

  If you missed any of the action yesterday, I may recap some bits for you here, but you can also get a 60 second update: https://sidepodcast.com/news/qualifying-for-the-chinese-grand-prix-goes-vettels-way

• 07:04

  The main news of qualifying, aside from Vettel's speed again, was Mark Webber qualifying way down in 18th.

• 07:05

  How far can he make it in the race? In the points or not? Why not have your say on our poll: https://sidepodcast.com/post/live-china-2011-the-race

• 07:06

  You can join in the comments there, or try the fancy Dashboard: https://sidepodcast.com/dashboard Comments, Twitter and this here FBFB all in one place.

• 07:09

  Here's how the front of the grid lines up.

  Qualifying Position

  1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull
  2	Jenson Button	McLaren
  3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
  4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
  5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
  6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
  7	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso
  8	Paul di Resta	Force India
  9	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso
  10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault

• 07:09

  Both Toro Rosso drivers got through to Q3 which was pretty impressive. Paul di Resta did a great job to start from 8th, whilst Rosberg rocketed up to 4th.

• 07:12

  Pre-race entertainment.

• 07:15

  A bit of admin, you'll probably need live timing during the race today: http://www.formula1.com/live_timing/live_timing.html

• 07:15

  You can follow Autosport's live text, which will get underway shortly: http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/336

• 07:16

  There'll be some live data available too via http://mclaren.com/formula1 and http://mercedes-gp.com

• 07:17

  5live's Anthony Davidson isn't sure about the rollerskating entertainment either.

• 07:17

  Comment from paul: how many screens does the FBFB think I have?

• 07:20

  Tweet from @adamcooperf1: #F1 Had a chat with (the real) Charlie Whiting about the DRS zone. FIA chopped it by 150m yesterday as it was too effective

• 07:24

  Circuit Data

  Shanghai International Circuit
  Local timezone	+0700 GMT
  First race	2004
  Number of laps	56
  Circuit length	5.451km
  Race distance	305.066km
  Start offset	0.190km

• 07:26

  The drivers are getting strapped into the car, ready for the pit lane to open in a few minutes.

• 07:27

  Lap Data

  (data from Williams F1)
  Fuel consumption	2.7kg/lap
  Fuel laptime penalty	0.4s/10kg
  Top speed	318kph
  Average speed	205kph
  Pit lane loss	23s
  Pit lane length	382m

• 07:27

  Tweet from @MikeGascoyne: 5 mins to pit lane opening, both drivers in the cars and ready to go. Planing two laps to grid with practice starts from the pit lane exit

• 07:29

  Jake Humphrey fact: Vettel has been on the front row of the grid at every Grand Prix since Italy last year.

• 07:29

  Petrov gets strapped into his car.

• 07:32

  Race Data

  (source Mercedes GP)
  Average speed	205kph
  Full throttle	62%
  Gear changes	55 per lap

• 07:33

  The pitlane is open and cars are filtering out to take up their positions on the grid.

• 07:33

  Thirty minutes until the race begins.

• 07:35

  Interview with Lewis Hamilton - on whether they are getting near to Red Bull: "In the last race it looked like we closed the gap, but they slowed down, I'm certain of it."

• 07:36

  Interview with Mark Webber: "We're really going to be on the back foot for the first part of the Grand Prix, then try to capitalise on some good strategy, get something out of it. I had a look at some previous starts, but I said to the boys, I might need a pair of binoculars to see the lights today."

• 07:37

  Also, when asked if he's going to be running KERS or not he said: "We are going to try to use it."

• 07:37

  There's a bit of panic happening in the McLaren garage. Hamilton sits in the car with mechanics running around him. They have a few minutes before the pit lane closes again.

• 07:40

  With five minutes left on the clock, they are taking the airbox off the McLaren.

