Extended Race Highlights | 2010 Chinese Grand Prix

We are all systems go here at the impressive Shanghai International Circuit. Whatever uncertainty the last race in Malaysia caused Formula 1's weather watchers, their faith in their radars looks set to be restored with the caveat of course, keep watching that sky. First corner so decisive in Malaysia. Is Vettel going to get there first now? Slightly sluggish and Alonso makes a bit of a move. And a look to Alonso's side. Webber looks to have got ahead of Vettel. Alonso already into the lead though. Great start by him. And Vettel's already dropped back into third place. Alonso from Webber, from Vettel. Jump start for Alonso. There's no doubt about it looking out of the window. Alonso, jump start. So we'll watch for that on the timing screen from the officials. Button is still ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Massa's still in seventh place, but Alonso. Flying start there. Vettel now trying to dance his way past Mark Webber. Coming through on the inside of the camera to turn six. Webber still ahead. Button very close to Nico Rosberg. Massa very close also to Lewis Hamilton. Big connection there to the back of the field. Four cars there. Is that Liuzzi? Hülkenberg? De La Rosa maybe? Trying to pick that up. Yellow flags out. So it's Liuzzi, Kobayashi and Buemi. What a weekend he's had. Remember he had that enormous accident on Friday when the two wheels just leapt off going down the back straight in practice. Okay, so Liuzzi drops it under braking and the rear end, oh, right over the top. And that's sort of gearboxed himself into the side of the Sauber. He just drops it under braking as he pulls a downshift and we're on board the Williams then that sort of just finds its way around. Good driving. Ferrari have been out in the pit lane for a good lap now. I think they want to counter what they know is going to be a drive-through penalty for Fernando Alonso for that rather blatant jump start. I saw it from the pit lane as well, Martin, so you won't imagine things. I believe it'll be a stop-and-go penalty for Alonso but you're not allowed to serve a penalty under the safety car. So intermediates for Mark Webber. It's a bit of a gamble maybe. And Dublin are stacking up. In comes Vettel. Alonso's been in. So is Massa. Alonso's pitting for tyres, not for the penalty. He'll have to come back through again. This was always the worst-case scenario for Red Bull. Everything just thrown up in the air. And that didn't work well for Vettel. He had to queue. There's no refuelling now but they still have to get the other tyres ready for him. He's behind Massa, Schumacher, Hamilton. There is Sebastian Vettel. The safety car is in this lap so they've got to go and catch it up. And Hamilton's staying. He's changed his mind. Hamilton's done a late pit stop. And that's a replay as you can see but he was going round and suddenly got the radio call to come in. So he's on the intermediates but Jenson Button is still out there. Now careful also to watch anyone weaving because the drivers after the Hamilton incident in Malaysia decided at their meeting that that would not be permissible again. That it would not be a warning. It would be a penalty. Petrov there being hounded by de la Rosa. Look how much more grip Massa's got on those intermediate tyres. Sorry, Alonso is driving around the outside. He's got so much more grip as they tippy-toe on the dry-slick tyres. So Alonso in 6th place at the moment. Sutil in 8th. It's Rosberg, Button, Kubica, Petrov, de la Rosa, Alonso, Kovalainen, Sutil, Barachel and Alguersuari. There goes Alonso. A bit of a fishtail at the back there Now the early impression is that going on to Inters was exactly the right move and they'll catch the two leaders in short order. See how long they last though in these conditions. They could be gone in three laps and they need to pit anyway. Some slipstreaming and positioning going on down the back straight for those still on slick tyres. De la Rosa and Petrov as they come down this back straight. There's Jenson Button ever so careful. Kubica's also on the soft tyre still. The dry tyre slicks. De la Rosa's past Petrov. Massa just behind. There's Lewis Hamilton down in 14th place. There's Michael Schumacher in 13th. Very cagey at the moment. What are the conditions going to do? Are they going to change? Is it going to be the right call to stay out? There goes Rosberg and Button. And Rosberg just hits the fastest lap on slick tyres. 