McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton overcame pre-race technical problems to secure the British-based team’s first win of the 2011 Formula One season at an eventful Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday.
Hamilton, 26, passed world champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull with four laps to go to claim maximum points and end the German’s run of four successive victories going back to the end of last year.
Vettel’s Australian teammate Mark Webber charged through the field to finish third after starting 18th on the grid at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The 34-year-old overtook Hamilton’s McLaren colleague Jenson Button in the closing stages to condemn the 2009 world champion to a fourth-place finish.
Button had qualified second fastest for the race behind Vettel, with Hamilton starting in third—but the McLaren duo made the perfect start by both overtaking the pole-sitter early on. CNN International
Vettel now has 68 points after three races while Hamilton moved up to second overall with 47. Red Bull have 105 to McLaren’s 85 and Ferrari’s 50 in the constructors’ standings.
“With the whole thing that happened in the pit lane ... perhaps I wasn’t even going to be in the race,” Hamilton said after a thrilling and strategy-loaded race that left even drivers confused.
“I thought I was going to be back with Mark,” added the Briton who gave a whoop of delight to celebrate his and McLaren’s first win since Belgium in August last year.
The 26-year-old, triumphant in Shanghai on his way to the title in 2008, was the first driver to win twice in China since the race made its debut on the calendar in 2004.
“The car just wouldn’t start,” he said of the pre-race problems that saw him drive out of the garage barely 30 seconds before the pit lane closed and without the rear engine cover installed.
Mechanics carried on their work once he was safely installed in third place on the grid. Yahoo! Eurosport UK
They sent him out on the installation lap with only one minute to spare, but with much of the engine cover missing, and that had to be drilled onto the car while it was sitting on the grid.
“I had real confidence in the guys they would figure it out,” Hamilton said. “As I was driving to the light I was nervous that just as I got to it, it would go red, but fortunately I got out.”
McLaren’s Jenson Button, last year’s race winner, was fourth, ahead of Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, who all led at various stages at Shanghai International Circuit.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was seventh, ahead of Mercedes’ Schumacher, and Renault’s Vitaly Petrov, with Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi taking the final point in 10th place. The Associated Press
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