• 07:42

  Historical Session Times

  Year: 2010
  Free Practice 1	J Button	1:36.677
  Free Practice 2	L Hamilton	1:35.217
  Free Practice 3	M Webber	1:35.323
  Qualifying	S Vettel	1:34.558
  The Race	J Button	1:44:42.163

• 07:42

  A fuel line has come loose on Hamilton's car, a mechanic is running around with a fire extinguisher. They've got two minutes before a potential start from the pit lane.

• 07:44

  With 40 seconds to go, Hamilton leaves the garage and will take his place on the grid.

• 07:47

  Turn 14 - otherwise known as the big braking zone at the end of the long back straight.

  Braking Analysis

  Turn 14
  (forecast data from Brembo)
  Initial speed	320km/h
  Final speed	68km/h
  Stopping distance	130m
  Braking time	2.98s
  Maximum deceleration	5.97g
  Maximum pedal load	157kg

• 07:49

  Interview with Jonathan Neale, managing director at McLaren:"The engine fired up fine during the hour before the race, came to fire up again but it just wasn't firing... the only conclusion we could come up with was we had flooded the engine in some way. As you saw a massive scramble... but we're there."

• 07:52

  Live timing has cleared, and we have less than ten minutes to go.

• 07:56

  

  22°C

  Track	29°C
  Humidity	24%
  Wind speed	1.2mps

• 07:59

  We've closed the pole and 89% of people believe Webber can finish in the points. Let's see how he goes!

• 07:59

  Poll, pole, you know what I mean.

• 08:00

  The grid has cleared and the drivers head off on the formation lap.

• 08:01

  Webber gets an update from his engineer on the tyres the drivers around him are on - all options.

• 08:01

  Webber himself is starting on the hards.

• 08:01

  Comment from Steven Roy: Lewis's car got off the grid. Hope it is stuck together well enough to last the race

• 08:03

  Vettel pulls to a halt in his pole position grid slot. The rest of the pack lines up behind him, and we await the lights.

• 08:03

  Race started.

• 08:04

  Vettel had a terrible start, two McLaren's ahead of him, he's now battling with Nico for third.

• 08:04 Lap 1

  Vettel has the edge for the position, and pushes Rosberg wide. Now both Ferraris are chasing the Mercedes.

• 08:04 Lap 1

  Webber only made up one place on the start.

• 08:04 Lap 1

  A nice clear first corner, yet again. One day we'll have some chaos at the first corner, I know it.

• 08:05 Lap 1

  Button pulls out a bit of a lead, 1.3 seconds over Hamilton.

• 08:06 Lap 2

  Petrov has lost a couple of places on the first lap, currently running 12th.

• 08:06 Lap 2

  Team radio to Button: "Okay Jenson, let's put some gap between us and the rest of the field before DRS kicks in."

• 08:07 Lap 3

  Webber overtakes Pérez for 16th.

• 08:07 Lap 3

  Race Control: DRS enabled.

• 08:09 Lap 3

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	1	J Button
  2	1	L Hamilton
  3	-2	S Vettel
  4	0	N Rosberg
  5	1	F Massa

• 08:10 Lap 3

  Replays show that Vettel's start wasn't due to any KERS issue, it seemed just a poor getaway.

• 08:11 Lap 4

  Race Control: Liuzzi is under investigation for jumping the start.

• 08:13 Lap 6

  Team radio from Paul di Resta: "I have a lot of problems with the rear."

• 08:14 Lap 7

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	BUT	1:43.955
  2nd	HAM	+1.3
  3rd	VET	+2.0
  4th	ROS	+4.4

• 08:14 Lap 7

  Race Control: Liuzzi gets a drive through penalty for jumping the start.

• 08:15 Lap 7

  Petrov overtakes Alguersuari for 11th place.

• 08:15 Lap 8

  Comment from Pat W: Toro Rossos are dropping back

• 08:16 Lap 8

  They are currently 12th and 13th.

• 08:17 Lap 8

  Ted News: Red Bull and McLaren are furiously tapping away on their computers working out strategies. Webber should pit sooner rather than later, they were expecting him to be further up than this.

