Chinese GP : No points but at least no DNF's for Williams
Rubens in 13th
By Andrew Hooper
April 17 2011
The results for the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix would see AT&T Williams drivers Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado finish in thirteenth and eighteenth. It was an uneventful race for both drivers and based on their pace over the weekend this result was probably the best they could hope for but at least reliability did not play a part this race and both cars made it to the finish.
| Chinese GP Race Review |
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On a cooler day
the AT&T Williams drivers would start the fifty six lap 2011 Chinese Grand
Prix from fifteenth and seventeenth, with Rubens Barrichello leading Pastor
Maldonado. One drama prior to the grid moving off was with Hamilton's car
not been able to start as a result of an air filter been flooded with fuel,
seeing his mechanics working quickly on the grid to sort the problem out.
His team would fix problem and was able to move away on the parade lap. Both
Rubens and Pastor would start the race on the option tyre. |
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Pastor was now down in twenty
second with Webber twentieth. Lap thirteen and Rosberg would pit from
fourth. Like many others he would also come out on the option tyre. A
1m:43.468 from Webber on lap twelve while at the front Button was now 0.6
seconds ahead of Hamilton. Vettel was now right behind Hamilton with Massa
fourth and Alonso fifth. Lap thirteen and a 1m:43.313 from Webber but he was
down in seventeenth. Vettel would pass Hamilton but Button and Vettel would
both pit on lap fifteen. But for Button would make a major mistake pitting
in the wrong pit box, that of Red Bull. Vettel would come back out in front
of Button after this error. Massa would pass Hamilton with both pitting on
lap sixteen. Both would take on the option tyre. Sutil would pit from sixth
with Alonso now leading. He would pit on lap seventeen joined by Perez and
Rubens. Further down the order Buemi and Glock would also pit. Rosberg was now leading as Vettel passed Petrov for second going into the turn thirteen. Petrov would pit on lap eighteen as Schumacher would pass Renault team-mate Heidfeld for sixth. Heidfeld would pit on lap nineteen taking on the option tyres. Rosberg was now leading by 5.0 seconds from Vettel, Button, Massa, Hamilton, Schumacher, Alonso, and Di Resta in eighth. Rubens was now down in seventeenth with Pastor again eighteenth. Lap nineteen and a 1m:42.612 from Button as Alonso started to look for a way past Schumacher. Lap twenty two and Vettel's gap to Rosberg was now 4.6 seconds with Button 1.7 seconds behind the Red Bull. Rosberg was been told to lift earlier in the corners as the gap to Vettel had dropped to 4.1 seconds on lap twenty three. Rubens and Pastor were now in fifteenth and sixteenth as Button pitted on lap twenty five taking on a fresh set of soft tyres. Button would come back in eighth as Rosberg pitted on lap twenty six. He was followed in by Hamilton. Rosberg would again take on option tyres. Webber and Pastor would also pit as Alonso passed Schumacher at the end of the back straight as the Mercedes driver came into the pits. Vettel was now leading from Massa and Alonso. Webber was on a flyer setting a 1m:42.200 on lap twenty seven. Vettel was leading by 3.2 seconds from Massa and Rosberg. Alonso was now right behind the Mercedes. Button was fifth from Hamilton, Di Resta, Sutil, Kobayashi, and Petrov in tenth. |
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Rubens had moved up to
fifteenth, courtesy of others pit stops, while Pastor was in eighteenth.
Hamilton would pass Alonso setting a 1m:40.736 on lap thirty. Sutil,
Kobayashi and Heidfeld would all pit on lap thirty one. Vettel would pit on
lap thirty two putting on the harder tyre. Massa was now leading from
Rosberg, Button, and Hamilton. Hamilton was right behind Button as sixth
placed Alonso would pit on lap thirty three. Di Resta would also pit as
Schumacher passed Petrov with Webber trying to follow him by the Renault.
Massa would pit from the lead on lap thirty four. Massa would take on the
harder tyre indicating that it would be his last stop. Rosberg was now leading from Button and Hamilton with these three drivers all having to make another stop. Vettel and Massa in fourth and fifth were going to run to the end. Rubens was now in eleventh but yet to stop while Pastor was down in seventeenth. Hamilton would pass Button going into Turn one. Webber was now in seventh and fastest on lap thirty five, 1m:40.717. Rubens would pit on lap thirty seven. Rosberg was leading Hamilton by 2.6 seconds with Button now 1.8 seconds further back. Perez would pit from tenth on lap thirty seven. Vettel was 12.1 seconds behind Button and 16.7 seconds behind the leader. Will he be able to close the gap so when the top three pit he can come out in front? Button would pit first on lap thirty eight joined by ninth placed Petrov. Button would come back out in fifth, running on the harder tyres. The next lap Hamilton would pit as Webber passed Schumacher for sixth. Hamilton would return in front of Button. Lap forty and Rosberg would pit from the lead taking on the harder tyre. Vettel would take the lead as Schumacher also came into the pits. Massa was now second with Rosberg been able to come out in front of Hamilton. Hamilton had tried to pass Rosberg at Turn six but it didn't come off. Lap forty and Vettel was leading by 3.6 seconds with Webber pitting on lap forty one. Pastor would pit on lap forty one while Rubens was in fifteenth. Rosberg was told that he was tight on fuel as on lap forty two Hamilton would pass Rosberg at Turn six for third. |
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Button was also looking to pass
Rosberg with Pastor having dropped to nineteenth. Vettel would extend his
lead to Massa and on lap forty three it was 4.3 seconds. Both Hamilton and
Button were right behind the Ferrari with jus twelve laps remaining.
Hamilton would pass Massa going down the main straight. On lap forty two
Webber would set a 1m:38.993 to now be sixth after passing Alonso coming out
of Turn six. Button was now right behind Massa after getting past Rosberg
when the German made a mistake at Turn fourteenth. Lap forty six and
Vettel's lead was a 3.3 seconds from Hamilton, Massa, Button, Rosberg,
Webber, Alonso, Schumacher, Di Resta, and Kobayashi in tenth. Hamilton would continue to gain a few tenths each lap in his fight to close in onto Vettel. Rubens was still in fifteenth and Pastor eighteenth. Hamilton was been told that Vettel would come back to him and that he did with Vettel's lead just 1.6 seconds on lap forty eight. While all this was going on Button had passed Massa for third with Rosberg now looking to pass fourth placed Massa. Hamilton was now right behind Vettel but Vettel was not going to make it easy. Rubens had moved up to thirteenth while Rosberg would pass Massa for fourth. Webber would pass Massa for fifth while Hamilton would take the lead and on lap fifty two Hamilton's lead was out to 1.2 seconds. Button was told to try and take second from Vettel while Webber still had his sights on Rosberg. Vettel would drop away from Hamilton with the gap out to 2.8 seconds on lap fifty three. Webber would be able to get past Rosberg and was then able to close the gap to Button. On his fresher soft tyres Webber would quickly close in onto Button and pass the McLaren using his DRS going down the back straight. Hamilton would complete the final laps and would take victory in the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix. Vettel would finish in second with team-mate Webber in third. Button was fourth from Rosberg, Massa, Alonso, Schumacher, Petrov, and Kobayashi in tenth. For the Williams team Rubens would finish in thirteenth and Pastor eighteenth. Based on their pace over the weekend this result was probably the best they could hope for but at least reliability did not play a part this race and both cars made it to the finish. |
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Pos Driver Team Time 1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h36:58.226 2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 5.198 3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 7.555 4. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 10.000 5. Rosberg Mercedes + 13.448 6. Massa Ferrari + 15.840 7. Alonso Ferrari + 30.622 8. Schumacher Mercedes + 31.206 9. Petrov Renault + 57.404 10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:03.273 11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:08.757 12. Heidfeld Renault + 1:12.739 13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:30.189 14. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:30.671 15. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 16. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 17. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 19. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 20. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps 21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps 22. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps 23. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps Fastest lap: Webber, 1:38.993 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12 |
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