Race: Historic Red Bull double in the rain!

For the third Grand Prix of the season, in China, it was the Red Bulls that stood out. The Red Bull drivers achieved a historic one-two finish for the team. First victory, first pole, first one-two… Vettel thus wins his second Grand Prix, ahead of Webber. The Brawn GP follows, in still rainy weather conditions and overtaking at all levels! Ferrari still doesn’t score any points.

The third race of the 2009 season will start in the rain. The weather is bad in China, 20°C in the air, it’s raining lightly, and the tires won’t be slicks today. Bad news for the drivers: the race will start under a safety car. The grid is the same as the forecasts, only Robert Kubica and Timo Glock have decided to start from their pit to change strategy in case of a new pre-race element; like the appearance of rain…

At 9:00 am in France, the start is given, but the conditions behind the safety car are nothing like those encountered in Malaysia two weeks ago. The drivers, after three laps, give their opinion: it’s complicated, but the race can resume. The laps behind the Safety car are clearing the water from the track. Barrichello complains of very, very poor visibility, Alonso wants to continue under the safety car.

In the third lap, Massa gets caught at turn 10, goes too wide but rejoins the pack and positions himself without damage. Adrian Sutil also goes off a lap later and drives a few meters on the grass. He comes back and regains his position before heading to the pit afterwards.

In the 6th lap, Nico Rosberg pits and puts on ‘extreme wet’ tires. Alonso, who was second at the start of the Grand Prix, also finds himself with a poor strategy. He runs out of fuel after seven laps and comes in to refuel. He comes out last, with ‘wet’ tires, just as we learn that the Safety Car will withdraw the following lap.

The race really begins on lap 8. There will be 48 laps to go. The Red Bulls negotiate their start well and stay in the lead. The drivers are on edge, and Hamilton starts making his way up. He overtakes Räikkönen on the ninth lap. Buemi tries to do the same and goes a bit wide at the 17th corner. However, he maintains his position.

Behind, the gaps are becoming more regular. Heidfeld also gets caught out, he returns to the track cutting across Bourdais. The Frenchman is currently 11th after overtaking Nakajima.

Hamilton continues to prove that he drives well in the rain. He overtakes Trulli and is now in fifth place in the Grand Prix. There are 44 laps remaining and nothing is decided yet. Hamilton spins off himself. He quickly gets back on track but is overtaken by Trulli and Buemi. The latter challenges the Italian and overtakes him two corners later.

After 14 laps of the race, the standings consist of the two Red Bulls, Vettel in front of Webber. The Brawn GPs are 3rd and 4th. Buemi is ahead of Massa and Trulli. Räikkönen, Hamilton, and Kovalainen complete the current top 10. It is going to change significantly.

At the 15th lap, Vettel comes in to refuel. He had a 19-second lead over the Brawn GP cars and comes out third behind Button and Barrichello, who are leading the race. The wings are starting to get tested. Heidfeld and Glock touch slightly, without damaging their cars.

The same cars are involved two laps later. Kubica brakes too late and hits Trulli just before the pit lane. The Pole literally lifts onto the Toyota. Kubica has lost his front wing but can head directly to the pits to change it. This is not the case for the Italian, who is forced to complete a full lap with a damaged rear. The Safety Car comes back out on the track.

Many refuel while Trulli is the first to retire. Buemi also encounters a problem, he touches one of Vettel’s tires and loses a piece of his front wing. Behind the safety car, the standings are as follows: Vettel, Button, Massa, Webber, and Räikkönen. Bourdais is 8th.

One lap later, still under Safety Car, Massa can no longer accelerate, encountering a new reliability issue and has to give up his third place. Bourdais also relinquishes his position, spinning just before the Safety Car returns to the pits. The French driver re-enters the race in 12th place behind Fernando Alonso.

There are 32 laps remaining in the race, as the start was given nearly an hour ago. Glock comes in to change the front wing, having made contact with Buemi, and exits behind Bourdais. Currently, Piquet seems to be struggling in these conditions. He is therefore last, while the Force Indias are 13th and 15th.