• 08:17 Lap 9

  Recent Lap Times

  Jenson Button
  Lap 2	1:44.859
  Lap 3	1:44.884
  Lap 4	1:44.013
  Lap 5	1:43.955
  Lap 6	1:44.037
  Lap 7	1:44.032
  Lap 8	1:44.162

• 08:19 Lap 9

  Webber has lost a position to Pérez, fallen back to 16th.

• 08:20 Lap 10

  Heidfeld finds himself sandwiched between the Toro Rossos now, having overtaken one and chasing another. Alguersuari makes it a bit easier for him by pitting.

• 08:20 Lap 10

  That's an early stop, first pit stop at lap 10.

• 08:20 Lap 10

  Alguersuari's stop didn't go well at all, he's now circling the track minus a right rear wheel.

• 08:21 Lap 11

  Schumacher pits.

• 08:21 Lap 11

  Webber and Maldonado both pit.

• 08:21 Lap 11

  Yellow flags for Alguersuari.

• 08:22 Lap 11

  Jaime with just three wheels.

• 08:23 Lap 12

  Paul di Resta now comes in for his pit stop.

• 08:23 Lap 12

  Alguersuari stopped out on track, his race over.

• 08:24 Lap 12

  One to Watch

  Nico Rosberg	vs.	Felipe Massa
  4th	+0.3s	5th

• 08:24 Lap 13

  Inter-Team Battle

  Team Lotus
  Heikki Kovalainen	15th
  Jarno Trulli	17th

• 08:24 Lap 13

  Track is clear.

• 08:25 Lap 13

  Rosberg pits from 4th place, ruining my one to watch table.

• 08:25 Lap 13

  He returns to the track in 10th place. Buemi is also in from 13th.

• 08:25 Lap 13

  Vettel is closing up to Hamilton now, just half a second behind.

• 08:25 Lap 13

  The Red Bull mechanics are poised and ready to go though.

• 08:26 Lap 14

  Webber has set, out of nowhere, the fastest lap of the race so far: 1:43.468.

• 08:26 Lap 14

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	Nico Rosberg
  Team	Mercedes GP
  Pit lane	20.771s
  Stopped	3.7s

• 08:26 Lap 14

  The Red Bull mechanics stand down. None of the top three pitted.

• 08:27 Lap 14

  Hamilton loses his place to Vettel, the Red Bull now up to 2nd place.

• 08:28 Lap 14

  Vettel and Button both pit this lap, releasing Hamilton again.

• 08:29 Lap 14

  Unusually, Button opted to run through the Red Bull pit box, and then moved on to his own team.

• 08:29 Lap 14

  Weird!

• 08:29 Lap 15

  The Red Bull mechanics were not at all impressed!

• 08:30 Lap 16

  Massa and Hamilton are both in this lap.

• 08:30 Lap 16

  Alonso now leads, having not stopped yet.

• 08:32 Lap 16

  Alonso pits from the lead.

• 08:32 Lap 16

  Rosberg is now upfront, with one pit stop completed.

• 08:33 Lap 18

  Petrov was sitting second, having yet to stop, but he just lost the position to a speedy Sebastian Vettel.

• 08:34 Lap 18

  Petrov pits.

• 08:34 Lap 18

  Comment from Pat W: Everyone's passing Heidfeld, why doesn't he get new tyres? Trying to stretch out a two-stopper?

• 08:35 Lap 19

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	ROS	1:43.210
  2nd	VET	+5.5
  3rd	BUT	+6.6
  4th	MAS	+7.5

• 08:35 Lap 19

  Heidfeld has pitted from 9th place.

• 08:36 Lap 19

  We haven't had anyone lapped yet, but Rosberg is exactly the length of the back straight behind Liuzzi.

• 08:38 Lap 21

  Tweet from @autosportlive: Alonso has lost out badly and runs ninth now with di Resta 10th, Sutil 11th, Kobayashi 12th and Webber up to 13th.

• 08:40 Lap 21

  Ah ha, a mystery is solved. Down the back straight, Massa was behind Hamilton, he overtook him at the hairpin at turn 14 and then dove straight into the pits.

