Hamilton Wins in China

Lewis Hamilton took the challenge to Red Bull as he brought home the first win of the season for MclarenThe FIA have really spiced up this years races following the introduction of the new tyres which are designed to degrade quicker than the previous specification. This is not a case of pirelli tyres not being has hardy as last years Bridgestone’s, this is inbuilt, and leads to a dramatic loss of grip towards the end of the tyre’s life. Once again we saw those who got away from the pack in lap one getting the benefit of good young rubber to pull away. Button still thought that Red Bulls tyres were better than his and inexplicably pitted in the wrong box as surprised Red Bull mechanics pulled back to let him through into his own pit. This mistake allowed Vettel, who was right behind to still get out of the pit first. Meanwhile Webber, who had started in 18th place was scything his way though the field. In the end it was Hamilton, with an extra set of new tyres that was able to take Vettel in the closing stages of the race. Button was also suffering in second place and behind was Webber who squeezed though into third on the last lap a mixture of fresher rubber and pure adrenalin. Mercedes demonstrated that they were right up there in the mix. Both Rosberg and Schumacher had excellent weekends and it was good to see Schumacher sparing with Alonso.

Result: 1st Hamilton 2nd Vettel 3rd Webber. Championship Positions after three Races: DRIVERS 1st Vettel 68 Points 2nd Hamilton 47 Points 3rd Button 37 Points. TEAMS 1st Red Bull 105 Points 2nd McLaren 85 Points 3rd Ferrari 50 Points

Countdown to China

In this peview we take a look at Red Bull and how Vettel is able to gain victories with a broken car. So why is it that other drivers including his team mate are struggling.
So, the theroy goes like this. Conventional wisdom suggests that the fastest qualifier is not the fastest in the race and there are a number of reasons for this which tend to be about driving skill. Hamilton was just 100th of a second behind Vettel in qualification, but Vettel finished a country mile ahead of the field without the use of KERs after lap 30.
The new tyres plus a good start and smooth driving give the first car on the grid a bigger advantage than. Those behind. Whilst this seems obvious it has not proved the case in the past. The team can also gamble by underfilling the tank. This may seem a crazy sugestion but why did Webber park his car on the line in Melbourne.
The fact is that if you can make the break on lap one you have more opportunity to look after the tyres and manage the fuel. Button is a smooth driver and had the space to do the same,whilst Webber Hamilton and Alonso were having to work the car and the tyres much harder. China is another of the new tracks which will punish those who cant look after their tyres and we are again looking at about 16 to 18 laps for each set. All I can say is well done FIA for keeping us entertained.