Chinese Grand Prix’2009

Qualifying
Can it be a Déjà vu? It was once again Sebastian Vettel who took the pole position today. He took the pole in Monza last year and won. This time he is followed by none other than Fernando Alonso. Mark Webber and Rubbens Barichello were fraction of seconds away from Alonso and very close to challenge him. The poster boy of Formula One and the winner of two previous races Jenson Button was fifth.

Ferrari’s bad luck continued in spite of Kimi pulling out the best of the new car F60. Massa said that not having KERS would definitely be a handicap, however it seemed the current problems for Ferrari are more related to the diffusers and not KERS. Kimi was 8th on the grid with Hamilton behind him on 9th.

Race Day
While the IPL match between Delhi and Chandigarh started late in South Africa, the race in China started on time while it was still drizzling. For the first few laps behind the safety car it was very difficult for drivers to control the car as they kept spinning. After 8 laps the action started on a completely drenched track.

While Vettel continued to lead from the front, we saw a glimpse of excellent racing with Hamilton trying to overtake Raikkonen. He kept racing ahead before his car spun 360 degrees and he lost his place. The two Ferrari’s however had a forgettable day and yes, a forgettable season so far. Massa’s car came to a grinding halt while following the safety car while Kimi finished 10th. Force India’s Adrian Sutil aiming for points was in contention till the 6th lap from finish.
The day belonged to the pole position holder Sebastian Vettel who won the second race of his career while race leader Brawn GP was in for a pit stop. Team mate Mark Webber managed to bring home his Red Bull behind Vettel to finish 2nd. Button finished 3rd and thus managed to extend the championship lead from Barrichello by 6 points.

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