The rain is light now, but the drivers are starting to get tired. Nakajima goes off several times and explores the gravel traps. Behind him, Piquet spins out and hits the sponsor panels. It’s enough at this speed to break the nose of the R29. He comes in to change the front.

There are 27 laps remaining in the race, Button makes a mistake and goes too wide at turn 2. Webber takes advantage to claim second place. The Red Bulls are heading for a historic one-two… but Button insists and regains his position. It’s Webber who has given in, he went too wide in the penultimate corner. The battle continues and Webber takes back the lead.

At the same moment, Buemi is still holding onto 7th place against Alonso. The Spaniard is getting impatient and does what he can to try to overtake the Swiss. His teammate, Bourdais, was ninth. He pits and, coming out with ‘wet’ tires, sets the fastest third sector of the race. The track is thus starting to dry.

Webber sets the best time in the Grand Prix currently. He improved it by more than 0.5 seconds. Hamilton comes into the pit. He changes the tires and immediately the times improve. The Englishman won’t refuel anymore. For now, only Kovalainen hasn’t refueled.

At the 40th lap, the two Red Bull cars came in for refueling. Button is in the lead, ahead of Vettel, Webber, and Barrichello. Alonso passes Räikkönen for 11th position. Button refuels two laps later. The Red Bull cars are in the lead, and there are only 13 laps left in the race. Barrichello does the same on the 43rd lap.

Rosberg returns to the pit and takes a gamble by switching to intermediate tires. After a few laps, he seems to be slightly less performant, but as the rain subsides, the idea should pay off. His teammate, Nakajima, retires to the box for good on the 45th lap.

Bourdais and Piquet are making a lot of mistakes. On lap 47, Piquet spins for the fourth time, right before the pit entry. He hits the safety barrier and has to change his front wing again. Briatore seems disheartened, as the Brazilian was in last place. Bourdais is in 12th. In the same lap, Kovalainen and Hamilton have swapped positions. Hamilton took a detour through the grass, and Kovalainen capitalized on it. Rosberg also makes a mistake, and despite a very high speed, he skids sideways but manages to control the car until the end of the straight. He leaves behind a trail of gravel. The German enters his Williams pit and switches back to ‘extreme wet’ tires, as his strategy didn’t work out.

There are 6 laps remaining in the race. Hamilton makes another mistake, and Sutil takes advantage to secure 6th place. The German would score his first points and the first in the history of Force India. Unfortunately, three corners later, under pressure from Hamilton, Sutil makes a mistake on his own. He crashes violently into a tire wall, and the VJM02 is destroyed.

Only two laps remain, and the Red Bull clan can’t believe it. The double victory is near. Behind, Buemi could score points again while Alonso is ninth, a frustrating position, after having overtaken Heidfeld.

The rain having subsided, the risk is now lower and Vettel cautiously crosses the line, cheered by the Red Bull mechanics. Webber follows a few seconds later, the moment is historic. Once again, the season is surprising.

Behind the Red Bulls, the Brawn GP continue their good run. Button climbs onto the podium, ahead of Barrichello. McLaren also improved their performance. Kovalainen scores points in 5th place, ahead of Hamilton.

Glock is 7th, which is not enough for Toyota to keep the second place in the constructors’ championship by a point… and a half. Buemi also scores a point and proves that he has adapted well to the STR4. Bourdais is not far behind, finishing in 11th position. He is preceded by world champions. Alonso is 9th in the R29, Räikkönen is 10th. Renault and Ferrari leave this Chinese Grand Prix empty-handed. The same goes for BMW, finishing 12th and 13th.

Fisichella, Rosberg and Piquet conclude the standings. The Brazilian has still not shown his talent to Briatore, who seems very disappointed.

Result of the Chinese Grand Prix – Shanghai – Sunday, April 19, 2009: