2015 Chinese Grand Prix

The 2015 Chinese Grand Prix (formally the 2015 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix) was the third race of the 2015 Formula One season. The race was the 12th Chinese Grand Prix, with all of them being held at the Shanghai International Circuit.
After setting the fastest time in all of the free practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton took the pole for the race, assisting in locking out the front row of the grid. Hamilton led from the start, leading all of the laps, with the exception of those on which he pitted. The race ended behind the safety car after the engine in Max Verstappen's car blew up on the front straight.
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==Background==
Soft "option" and medium "prime" tyres were used for the Grand Prix.
The race started one hour earlier than in 2014, following the results of recommendations for Jules Bianchi's crash in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
Jolyon Palmer, son of Jonathan Palmer, made his free practice début, for , at the race.
==Entry list==
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W06 Hybrid 	 	PU106B Hybrid 	
6 	Nico Rosberg 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W06 Hybrid 	 	PU106B Hybrid 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Infiniti Red Bull Racing 	 	RB11 	 	Energy F1-2015 	
26 	Daniil Kvyat 	Infiniti Red Bull Racing 	 	RB11 	 	Energy F1-2015 	
19 	Felipe Massa 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW37 	 	PU106B Hybrid 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW37 	 	PU106B Hybrid 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF15-T 	 	059/3 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF15-T 	 	059/3 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	McLaren Honda 	 	MP4-30 	 	RA615H Hybrid 	
22 	Jenson Button 	McLaren Honda 	 	MP4-30 	 	RA615H Hybrid 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM08 	 	PU106B Hybrid 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM08 	 	PU106B Hybrid 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR10 	 	Energy F1-2015 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR10 	 	Energy F1-2015 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	Lotus F1 Team 	 	E23 Hybrid 	 	PU106B Hybrid 	
13 	Pastor Maldonado 	Lotus F1 Team 	 	E23 Hybrid 	 	PU106B Hybrid 	
28 	Will Stevens 	Manor Marussia F1 Team 	 	MR03 	 	059/3 	
98 	Roberto Merhi 	Manor Marussia F1 Team 	 	MR03 	 	059/3 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C34 	 	059/3 	
12 	Felipe Nasr 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C34 	 	059/3 	
Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only 	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only
30 	Jolyon Palmer 	Lotus F1 Team 	 	E23 Hybrid 	 	PU106B Hybrid 	
source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source
==Practice Overview==
===FP1===
Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the first practice session, setting a time of 1:39.033, about half a second ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg. Mercedes' close challenger Ferrari had Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen set the third and fourth fastest times respectively. Felipe Nasr did well for Sauber by setting the fifth fastest time, while his teammate Marcus Ericsson was fourteenth ahead of Lotus' test driver Jolyon Palmer, who was fifteenth despite having a spin near the start of the session, which Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel, Pastor Maldonado, Ericsson, Carlos Sainz, Jr. and Max Verstappen all had lurid lock-ups and a few off-track moments. Maldonado was eleventh ahead of Verstappen, and the other Toro Rosso driver Sainz finished in eighth.
Daniel Ricciardo was sixth fastest in front of teammate Daniil Kvyat, and Valtteri Bottas was ninth, being just 0.001 seconds ahead of Felipe Massa, who also had a spin after going too deep at Turn 14. Jenson Button was close to the top ten for McLaren with the thirteenth fastest time, but Fernando Alonso was seventeenth between Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg respectively. Overcoming his mechanical problems from Malaysia, Will Stevens was nineteenth fastest, while teammate Roberto Merhi was in last place outside the 107% mark.
===FP2===
Hamilton was again fastest in the second practice session, with a time of 1:37.219, but Rosberg was down to fifth after going off at the final turn on his hot lap. Räikkönen was second fastest, while Vettel set the fourth fastest time, stating that he had to back off from behind Hamilton when he made "several mistakes". Ricciardo finally got into the top 3 with the third fastest time, while his teammate Kvyat was sixth after crashing at Turn 14 due to problems with his brakes. He made it back to the pits, but during a routine pit stop, his left rear brakes set on fire, and his session was over after his front wing was damaged. He was followed by Bottas, whose teammate Massa was seventeenth after having an incident at the same corner as Kvyat earlier in the session, getting sideways following his rear wing stalling while braking, and had his left front endplate come off after his front wing touched the wall, bringing the red flags out after 51 minutes.