• 08:41 Lap 22

  Team radio to Rosberg: "If you can lift 25 metres early for brakes, 25 metres where you can."

• 08:41 Lap 22

  It looks like a Sauber, Pérez, has a bit of front wing missing.

• 08:42 Lap 23

  Rosberg's lead is up to 5 seconds now. He's got a healthy lead but how does his strategy compare to those around him?

• 08:42 Lap 23

  Comment from Lukeh: ahh it's kobayashi's car with the nose hole

• 08:43 Lap 23

  One to Watch

  M Schumacher	vs.	F Alonso
  6th	+0.3s	7th

• 08:45 Lap 24

  Tweet from @MarussiaVirgin: Jerome is now 10 seconds behind timo. But his sector times are quicker so he may be able to claw it back

• 08:45 Lap 24

  Webber is advised over the radio not to use KERS.

• 08:45 Lap 25

  McLaren mechanics arrive in the pits, and Jenson Button has come in.

• 08:47 Lap 25

  Rosberg pits from the lead.

• 08:47 Lap 25

  McLaren are in the pits yet again, with Hamilton following Rosberg in.

• 08:48 Lap 26

  Webber also pits from 13th place.

• 08:48 Lap 26

  On his new tyres, Button is putting in some of the fastest sector times so far.

• 08:49 Lap 26

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	Nico Rosberg
  Team	Mercedes GP
  Pit lane	22.005s
  Stopped	5.0s

• 08:49 Lap 27

  This stop was 1.3 seconds slower than his first one. That won't help him fight for the lead.

• 08:49 Lap 27

  Schumacher pits from 5th place.

• 08:51 Lap 28

  Mark Webber sets the fastest lap of the race... in 15th place... 1:41.200.

• 08:52 Lap 29

  Lapped Cars

  Pos	Driver	Laps Down
  20	Timo Glock	1
  21	Jérôme D'Ambrosio	1
  22	Narain Karthikeyan	1
  23	Tonio Liuzzi	1

• 08:53 Lap 29

  Nico Rosberg just passed Alonso for position, up to 3rd.

• 08:53 Lap 29

  Vettel's engineer confirms that he can't hear Seb over the radio. There is some suitably Dalek like sounds from Vettel to prove the point.

• 08:54 Lap 30

  Jenson Button has also made it passed Alonso, as the Ferrari slips down the order.

• 08:55 Lap 30

  Tweet from @autosportlive: Button has much fresher rubber than Alonso and is the next man to comfortably pass the two-stopping Ferrari.

• 08:56 Lap 31

  Low tech solution to informing the drivers about the DRS zone.

• 08:56 Lap 31

  Sutil, Kobayashi and Heidfeld all pit at the same time from the midfield.

• 08:58 Lap 32

  Vettel pits, handing Massa the lead... for now.

• 09:00 Lap 32

  Alonso pits from sixth place, finally getting some fresh tyres.

• 09:01 Lap 34

  Felipe Massa pits from the lead, Rosberg is back up front again.

• 09:02 Lap 34

  Webber is up to 8th place, battling with Petrov.

• 09:03 Lap 35

  He takes the position, after Petrov made it a bit too easy for him.

• 09:05 Lap 36

  Apologies for the crush, but Vettel is used to leading by this much!

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	ROS	1:41.472
  2nd	BUT	+1.7
  3rd	HAM	+2.5
  4th	VET	+16.0

• 09:05 Lap 36

  Hamilton overtakes Button for the position, Jenson didn't put up too much of a fight, but equally, they avoided an inter-team crash.

• 09:07 Lap 37

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	+3	Nico Rosberg	2
  2	+1	Lewis Hamilton	2
  3	-1	Jenson Button	2
  4	-3	Sebastian Vettel	2
  5	+1	Felipe Massa	2

• 09:08 Lap 38

  Button pits from 3rd place and returns to the track in 5th.

• 09:10 Lap 39

  Webber squeezes past Michael Schumacher for 6th position.