1.51.3 But he wasn't trying to overtake a load of people so we'll have a look on lap 2 and see what the relative performances are. Michael Schumacher's coming in, isn't he Martin? Schumacher's coming in for a stop. That's his second stop. So maybe the Mercedes mechanics there were waiting for him. Slicks he's gone out on. That's Hamilton and Vettel then struggling around. So it's just a drive through. Vettel trying to come up the inside of Hamilton. I wonder if they're just burning already those intermediate tyres. They're designed to run at much cooler temperatures in wet conditions. And those pair are really struggling to get the power down. Let's look at the lap time. So 1.51.3 for Rosberg. Let's just see how Vettel does. He's got a bit less downforce than Weber on his Red Bull. How he does in the slipstream of the McLaren. As Alonso hasn't been given a penalty yet. Yes, he has. He's been given the drive through now. So he can serve that in the next three laps and he serves it now. Alonso coming straight through the pit lane, Ted. The intermediate tyres have gone. They have burnt out. Little Hamilton has been on the radio saying there's no more life in these left. I need to go back to slicks. Michael Schumacher was the first one to realise that and has come in. Now Fernando Alonso serving his penalty right now. And both Red Bulls about to come in this lap. The Red Bull guys are ready. We think the problem that delayed Mark Weber and ruined Vettel's race was the problem that actually the guns and the air wasn't supplied to them. But this is the Red Bull right in front of me now onto slicks. It's Vettel. It's Sebastian Vettel, you're right. As Rosberg goes through with another fast lap. Jenson Button as well. Another awful pit stop there for Vettel. And look at that, side by side. It's a problem for Williams, isn't there, as well? Side by side, Hamilton and Vettel. Touching wheels. That touch fully is going to be investigated by the stewards. That's extraordinary. Here we go, down the pit. So they're already racing into the pit lane, let alone out of it. So for the second time today, Hamilton's not on the racing circuit. And this is obviously before the stops. Vettel had an appalling stop. The right rear looked like it was sticking as well. Here we go. Well, to be honest, they both got released at exactly the same time. Rosberg continues to lead as Mark Webber comes through then on the inside of Heikki Kovalainen up into eighth place. Suddenly two, three, four cars abreast almost. One on there is Lewis Hamilton getting a tow from Rewerts Barrichello through turn 13. There's Webber, there's Vettel, Barrichello, Hamilton. So it seems so straightforward. And the sunshine yesterday in qualifying, the two Red Bulls at the front, then Alonso, then Rosberg, and the two McLarens frustrated that they didn't do better. And now because of the rain, it's all jumbled again once more. It's as if we're in Malaysia. And through comes Hamilton. Great move there. Has he got enough to keep ahead there of Rubens Barrichello who's coming back at him? Barrichello went deep into the hairpin, as did the two Red Bulls. Now also we're going to see that racing between those two cars. Here is Vettel having a go on the inside of Mark Webber. It is. And he looks as if he's pulled one out as well. He has. They've got to rely on the driver's information on such a changeable track. Kovalainen then up into sixth place for Lotus at the moment. It's trauma, isn't it? You've got Alguersuari in fifth. Sanger in the weak. And here comes Lewis Hamilton coming through then on the inside of Mark Webber. Webber really brewing two things. There's a headwind down that back straight, which makes it doubly difficult if you're in front. And he's carrying more wing on that car in case there's a heavy rain later on. May pay dividends at some point, but right now he's just a sitting target on the one kilometre back straight. Suttles past Kovalainen during this lap then. And now he's got that pair behind him. He'll not be keeping those behind very long. Vettel fancies a look around the outside into Turn 1 and Hamilton will get blocked. This is one of the problems, but also while the driver's looking to make sure he gets through, he's also got to watch his mirrors from who might come behind as well. He knows there's very little point in banging wheels and losing a front corner against a car that's so much faster than his. Interesting to see what's going to happen here, because remember in Malaysia two weeks ago, Lewis Hamilton charged through the field and then couldn't find a way past Adrian Sutil. Mercedes-powered Force India. But here comes Sebastian Vettel and also coming down on the outside, having a look, is Lewis Hamilton. Sutil holds him. Double strike. Oh, and through comes Sutil, or rather through goes Hamilton ahead of Sutil, but Vettel's coming back as well. So two places gained there by Lewis Hamilton. Sutil trying on the inside now of Vettel and regains the position. So Vettel knocked his front wing. Hamilton with a double slipstream from the Force India in the red bull, plus the extra duct that we've been showing you, just sailed down that back straight and picked them off as they were busy fighting each other. Mercedes power then fends off Renault power. Force India from Renault, from red bull. He's got good traction, good purchase there, but he had to get out of the throttle. Sutil begins to pull away and now we're in the slipstream. Have we got enough speed in this red bull Renault? So, yeah, we have. In a headwind, it's helping. Sutil half goes defensive, not enough. Will he get him back though at the end of the straight? Let's see. Locked up a little