Despite not being as fast as in the first practice session, Nasr was to get into the top ten with eighth. Romain Grosjean, who was taken over by Palmer in the first session, followed with the ninth fastest time. After Ron Dennis informed observers that they will "be surprised", Button was impressively tenth, while Alonso was twelfth fastest. Maldonado was sandwiched by the two drivers. Ericsson was a bit faster, being thirteenth. Verstappen and Sainz followed him with the fourteenth and fifteenth fastest times respectively. Hülkenberg did not do so well, after suffering rising gearbox oil pressure, leaving him sixteenth, while Pérez was eighteenth with brake problems. Merhi was nineteenth, with his teammate Stevens last due to a problem with his power unit.
There was a shocking moment in the session, when a man ran across the start/finish straight into the pits while several drivers were driving along, before he was arrested by the police. He was said to have wanted to take a drive in one of Ferrari's cars, and went to their garage, but was stopped by a few mechanics before he could enter.
===FP3===
Following the second practice session, Rosberg managed to get ahead of Räikkönen, Ricciardo and Vettel, but his time was not enough to beat Hamilton's time of 1:37.615. Behind them both was Vettel, followed by his teammate Räikkönen. Ricciardo and Kvyat were fifth and sixth fastest respectively. Sainz set the seventh fastest time, followed by Bottas, ending the consecutive matchup of drivers in the same team. Toro Rosso's other driver Verstappen was ninth fastest in his rookie year, and Grosjean completed the top ten. Massa could not improve more than eleventh while using the same front wing from Friday that got damaged in the second session, with Hülkenberg joining him in twelfth. Ericsson set a time that was faster than teammate Nasr, and were followed by Button, whose teammate Alonso could not set a time when an engine problem stopped his car during his outlap.
Maldonado joined Button in sixteenth place, being followed by the other Force India driver Pérez. With no technical problems, Stevens was eighteenth fastest ahead of Merhi.
===Practice Results===
No 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	 	FP2 	 	FP3 	 	 	 	 	 	
No 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	 	 	 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:41.029	6 	1:38.311	3 	1:39.020	5 	 	 	 	 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:40.157	3 	1:38.339	4 	1:38.313	3 	 	 	 	 	
6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	1:39.574	2 	1:38.399	5 	1:37.841	2 	 	 	 	 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:40.661	4 	1:37.662	2 	1:38.512	4 	 	 	 	 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	1:39.142	9 	1:39.405	10 	 	 	 	 	 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	1:41.918	14 	1:39.751	13 	1:39.559	13 	 	 	 	 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:42.141	16 	1:40.868	18 	1:39.781	17 	 	 	 	 	
12 	Felipe Nasr 	 	1:41.012	5 	1:39.032	8 	1:39.591	14 	 	 	 	 	
13 	Pastor Maldonado 	 	1:41.335	11 	1:39.444	11 	1:39.766	16 	 	 	 	 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:42.161	17 	1:39.743	12 	No Time 	20 	 	 	 	 	
19 	Felipe Massa 	 	1:41.304	10 	1:40.423	17 	1:39.410	11 	 	 	 	 	
22 	Jenson Button 	 	1:41.845	13 	1:39.275	10 	1:39.694	15 	 	 	 	 	
26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 	1:41.097	7 	1:38.737	6 	1:39.106	6 	 	 	 	 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	1:42.184	18 	1:40.151	16 	1:39.513	12 	 	 	 	 	
28 	Will Stevens 	 	1:45.379	19 	1:44.564	20 	1:42.928	18 	 	 	 	 	
30 	Jolyon Palmer 	 	1:41.967	15 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	1:41.575	12 	1:39.894	14 	1:39.274	9 	 	 	 	 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:39.033	1 	1:37.219	1 	1:37.615	1 	 	 	 	 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	1:41.112	8 	1:39.971	15 	1:39.113	7 	 	 	 	 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:41.303	9 	1:38.850	7 	1:39.243	8 	 	 	 	 	
98 	Roberto Merhi 	 	1:46.443	20 	1:42.973	19 	1:44.956	19 	 	 	 	 	
Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
Vettel set the fastest time of Q1, ahead of Räikkönen. Hamilton could only manage fifth, while Rosberg was eighth. Hülkenberg, Button, Alonso, Stevens and Merhi were all eliminated at the end, with the latter two being able to get within the 107% time.
===Q2===
Unable to beat their times in Q1, Hamilton was able to get ahead of the Ferrari drivers with the fastest time of Q2, followed by Rosberg. The drivers knocked out at the end were Maldonado, Kvyat, Verstappen, Sainz and Pérez.