• 09:10 Lap 39

  Meanwhile, Hamilton has pitted and retains the position ahead of Button.

• 09:12 Lap 40

  Nico Rosberg comes in for his stop from the lead of the race, and rejoins just in front of Hamilton.

• 09:13 Lap 40

  Recent Lap Times

  Kamui Kobayashi
  Lap 33	1:43.032
  Lap 34	1:42.820
  Lap 35	1:42.864
  Lap 36	1:43.307
  Lap 37	1:43.134
  Lap 38	1:43.115
  Lap 39	1:42.738

• 09:13 Lap 41

  Compare those times from Kamui, with Button who just set the fastest lap of the race - a 1:40.623.

• 09:14 Lap 41

  Hamilton locks up terribly, smoke pours from the tyres. He continues on, but if he wasn't planning to pit again, he's made his life a bit tricky.

• 09:14 Lap 41

  Team radio to Rosberg: "Fuel is critical."

• 09:15 Lap 42

  Kovalainen, Maldonado and Glock pit from towards the rear of the pack.

• 09:15 Lap 42

  Hamilton is closing up on Rosberg.

• 09:15 Lap 42

  Rosberg allows the position to go, Hamilton now up to 3rd.

• 09:16 Lap 42

  Inter-Team Battle

  Force India
  Paul di Resta	9th
  Adrian Sutil	11th

• 09:17 Lap 43

  Live timing shows that Jarno Trulli has only stopped once, currently running in17th place ahead of his teammate Kovalainen.

• 09:18 Lap 43

  Team radio to Massa: "Hamilton is the car behind, we're going to have to start defending from him soon."

• 09:19 Lap 44

  Heidfeld gets caught up behind Petrov, attempting to overtake but it doesn't work. Pérez closes up to the pair, and there's contact between the Renault and the Sauber.

• 09:19 Lap 44

  Pérez took the position, with a bit of bodywork flying off one or other of the cars.

• 09:20 Lap 45

  Lewis Hamilton has taken second place from Felipe Massa. Vettel continues to lead.

• 09:22 Lap 46

  Webber has managed to pass Alonso for 6th position - at turn six.

• 09:22 Lap 46

  One to Watch

  Felipa Massa	vs.	Jenson Button
  3rd	+0.2s	4th

• 09:23 Lap 46

  Rosberg locked up and ran wide, losing a couple of places, he's now 5th, just ahead of Webber.

• 09:23 Lap 46

  Ten laps to go.

• 09:24 Lap 47

  Whilst watching the battles up front, an HRT is shown in the back weaving his way down the straight. Warming up the tyres probably, and not getting in anyone's way.

• 09:25 Lap 48

  Replays show Sutil turning in on Pérez, the two coming together and running wide off track. Sutil appears to have a broken nose.

• 09:26 Lap 48

  It's also confirmed that the incident between Pérez and Heidfeld will be investigated.

• 09:26 Lap 48

  Team radio to Hamilton: "Other cars are struggling badly, we need to make sure you get to the end of your tyres. Vettel will be coming back to you."

• 09:27 Lap 49

  Race Control: Drive through penalty for Pérez - causing a collision.

• 09:28 Lap 49

  Sutil and Pérez come together.

• 09:29 Lap 50

  Radio to Vettel confirms the engineer still can't hear him, but is being urged to stay out. He may be struggling on his tyres.

• 09:30 Lap 50

  Race Control: Incident between Pérez and Sutil to be investigated.

• 09:30 Lap 51

  Hamilton is close behind Vettel, this is the battle for the lead.

• 09:31 Lap 51

  Vettel has stopped twice, so has old tyres. But Hamilton, although stopped three times, isn't so good at looking after his tyres.

• 09:31 Lap 51

  Whose tyres can hold out?

• 09:31 Lap 51

  Nico Rosberg overtakes Felipe Massa, the Ferrari running wide off track.

• 09:31 Lap 51

  Tweet from @autosportlive: Barrichello is up to 13th with Buemi 14th. Perez has slipped down to 15th following that bodged overtaking move and drive-through penalty.

