Another F1 race is in the books, and this time it brought success to two of Germany’s finest, Nico Rosberg and Mercedes, but it wasn’t such a good day for compatriot Michael Schumacher.
It is a long time since 1955. It’s 57 years to be precise but that’s how long between race wins that Mercedes had to wait. Their last win as a stand-alone team was thanks to the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio at the Italian GP of 1955 at Monza.
Now the German manufacturers have their first win since returning to the sport in 2010 but it came via Nico Rosberg rather than the veteran Michael Schumcher in China this morning.
The 26-year-old started on pole, with Schumacher right behind him in second, and Rosberg cruised to his first ever F1 win, helped hugely by the early departure of his team-mate.
On lap 14, the seven-time world champion went in for his first pit stop of the day but a mistake by the front-right tyre changer meant that the wheel was not attached properly. The pit crew knew immediately they had ruined Schumi’s race and just 30 seconds later the 43-year-old pulled over saying: “Nothing I could do guys. Out of the race.” We imagine he said something a bit stringer when he got back to the pits.
Schumi’s departure left Rosberg clear at the head of affairs, a position he held until the end, with the McLaren pair of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton taking second and third respectively.
Red Bull took fourth and fifth via Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel respectively but Hamilton now leads the championship on 45 points with Button second on 43.
Speaking after the race Mercedes top man Ross Brawn was delighted with the win, if a bit miffed that Schumi wasn’t able to stay in the race.
“It was stunning,” said Brawn. “We still had the fear with the tyres but he used them perfectly.
“It’s just a tragedy we had the problem with Michael because he would have been in great shape too. We have started a new adventure. I have been lucky to have a lot of special days, and this is certainly a special one.”
Rosberg too was, understandably, ecstatic “This is an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “I’m very happy, very excited. It’s been a long time coming for me, and for the team also, for the past two years and a bit.
“It’s finally there. It’s amazing, and it’s nice to see now how quickly we are progressing.”
Full race results:
1 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1hr 36mins 26.929secs
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:36:47.555
3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:36:52.941
4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:36:54.853
5 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:36:57.412
6 Romain Grosjean (Swi) Lotus F1 Team 1:36:58.420
7 Bruno Senna (Bra) Williams 1:37:01.526
8 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:37:02.572
9 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:37:04.185
10 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 1:37:05.649
11 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:37:07.995
12 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:37:09.202
13 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:37:09.708
14 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus F1 Team 1:37:17.502
15 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India 1:37:18.142
16 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37:18.685
17 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37:30.085
18 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Caterham at 1 Lap
19 Timo Glock (Ger) Marussia at 1 Lap
20 Charles Pic (Fra) Marussia at 1 Lap
21 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) HRT-F1 at 1 Lap
22 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-F1 at 2 Laps
23 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Caterham at 3 Laps
Not Classified:
24 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 12 Laps completed
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