===Q3===
Hamilton took pole position in Q3, ahead of Rosberg, who complained after hearing that he was just 0.042 seconds behind, "Oh, come on, guys." Vettel qualified third, and Massa and Bottas separated him from Räikkönen. Ricciardo followed them ahead of Grosjean. Nasr was ninth after having a broken front wing flap which decreased his downforce and made him lose about two-tenths of a second, and was followed by his teammate Ericsson.
===Qualifying Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	Grid
1 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	5 	1:38.285 	 	1 	1:36.423 	 	1 	1:35.782 	1
2 	6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	8 	1:38.496 	 	2 	1:36.747 	 	2 	1:35.824 	2
3 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	1 	1:36.957 	 	3 	1:36.957 	 	3 	1:36.687 	3
4 	19 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	7 	1:38.433 	 	5 	1:37.357 	 	4 	1:36.954 	4
5 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	3 	1:38.014 	 	6 	1:37.763 	 	5 	1:37.143 	5
6 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	2 	1:37.790 	 	4 	1:37.109 	 	6 	1:37.232 	6
7 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	10 	1:38.534 	 	7 	1:37.939 	 	7 	1:37.540 	7
8 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	4 	1:38.209 	 	9 	1:38.063 	 	8 	1:37.905 	8
9 	12 	Felipe Nasr 	 	 	9 	1:38.521 	 	8 	1:38.017 	 	9 	1:38.067 	9
10 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	 	14 	1:38.941 	 	10 	1:38.127 	 	10 	1:38.158 	10
11 	13 	Pastor Maldonado 	 	 	11 	1:38.563 	 	11 	1:38.134 	 	 	 	11
12 	26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 	 	15 	1:39.051 	 	12 	1:38.209 	 	 	 	12
13 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	6 	1:38.387 	 	13 	1:38.393 	 	 	 	13
14 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	12 	1:38.622 	 	14 	1:38.538 	 	 	 	14
15 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	13 	1:38.903 	 	15 	1:39.290 	 	 	 	15
16 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	 	16 	1:39.216 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
17 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	 	17 	1:39.276 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	20 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	18 	1:39.280 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19 	28 	Will Stevens 	 	 	19 	1:42.091 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
20 	98 	Roberto Merhi 	 	 	20 	1:42.842 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327	107% time: 1:44.327
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
===Grid===
==Race==
===Report===
As the race started, Räikkönen was able to get past both Williams drivers on the first lap to get into fourth place. Sainz later went wide and spun, having to continue in nineteenth place. Hülkenberg had to retire on lap 10 after having a problem with his gearbox.
A few of the drivers, including Vettel, came for their pit stops on lap 13, but there was no chance for him to get ahead of the Mercedes drivers, as Hamilton came in on lap 14, and Rosberg took his first pit stop on lap 15, which they both came out ahead of Vettel. Later, Kvyat had to retire when his engine failed on lap 17.
Hamilton was still leading Rosberg on lap 20, but Rosberg started complaining to the team that Hamilton was driving slowly, and later saying that he would damage his tyres if he got right behind Hamilton. As a response, the team told Hamilton to pick up the pace.
When he came in for his second pit stop on lap 33, Maldonado ran too deep, but was able to keep going. However, a few laps later, he had a spin, which did not stop him from retiring. Things went worse for him when Button ran into the back of his car at the end of the start/finish straight on lap 49. Button was able to continue, but Maldonado was forced to retire.
By lap 54, Rosberg was 10.06 seconds behind Hamilton, and 12.12 seconds ahead of Vettel, whose tyres were four laps older than the tyres of Räikkönen, who was 1.37 seconds behind on lap 54. The safety car came out after Verstappen's car stopped on the start/finish straight due to engine failure. Mechanics struggled to get the car through a gap in the track barrier, eventually taking off the front wing themselves. The safety car came in at the end of the final lap, and Hamilton won the race ahead of Rosberg and Vettel.
Rob Musgrave Mercedes team joined on the podium to receive the winning manufacturer’s award.
===Post-race===
Talking to Edwin Moses during the podium interview, Hamilton explained that the team did "a fantastic job", as well as saying that having the safety car out at a late time is "kind of an anti-climax when you have a good race like that." However, he was accused by his teammate Rosberg during the press conference for what he thought was slowing down during the race. Hamilton explained that "I wasn't controlling his [Nico's] race, I was controlling my own race." Rosberg then replied: "It's just now interesting to hear from you, Lewis, that you were just thinking about yourself with the pace in front, and necessarily that was compromising my race." Niki Lauda responded: "Sure, everyone drives selfish. [...] What do you think these guys are here to do? I call them egocentric b******s. That is the only way to win and the only way to win the Championship, they are all the same."
