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20 April 2024

Mercedes' Rosberg in maiden F1 triumph

Published
By Agencies

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg claimed his first Formula One race victory in 111 attempts as he led from pole position to take the Chinese Grand Prix in style on Sunday.

The German's faultless drive in Shanghai saw him comfortably home ahead of the McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. The Red Bull of Mark Webber was fourth and reigning two-time world champion Sebastian Vettel fifth.

Rosberg's victory was the first by Mercedes, as a works team, since 1955 when Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio won the Italian Grand Prix from pole.

Rosberg showed no early nerves from pole position and made the perfect start to stay ahead of team-mate Michael Schumacher going into the crucial first corner at an overcast but dry Shanghai International Circuit.

The big loser at the start was Vettel, whose nightmare weekend got slightly worse when he slipped from 11th on the grid to 15th.

With the seven-time champion Schumacher using all his experience to act as a buffer from the chasing pack, Rosberg was able to stretch his lead with 10 of the 56 laps under his belt in relative comfort.

But in lap 14 that strategy - intentional or not - came undone in amateurish fashion when Schumacher appeared to have been given the all-clear from a pit stop before one of the wheels was properly fastened.

A Mercedes mechanic frantically waved his arms but the 43-year-old was gone, only to slow up and stop shortly afterwards as he was forced to meekly bow out, his chance of a first race win since coming out of retirement over.

Minutes later Mercedes confirmed on Twitter: "Michael's right front wheel was not fitted properly at the stop leading to his retirement."

At about the same time, Rosberg was in the pit lane so he could switch to intermediate tyres, allowing Sergio Perez to briefly head the field, before he too pitted, allowing Ferrari's Felipe Massa to briefly take the lead.

But the flying Rosberg was back in front once more when he easily passed Massa's cumbersome Ferrari, with Button and Hamilton now hot on Rosberg's heels. They were soon joined by Romain Grosjean, who was to finish sixth.

Rosberg surrendered his lead to Button when he pitted on lap 35, then Webber had a hairy moment when he ran wide on the kerb, launching the front of his Red Bull into the air, drawing gasps from a packed crowd.

Rosberg was out in front again when Button stopped for a final time and appeared to linger, allowing the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen to jump into second, with Vettel's assault taking him up to third with 42 of the 56 laps gone.

Button's challenge appeared over, with Rosberg enjoying a more than 22-second lead over second-place Raikkonen with 10 laps to go and on a fresh set of tyres. Vettel meanwhile used all his ability to pass Button and move into third.

With eight laps to go, a mistake by Raikkonen saw him plummet down to midfield, while Vettel, Button and Hamilton duelled over second and third.

Provisional result of Chinese Grand Prix
1.  Nico Rosberg (Germany)       Mercedes               1:36:26.929   
2.  Jenson Button (Britain)      McLaren                +00:20.626    
3.  Lewis Hamilton (Britain)     McLaren                00:26.012     
4.  Mark Webber (Australia)      RedBull - Renault      00:27.924     
5.  Sebastian Vettel (Germany)   RedBull - Renault      00:30.483     
6.  Romain Grosjean (France)     Lotus - Renault        00:31.491     
7.  Bruno Senna (Brazil)         Williams - Renault     00:34.597     
8.  Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Williams - Renault     00:35.643     
9.  Fernando Alonso (Spain)      Ferrari                00:37.256     
10. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan)      Sauber - Ferrari       00:38.720     
11. Sergio Perez (Mexico)        Sauber - Ferrari       00:41.066     
12. Paul Di Resta (Britain)      Force India - Mercedes  00:42.273     
13. Felipe Massa (Brazil)        Ferrari                00:42.779     
14. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)     Lotus - Renault        00:50.573     
15. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany)   Force India - Mercedes  00:51.213     
16. Jean-Eric Vergne (France)    Toro Rosso - Ferrari   00:51.756     
17. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Toro Rosso - Ferrari   01:03.156     
18. Vitaly Petrov (Russia)       Caterham - Renault     1 lap  
19. Timo Glock (Germany)         Marussia - Cosworth    1 lap  
20. Charles Pic (France)         Marussia - Cosworth    1 lap  
21. Pedro de la Rosa (Spain)     HRT - Cosworth         1 lap  
22. Narain Karthikeyan (India)   HRT - Cosworth         2 laps 
23. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland)  Caterham - Renault     3 laps 
r.  Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes               44 laps 
(rank: r = retired, nc = not classified)  
Fastest Lap: Kamui Kobayashi,1:39.960, lap 40.  

Provisional drivers' and constructors' standings

Drivers                                  Points  

1.  Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren         45      
2.  Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren          43      
3.  Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari          37      
4.  Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull         36      
5.  Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull      28      
6.  Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes GP       25      
7.  Sergio Perez (Mexico) Sauber             22      
8.  Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Renault         16      
9.  Bruno Senna (Brazil) Williams            14      
10. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Sauber           9       
11. Romain Grosjean (France) Renault         8       
12. Paul Di Resta (Britain) Force India      7       
13. Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso     4       
14. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Williams    4       
15. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Toro Rosso  2       
16. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India   2       
17. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes GP 1       
18. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari            0       
19. Timo Glock (Germany) Marussia            0       
20. Charles Pic (France) Marussia            0       
21. Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Team Lotus        0       
22. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Team Lotus   0       
23. Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) HRT             0       
23. Narain Karthikeyan (India) HRT           0      

Constructors           Points  

1.  McLaren - Mercedes     55      
2.  RedBull - Renault      42      
3.  Ferrari                35      
4.  Sauber - Ferrari       30      
5.  Lotus - Renault        16      
6.  Force India - Mercedes 9       
7.  Williams - Renault     8       
8.  Toro Rosso - Ferrari   6       
9.  Mercedes               1       
10. Marussia - Cosworth    0       
11. Caterham - Renault     0       
12. HRT - Cosworth         0