under braking there to Sutil, but Vettel has him. And will Weber make his way through as well on the inside? Yes, he has. In fact, Weber has done exactly, almost, what Lewis Hamilton did there and got two for the price of one. Forecast in three minutes of a very similar intensity as the start. So, similar rain again in about three or four minutes. Here is Hamilton then on the outside of Michael Schumacher coming down towards the hairpin. Has he got enough? Or has Michael Schumacher done enough to hold that inside line? And again, he has. Lewis Hamilton providing the dramatics, but couldn't quite get through. This is allowing the Red Bulls to get on the back of Hamilton. He's got a much better drive out of 13 this time. I think he'll be past him halfway down the straight this time. Here he goes. And that's difficult to defend. They've got a slow car on the inside, but the track's wide enough. And it's Michael now in the slipstream. And he'll be fancying. Has he got this right? Lewis has gone well wide and Schumacher gone through. And he's ahead again. Can Michael Schumacher come back? Or has Lewis got it through? And Hamilton is ahead now. But what about Vettel coming now on Michael Schumacher? Is this going to be the right moment? Answer, not yet. Here's another fight we've been looking forward to. The man they call the new Schumacher who really is the new Sebastian Vettel up against Schumacher. Look how much drive he's got out of the corner as well. And in that slipstream, the Red Bull will have enough. Something is bad. I don't know if it's a vorticity of just from the damp air that was coming out of the side of Vettel's left side pod. I think it's just the vortices that sort of boil off the edges of the aerodynamic pieces. That was the way to do it. Just usher Schumacher out to the edge of the track. Continue on your line and continue out in front. And next up, Mark Webber. Will he find that as easy? Button is really close, isn't he? On Nico Rosberg. They're both on the softer tyre. I wonder what's happened because the last lap he was, what, four and a half seconds down. And yet here he is right on his tail. And he's having a go now. Rosberg lost over a second in the middle sector. And Jenson Button looks to have got ahead of him. And he is down on this long back straight. He's round that hairpin but maybe on the inside line Rosberg will be able to regain position. No, Button accelerates away. So it's 2-0 to the McLarens in a sense. Past the two Mercedes. Firstly, Hamilton past Schumacher and now Button past Rosberg. There we go. There's the replay. So he's gone off. And that's why he lost so much time. Button's kept it all together. And that's why, that's down at turn 11. That's why Button was so close coming on to the back straight. Another angle of the same incident. Into the pits they two come. Presumably for intermediates. They don't fancy it. It is obviously raining heavier than before because this seems like a no-brainer to them. So Schumacher seventh. Ah, the right front. Not again. That wasn't one of the smoothest stops. Into your head though. It's Alguersuari, Sutil, Alonso comes in. So does Massa. This is going to be smart work by the Ferrari mechanics. And Hamilton's really taking it gingerly here. Likewise, Vettel. Button in. And he's gone for intermediate tyres. Rosberg's in and so is Kovica. All action in the pit laid again once more. And we're waiting to see whether we're going to get yet more. Oh, there's a problem there. Now, there's something going on at the back of Alguersuari's car. That's his... No, it's a front, isn't it? What has gone wrong there? He's run over his own front wing. He's tagged it on something. That's how Alguersuari lost his front wing. Coming out of four into the kink of five. And the safety car is out. Oh, Jensen, that's not the right thing to do. That's silly. What's happening here? That's sending all sorts of cars and bunching them up in a completely difficult way because they're allowed to start overtaking not on the pit straight from the start line but from the first safety car line which is just by the entrance to the pit lane. So Jensen Button will start now. He's asking for trouble for pulling that little... Oh, look! There's a red ball going way, way off there. Is that Mark Webber who went off there? Either way, Jensen Button under attack. You can see how much rain's coming down. There's plumes of spray coming up behind the cars. Is that Michael Schumacher? Where are we now, though? Petrov and Kubica. Did they manage to hold station there? It's Chandhok who's going back, actually. The blue flag should be waived. He should be moving aside to allow the cars to come through. And that causes problems. You can see Hamilton now coming round on the outside of Michael Schumacher if he can. Schumacher holds him and then grabs him and squeezes him out of Schumacher. Oh, but it'll twitch then. Holds line, though, and Hamilton has to wait again. Sutil has made up ground because it was Red Bull and was it also Vettel who went... had a problem? Webber went wide but Vettel seems to have