• 09:32 Lap 52

  Good news, Pastor Maldonado is still running! Down in 18th but still!

• 09:32 Lap 52

  Five laps left and it is so close between Hamilton and Vettel.

• 09:32 Lap 52

  Webber overtakes Massa for 5th place.

• 09:32 Lap 52

  Hamilton is through, in the lead.

• 09:34 Lap 53

  Comment from Kai: From fuel leak to lead.

• 09:36 Lap 54

  Top Speeds

  Sector 1	Hamilton	291kph
  Sector 2	Button	279kph
  Sector 3	Sutil	260kph
  Speed trap	Petrov	323kph

• 09:36 Lap 54

  Mark Webber overtook Rosberg, but outbraked himself, giving the position back. On the next corner, Webber gets the position back, he's up to 4th.

• 09:37 Lap 55

  Sutil has just unlapped himself, as Vettel tries to keep his tyres going.

• 09:37 Lap 55

  Team radio to Button: "Webber is close behind, he is going to attack you. He is on fresher tyres. Beware of Webber."

• 09:39 Lap 56

  Webber has overtaken Button! It's close but he keeps the position and is now looking at a podium finish!

• 09:39 Lap 56

  Final lap.

• 09:40 Lap 56

  Lewis Hamilton wins the Chinese Grand Prix!

• 09:40

  Vettel comes in second, and Webber amazingly comes third.

• 09:43

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	+2	L Hamilton	3
  2	-1	S Vettel	2
  3	+15	M Webber	3
  4	-2	J Button	3
  5	-1	N Rosberg	3
  6	0	F Massa	2
  7	-2	F Alonso	2
  8	+6	M Schumacher	3
  9	+1	V Petrov	2
  10	+3	K Kobayashi	2

• 09:44

  Race Winner

  Driver	Lewis Hamilton
  Team	McLaren
  Race time	1:36:58.226
  Race distance	305.066km
  Average speed	188.758km/h

• 09:44

  Hamilton climbs out the car and leaps into the waiting mechanics arms. Much happiness at McLaren.

• 09:44

  Recent Lap Times

  Lewis Hamilton
  Lap 52	1:42.289
  Lap 53	1:41.427
  Lap 54	1:42.027
  Lap 55	1:42.218
  Lap 56	1:43.142

• 09:47

  Lewis Hamilton showing a bit of emotion, and perhaps even some tears as they wait to go up on the podium.

• 09:48

  The three drivers take to the podium, and the National Anthem plays out.

• 09:50

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	HAM	1:43.142
  2nd	VET	+5.1
  3rd	WEB	+7.5
  4th	BUT	+10.0
  5th	ROS	+13.4

• 09:50

  Race Control: Heidfeld and di Resta are under investigation for contact just a couple of corners from the end.

• 09:50

  Hamilton takes stock on the podium.

• 09:52

  Interview with Martin Whitmarsh: "All sorts of emotions, it's been a challenging weekend. There's so much action... you've just got to get it slightly wrong and you're toast. I think Lewis and Jenson today drove great races... First win of the year is a really important one."

• 09:55

  Press Conference Quotes - Lewis Hamilton: "The strategy that we came up with definitely helped. My new option tyres seemed to last a bit longer than the guys in front. I think it was quite a few things that came together. The car felt great, I was trying to nurse my tyres fast. It was one of the best races I've experienced, at least this year, where the guys were out in front of me and I had to do a lot of overtaking. It feels amazing to be able to bring home a victory."

• 09:56

  Press Conference Quotes - Lewis Hamilton: "I was in the car nice and early to go out and we had a problem where the car just wouldn't start... I knew there were six minutes to go, then there was two minutes to go and it all just came together very quickly. I tried to stay positive and they got the car out which was most important."

• 09:58

  Press Conference Quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "The start was not the best we had this year. On top of that, the left hand side here is worse than the right hand side. It was not 100% good start, then it was about being patient. I think we treated the tyres better in the first stint...