Button was given a five-second time penalty and two penalty points for his collision with Maldonado, and Merhi was given the same for not keeping above the needed lap time under the safety car.
Meanwhile, Hamilton was criticised by Roz Hardie, the chief executive of Object, for spraying champagne in a hostess' face. However, the hostess, who was named Liu Siying, defended Hamilton when she said: "It lasted for only one or two seconds, and I did not think too much about it at all. I think some foreign media are more sensitive about the topic compared to local media. I was just told by my employer to stand on the podium, and that's what I did." Hamilton later explained: "This is Formula One, it's the pinnacle of motor sport and I'd just won a grand prix for the team. You should see it was a kind of a fun thing. I would never, ever intend to disrespect or try to embarrass someone like that." He also explained, as shown on his BBC Sport column, "I certainly did not see it that way at the time - most people laugh if we spray them on the podium - and I was pleased to hear that the lady in question was not upset, either."
===Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	56 	1h 39m 42.008s	1 	25
2 	6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	56 	+0.714 	2 	18
3 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	56 	+2.988 	3 	15
4 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	56 	+3.835 	6 	12
5 	19 	Felipe Massa 	 	56 	+8.544 	4 	10
6 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	56 	+9.885 	5 	8
7 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	56 	+19.008 	8 	6
8 	12 	Felipe Nasr 	 	56 	+22.625 	9 	4
9 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	56 	+32.117 	7 	2
10 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	10 	1
11 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	15 	
12 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	18 	
13 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	55 	+1 Lap 	14 	
14* 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	17 	
15 	28 	Will Stevens 	 	54 	+2 Laps 	19 	
16^ 	98 	Roberto Merhi 	 	54 	+2 Laps 	20 	
17 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	52 	Engine 	13 	
Ret 	13 	Pastor Maldonado 	 	50 	Collision 	11 	
Ret 	26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 	15 	Engine 	12 	
Ret 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	9 	Gearbox 	16 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
Notes:
* * Jenson Button finished 13th, but had 5 seconds added to his race time for causing a collision with Pastor Maldonado.
* ^ Roberto Merhi had 5 seconds added to his race time for failing to stay above the required time during the safety car period.
===Fastest laps===
===Laps in the lead===
====Stints====
Stint	Driver 	Laps 	Total	Distance
1 	Lewis Hamilton	1 – 13 	13 	70.863 km
2 	Nico Rosberg 	14 – 15	2 	10.902 km
3 	Lewis Hamilton	16 – 33	18 	98.118 km
4 	Kimi Räikkönen	34 	1 	5.451 km
5 	Lewis Hamilton	35 – 56	22 	119.922 km
====Totals====
Pos.	Driver 	Laps	Distance
1 	Lewis Hamilton	53 	288.903 km
2 	Nico Rosberg 	2 	10.902 km
3 	Kimi Räikkönen	1 	5.451 km
==Milestones==
*35th career victory for Lewis Hamilton
==Standings after race==
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/- 	
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	68 	 	
2 	Sebastian Vettel 	55 	 	
3 	Nico Rosberg 	51 	 	
4 	Felipe Massa 	30 	 	
5 	Kimi Räikkönen 	24 	 	
6 	Valtteri Bottas 	18 	1 	
7 	Felipe Nasr 	14 	1 	
8 	Daniel Ricciardo 	11 	 	
9 	Nico Hülkenberg 	6 	 	
10 	Romain Grosjean 	6 	6 	
11 	Max Verstappen 	6 	1 	
12 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	6 	4 	
13 	Marcus Ericsson 	5 	1 	
14 	Daniil Kvyat 	2 	1 	
15 	Sergio Pérez 	1 	1 	
16 	Jenson Button 	0 	1 	
17 	Fernando Alonso 	0 	 	
18 	Roberto Merhi 	0 	 	
19 	Will Stevens 	0 	 	
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/- 	
1 	 	119 	 	
2 	 	79 	 	
3 	 	48 	 	
4 	 	19 	 	
5 	 	13 	1 	
6 	 	12 	1 	
7 	 	7 	 	
8 	 	6 	1 	
9 	 	0 	1 	
10 	 	0 	 	
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
==Notes==
==External links==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Chinese Grand Prix
Category:2015 Grands Prix