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  • 5 months ago
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00:00I think we're just seeing Lewis there, is that him going out the end of the pit lane, so it looks like he has going to make his way around to the grid.
00:07There's a bit of frantic activity there, because obviously if it's gone wrong once, then how do you know it won't go wrong again?
00:12There are 7 billion people in the world, but just 24 Grand Prix drivers.
00:17They're lined up in the same 200 metres of tarmac for our entertainment, and like bulls, when they see red, they get ready to charge.
00:30The red lights seem to be on for an eternity, Vettel feels he needs to cover Button straight away, and that's why he's not had a great start, he's moving around like crazy.
00:39Button leads the Grand Prix, Hamilton's up the inside, Rosberg's up the inside of Vettel too.
00:44Vettel will get a better line as they go into turn three, if he can hang it out there, he's really got to keep position, he does so.
00:51Massa, right behind, he's outstarted Alonso again, then it's two Force Indias, so Sebastian Vettel, he looked tense on the grid,
00:58and that's the worst start we've seen him make for quite some time, as he's still defending against Nico Rosberg, down into turn six.
01:07Button leads from Hamilton, Rosberg gets a shove off the track, and now Massa is alongside him, and Alonso fancies a bit of that as well,
01:14looking around the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.
01:17So it's De Resta up into seventh, from Sutil, Aljuswari is ninth, Michael Schumacher straight up to tenth place, Mark Webber's only made one place at the moment in seventeen.
01:28Again, some excellent driving, David, in the first few corners, Alonso getting out of shape in the background there.
01:34Very clean, I was expecting maybe someone to be getting their end plate a bit too close in turn two into three,
01:40but so far, this has been a very clean, clean start to this Grand Prix.
01:45So let's just run through the oil then, button from Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg fourth, Massa fifth, Alonso sixth, De Resta is still seventh, Sutil eighth,
01:53and we've got some side-by-side action down to remember, they can use their curves on the first lap,
01:58they cannot use the DRS low drag rear wing for two laps.
02:02It's Mark Webber, he's had a poor run off turn 13, struggling to speed down there, they're all over the place,
02:09and Petra's gone in too deep on the brakes, underneath him goes Aljuswari and also Kobayashi.
02:16And look at the lead that Button has then, he leads by 1.3 seconds over Hamilton from Vettel, Rosberg, Massa,
02:23that is what it looks like when you get in to the hole behind a car that another 401 car is punching in the air,
02:29and Webber makes the corner.
02:33Two low revs, pulling about 12,500 RPM, and he knew straight away that he got it wrong,
02:40and he did deploy the curves, it was just a poor start.
02:43He had 12,500 revs on the clock, and it just wasn't enough.
02:47And this is what a great start looks like.
02:50Feeds left, pulls it right, and look how close that was.
02:53That was really on the limit, but beautiful driving from Lewis, gets his car off the inside,
02:57and then he's got a bit of clear track towards his teammate.
03:00Erase his instinct, he had all sorts of problems.
03:02He made it out of the pit lane with 35 seconds to spare to even be on the grid,
03:08and then Lewis has got race mode switched on immediately.
03:12Kobayashi having a sniff down the inside of, sorry, excuse me,
03:16Perez having a look down the inside and passing Barrichello.
03:19His DRS, the, that right rear didn't look, didn't look quite right.
03:24Look, I said the right rear didn't look good, didn't I, on the way out.
03:28It's Vettel then, and Hamilton's struggling for rear grip as well now.
03:31Lewis is going to be passed here, he's defenceless with DRS open,
03:36and this is just going to be a drag strip down to turn 14,
03:38approaching 200 miles an hour.
03:40Who's the last of the late breakers?
03:42Ah, well, so Sebastian Vettel had the racing line, had track position.
03:48Crucially though, if they don't have too much traffic,
03:50when they drop back into the racetrack, and look at that, he's in the wrong pit.
03:54He's stopped in the wrong box, this is the battle of the teams here,
03:5724 guys working the cars, and crucially, Sebastian Vettel gets away first.
04:02That was a terrible mistake there by Jenson Button.
04:04Okay, so Hamilton's lost out to a Ferrari as well in the action,
04:08and again you see, until he can open the rear wing,
04:11the Renault is just playing fast all by itself.
04:14They obviously had some great in and out luck, some clear traffic,
04:18and Schumacher is going to make it up the inside of Heidfeld.
04:21This is for position, down into turn 1.
04:24Nico Rosberg leads the Grand Prix, but will pitting so much earlier
04:28give them the need to come in for an extra pit stop?
04:32Nico, if you can lift 25 metres early for brakes,
04:36lift 25 metres where you can for foot early.
04:39Feel the car pick up speed as the wing opens,
04:42Schumacher knows it's going to happen, so it goes to the inside.
04:45I'm a little bit surprised Alonso doesn't just send one deep up the inside, aren't you?
04:50Well, I wouldn't go around the outside, Fernando.
04:51I tried that a few times in Magna Cura a few years ago.
04:54Alonso then, and this is down, and he's done it this time.
04:59No, he hasn't.
05:00Schumacher comes back up the inside.
05:02Alonso cuts back underneath.