  "I came to the box and obviously came out first, it was quite a surprise Jenson in front of me came into my garage. I hoped he would just carry on. Fortunately it had no effect, the guys kept their heads cool, we kept going and came out in the lead.

  "I think we tried to hard staying on two stops, but surely in the end you'll find yourself out there on the hard tyre, I saw Lewis coming closer and closer. I tried to defend as much as I can but he found his way past easily. It was a difficult race for us... but still we finished second so I'm very happy with that. One race you just try something different, make some mistakes, it's only natural, and there's lots of people around to beat you."

• 10:01

  Press Conference Quotes - Mark Webber: "It was an interesting Grand Prix. We decided to start on the prime which we know is not the most desired tyre for everyone in the field. Got that out of the way, which was quite tricky. Everyone was using the DRS at the same time, which was predicted. It wasn't easy to come back through those guys.

  "To still see P17 on your board after 15 laps... and then all of a sudden I just felt comfortable with the car. I had a few sets of tyres left after qualifying. Maybe that's the best way to do it, not even take part in qualifying... but all jokes aside... we're all here together fighting for victory. Shame McLaren won, in a way, but we can't let Seb get away. It was a good day today in terms of racing, and for us in terms of points."

• 10:02

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Sebastian Vettel	68
  2	Lewis Hamilton	47
  3	Jenson Button	38
  4	Mark Webber	37
  5	Fernando Alonso	26

• 10:04

  Interview with Jenson Button: "Massive congrats to Lewis, he drove a great race. It was one of those races where there was a lot of overtaking... it was good fun to be a part of but I wasn't quick enough. Fourth place is as good as I could get out of the car.

  "It's enjoyable but also you're a sitting duck when people have got newer tyres, you can't do anything. When Webber passed me, he was so much faster. You try and fight back but you don't have the grip.

  "Tough afternoon for me. It could have been a lot better but it could have been a lot worse."

• 10:05

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Red Bull	105
  2	McLaren	85
  3	Ferrari	50
  4	Renault	32
  5	Mercedes	16

• 10:07

  Teammate Battle

  McLaren	Finished Ahead
  Lewis Hamilton	2
  Jenson Button	1

• 10:08

  Just one retirement today, in the form of Jaime Alguersuari. Not a great end to his best ever qualifying position.

• 10:10

  Interview with Paul di Resta: "It was always going to be quite tough. Again we came very close to scoring points but just missed out, at the end, the tyres gave out... I think having gone into the race without heavy fuel runs maybe compromised us a bit.

  "We didn't quite get the aero balance... but the second and third stints were pretty good. Maybe a three stop would have been better. But we came here with relatively strong performance to where we have been."

• 10:12

  Fastest Laps

  Driver	Lap	Time
  Mark Webber	42	1:38.993
  Jenson Button	39	1:40.623
  Mark Webber	35	1:40.717
  Lewis Hamilton	31	1:40.732

• 10:13

  The McLaren team have changed into their rocket red winning shirts, and are celebrating in the garage.

• 10:16

  It's been an action-packed afternoon in China, you couldn't ask for much more in terms of overtaking and pit stop drama.

• 10:17

  From troubled starts for Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber, both finished on the podium.

• 10:23

  It's hard to summarise this race, as there was so much detail through the whole 56 laps.

• 10:25

  Mercedes seemed improved, with Rosberg leading the race on several occasions. Toro Rosso didn't manage to hold on to their good qualifying spots, and quickly fell down the order.

• 10:25

  Kovalainen finished well for Lotus, up in 16th, whilst Pérez had a clumsy afternoon, battling with several other cars that ended with collision.

• 10:31

  Vettel retains his lead on the driver's championship, with Hamilton hopping up to second place. Red Bull are still running away with the constructors... for now.

• 10:31

  That's it for today, then. Our first back-to-back racing extravaganza is complete. We now have a bit of a break before Turkey.

• 10:32

  Stay safe and happy fact fans.