suffered as well because Sutil's got through and also Alonso's got through as well. So Button's tactic, some might say, wasn't kind at all. It certainly paid off for him but not for... On the inside of Michael Schumacher, a wonderful move there and Schumacher can come back and look at him right there but holds the car still in control. And here we go. So it was... Oh, I see, yeah. It was actually... He did... Hamilton did go into the side of Webber but he had Vettel up on the inside of him. It seems that Schumacher is just going backwards at the moment, isn't he? This is a man who is such a rainmaster. Someone who just seemed to excel in these sort of conditions. Could read a race, could read the weather, could read everything it seems and yet whatever, he seems to have forgotten the expertise of them and he seems to have dropped the ball. Through comes Hamilton now on the inside there of Petrov. Played the same trick on the exit of eight into nine, catching them unawares. So Hamilton now up into fourth place. Next up it's Robert Kubica. Look at the way he's streaking clear there of Petrov. Those have retired include Degrassi, de la Rosa, Buemi, Kobayashi, Liuzzi and Glock and here comes Hamilton now against Ted Kubica down towards this hairpin. Hamilton on the outside. Has he managed to go enough? Has he got through and round and can he hold that line? He has, he's moved swiftly across there to take the inside and this is Alonso challenging Sutil seemingly at the same place and Alonso seemingly pulling the same move. Squeezing him out as he's entitled to do and through he goes and Vettel will try to play the same manoeuvre as well. Renault is off then. Petrov, Petrov was fifth but he's allowed through Mark Webber or Sebastian Vettel rather and Alonso so that now into seventh lost it there and could almost have collected Alonso. Just got on the power too hard, too early no traction control these days. Webber coming in so he was just behind Felipe Massa in eleventh so he's stopping Lewis Hamilton continues on his way. I wonder if Webber and here's the move he's going to try and make the move that's worked so far and he got such a good run out of seven that Rosberg but he's on the inside now. Good driving from Rosberg a good close contact from the pair a close action from the pair of them. New intermediates for Lewis Hamilton. They've had to hold it for the Renault coming through. Smoothly done there by the McLaren mechanics. Also coming in is Fernando Alonso who is in third so the top three Button, Rosberg, Alonso all in the pits. Jenson Button re-emerge ahead of Lewis Hamilton and where's Nico Rosberg? Rosberg is going to be behind. So this could be a McLaren one-two have they got this right? Through goes McLaren. Rosberg rejoins in third. That's why Chandhok had a bit of a problem. Karen Chandhok dropped it in the exit of four. Michael sort of made his way past it with no dramas. Petrov, Alguersuari Alguersuari is a new man this last couple of races I have to say I've been very impressed with his overtakes but right now he looks vulnerable. Petrov's got him and Massa's having a look on the inside as well. One Ferrari engine car and that could be costly for Alguersuari because Massa's coming through. Wheel to wheel now. Petrov is through. Massa the experienced man got to choose his line carefully and it looks like he's got ahead. Alguersuari possibly choosing discretion there. Talk about Michael Schumacher aren't we rather than Nico Rosberg as here comes Petrov coming on the outside of Michael Schumacher and the champion's got no answer to that has he? Well I don't think it's because he's a champion it's because he has no tyres left that he's got no answer to that to be fair to Michael. Two Renault drivers in between the two Mercedes drivers. Webber under threat. Hamilton just going through now. Whoa, it's going to go around he's held it. Petrov's got him and Petrov is through then on the inside then of Mark Webber as the gap closes once more between the leaders as well but Webber's slipped back. That's not what he will want after the frustration in Malaysia. He may have his teammate very close in his mirrors but Jenson Button has been out on his own for much of this race. He's round the final corner and only in his fourth race from McLaren Jenson Button wins again. He's the world champion and he's the championship leader. He heads into Europe leading the way. It's a McLaren 1-2 Jenson Button from Lewis Hamilton. It's another podium for Nico Rosberg. Fernando Alonso scores for Ferrari. We wait to see where Sebastian Vettel is with Robert Kubica. Now here comes Kubica into fifth place yet more points. Second, fourth, fifth. The man who's on pole fails again to win in 2010. This victory is very special and it really means a lot. It was a tricky race out there and again we called it right. It means a lot. It's not just about being quick. It's about reading the conditions. Obviously coming across the line just one second in front of Lewis I think it shows what a team effort this has been and what a great result for the whole team.