Rosberg secures maiden GP victory in stunning Chinese GP

Nico Rosberg has successfully won his maiden Grand Prix after a stunning drive throughout the Chinese Grand Prix as Mercedes overcame their tyre wear issues to stay at the sharp end of the field. The McLaren’s of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton came home 2nd and 3rd after a frenetic final stint.

As the lights went out at the start, Jenson Button got a sensational start as he progressed from 5th to 3rd as the Mercedes’ glided into the lead with Schumacher momentarily coming under pressure from Kimi Raikkonen. Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel suffered a disastrous start, as the Red Bull driver slipped from 11th down to 14th on the opening lap, coming under considerable pressure from Pastor Maldonado in the Williams.

With Mercedes confident they had overcome their tyre issues, the proof was evident after the opening laps as Nico Rosberg opened a considerable gap to Schumacher who was holding off Button and Raikkonen. Mark Webber became the first driver to stop for new tyres on lap 7, opting for the harder compound in favor for his soft Pirelli’s.

As Nico Rosberg led the way out in front, the pit stops came thick and fast on the tenth lap as Sebastian Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg pitted. Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton pitted together on lap 11, with the two rejoining very close to Mark Webber and nearly coming together with the Australian driver. Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso all pitted within the next couple of laps, with Michael Schumacher rejoining behind Hamilton after loosing out on track.

Michael Schumacher’s race then took an unfortunate turn for the worse as the 7-time World Champion slowed and then eventually peeled off the track to retire. The reason for this unceremonious retirement was due to the front right not being attached correctly during Schumacher’s pit stop, thus piling all the pressure of a successful outcome for Mercedes onto the shoulders of Nico Rosberg.

Nico Rosberg eventually pitted on lap 14, as the German driver continued to manage his tyres well. This therefore handed the lead down the Sergio Perez, before he also stopped and subsequently handed the lead down to Felipe Massa. The Ferrari driver led for a couple of laps before Rosberg caught and passed the Brazilian, before Massa pitted on lap 19.

Mark Webber became the first driver to stop for a second time on lap 22 before the rest of the field also made their second stops. With Jenson Button closing the gap to Nico Rosberg, it was no surprise that when Nico Rosberg eventually pitted, Jenson Button streaked off into the lead.

As Jenson Button led at the front, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton became locked in a heated battle with Sergio Perez. The 2008 World Champion was unable to make an impression on the Mexican, and had to wait until Perez pitted to eventually pass the Sauber. Mark Webber suffered a near-disastrous mistake whilst exiting turn 14, with his Red Bull running wide and hitting a bump which in turn launched the car in the air. The car then clattered back to earth, with no visible damage to the car but undeniably causing Webber some discomfort in the cockpit.

On lap 39 both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso pitted together, with the former team-mates successfully exiting their respective pit boxes cleanly with Hamilton leading the two as they rejoined the track.

Regardless of Jenson Button’s lead over Nico Rosberg, the 2009 World Champion was forced to make a third pit stop on lap 40. This would mean Button would have to overtake Rosberg on track if he had any desires of winning the race. Unfortunately for the Brit, the left rear took longer than usual to fit to the car, thus leaving Button further down the order with the likes of Raikkonen and Vettel to pass before he had any chance of closing the gap to Rosberg in the lead.

As the race entered its closing stages, a long queue of cars had formed behind the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen, which included Vettel, Button, Webber, Hamilton and Grosjean. Fernando Alonso ran extremely wide and off the track whilst trying to pass the Williams of Maldonado, nearly collecting Perez whilst rejoining the track. Grosjean also ran wide several laps later, and entered a wheel-banging match with Maldonado as the two scrapped for position on track.

Kimi Raikkonen’s race then suffered an almighty blow as the Iceman’s tyres began falling off, with the Finn dropping from 2nd to 10th in a matter of seconds as cars’ streamed passed the faltering Lotus.

With only Sebastian Vettel between Button and Rosberg, the Brit eventually passed the reigning Champion. Yet it was too late as the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg stormed to his maiden Grand Prix victory, winning the race by 20 seconds to Jenson Button. Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber were also able to pass Vettel in the closing stages, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively.

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