05:04Surely he can get on the throttle so much early,
05:06he'll just squeeze Michael out,
05:07and unfortunately underneath the grandstands,
05:10and Alonso gets the job done.
05:12Chinese burn by rubbing tyres, and he's coming up the inside.
05:15He's got him into, that's how much more traction he had on those fresh tyres.
05:19So great move there from Nico Rosberg.
05:22And will Alonso just go to the inside?
05:25See, I think Hamilton would just send one up the inside there.
05:28I think, I think, and he's just going to out-drag him through the exit.
05:31He didn't need to risk it up the inside.
05:33Well, we can assume maybe that's engine.
05:35We don't know what else it will be.
05:37And 25 will be some kind of setting.
05:38Mark Webber, he's going to be out on the marbles out there, isn't he?
05:42Has he got enough grip?
05:43No.
05:44The three-stopper will work as Hamilton shapes up for a look at Button.
05:49Oh, I talked about the ferocious battle for dominance and supremacy
05:54within the McLaren team.
05:55And here we are, moving into lap 35, lap 36 now.
06:00And that's exactly what we've got.
06:02And he's got a tremendous slipstream down the pit straight.
06:05And Hamilton fancies to look up the inside into turn one.
06:08And Button had to give him some space.
06:10Hamilton then, a beautiful move on Jenson Button.
06:14So Button, I think, will be frustrated with that.
06:16And there we go then.
06:17Look at the, there's a beautiful slipstream.
06:19And Jenson sort of leaves him the path, doesn't he?
06:22I don't think Jenson quite recognized that he was coming at him.
06:25He'd drop under pressure down into turn six, surely.
06:28Well, he is.
06:28He is indeed, isn't he?
06:29But we know that he doesn't, he wasn't phased by the pressure of a double world champion
06:33in Abu Dhabi last year.
06:35And he defends well there.
06:36But it looks like, yeah, he just doesn't have the drive off the turn six.
06:40And Webber, he's the man going up the inside.
06:43That, that for me, is the only way to pass Michael Schumacher.
06:46As long as you can stop when you get there.
06:48Both Mercedes drivers.
06:49And at least, oh, look at this.
06:51And Lewis, oh, that'll be a horrible flat spot on that left front.
06:55These were team, these two guys were teammates in karting.
06:58Hamilton will flick up the inside, surely.
06:59And Rosberg gives him the wave.
07:01And, well, he just opened the door, didn't he?
07:04It's a replay then of the move that Hamilton made on Rosberg.
07:09Yeah, he sort of put himself on the inside,
07:11but didn't expect Nico to leave the door open.
07:14And this is going to be, it's the Renault guys.
07:18Renault drivers getting very up close and personal.
07:20In fact, well, didn't pay off there in turn 16.
07:26But there is one thing that's quite clear.
07:29Lewis Hamilton is coming past.
07:34It's second place then for Lewis Hamilton.
07:36And this is where it happened for Mark Webber.
07:39He's gone down the outside into turn six.
07:42Cuts back underneath.
07:43Gets an earlier throttle and traction.
07:46And look, Masa, Rosberg passes Masa,
07:48because he was behind him.
07:50And then he's just gone way, way too deep
07:52into the turn 14 hairpin.
07:55And the pair of them scoot past.
07:57And Vettel does his fastest lap of the race.
07:59But it's still 4 tenths slower than Hamilton.
08:02He's coming at this lot at three seconds per lap.
08:06Takes that wide line in.
08:08And Perez just slithers clean up the inside.
08:11Well, that's just a step too far.
08:12And Vettel has to go defensive.
08:15Hamilton had the wing open, which he was allowed to do.
08:17Hamilton will get tremendous drive off the hairpin.
08:19Vettel's at the inside.
08:21They've got the inside line for the final corner.
08:23And he just leaves Hamilton enough space.
08:26Webber is flying at them.
08:28This then is for the lead.
08:32And it's starting to get pretty narrow now, David,
08:35with all the discarded rubber.
08:36And he's looking at the inside.
08:37He's through.
08:38Hamilton takes the lead.
08:40Absolutely brilliant on lap 52.
08:42That almost surprised Lewis, didn't it?
08:48But if Webber, if Webber can clear Rosberg quickly and now.
08:52And look at that.
08:53He's up the inside.
08:54Can he slow down?
08:55Yes, he can just about.
08:56And he's now got exactly what he needs.
08:58He's got all the tools available to take a sensational third place away from Jenson Button.
09:04He started on the second row of the grid.
09:07He had problems going to the grid.
09:08He was so happy he saved extra tires for the race.
09:11It's paid dividends.
09:12Lewis Hamilton brilliantly wins the Chinese Grand Prix.
09:17Vettel somehow salvages second.
09:19Mark Webber, after a stunning performance,
09:22is third and on the podium.
09:23His arm goes in the air, and rightly so.
09:25That's a magnificent drive.
09:27Absolutely magnificent.
09:29Second half of the race was superb.
09:31And it's champagne time.
09:39Hamilton brilliantly wins from the championship leader,
09:43reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel,
09:45and Mark Webber somehow, amazingly, with incredible pace,
09:50joins them on the podium to share the champagne here in Shanghai.
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