The Official 2016 Chinese Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS with whoopee cushions taped to them. No, I don't know why either***

This one is promising to be pretty good. Different tyre strategies on a track where they'll be particularly obvious, strong form from Ferrari in all sessions except the one that really mattered, and the defending Champ starting from the pit lane after technical issues - plus the weather has been both unpredictable and crazy all weekend.

Could be a classic race if that lot meets in the middle!

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looking forward to this one! expecting fireworks from Lewis

Well that sounded a bit mad. Woke up earlier than intended so just listened to it on the radio, but even the lap charts are mad. I'll download the race later as I don't think C4's highlights will be able to do it justice!

Cracking race, action aplenty everywhere. Gutted for Danny Ric - second was there for the taking if not for the puncture. Things are falling ever so nicely for Nico so far!!

Another very good race even if it was partly due to the chaotic first lap and resulting safety car. Going to be interesting to see how Rosberg responds next time he's under pressure considering he's had it so easy for a while. That might be the true test of whether he has the mettle to go on with it this year.

Good race for Massa, nice defence over Hamilton who seemed to be suffering from the old Red Bull problem of not being able to overtake in an otherwise-dominant car. Good to see he has got a nice gap over Bottas in the points now, obviously Bottas had mishaps but no-one seemed to consider that when it was the reverse situation in 2014 :P

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X (@ed24f1)

Pretty awesome race, when was the last time we had 3 great races in a row? F1 is in great shape race-wise, the cars look pretty good, the sound is fixed (the turbo separate exhaust really brings out the roar of the V6) and the strategies are mad. It's just the old coots trying to ruin it. Heck, DRS wasn't even necessary, there were many overtakes without it and the ones that were aided were on the back straight and really too easy, makes the hairpin pointless as an overtaking point. I acknowledge the importance of DRS on helping some venues be less processional (Bahrain, Hungary), which is why I wouldn't get rid of it but rather enable it on select tracks.

Now, the VET-KVY thing. None was to blame, IMO. There was a gap, almost exactly a car wide, and he went for it. Sure, he did go like a "torpedo" but it was a legit move, Vettel just didn't expect him there and swerved, spinning Kimi. And if you see closely, it is Kvyat who takes out Kimi's wing.

I would be just as angry in Seb's place, because after all that was a last-lap move on the first corner of the first lap. But after looking at it a number of times, it looks like a racing incident. Let's be honest, had it been Max, he would've rammed both of them



Stats: 139 Starts / 7 Wins / 9 Poles / 5 Fastest laps

Max wouldn't have rammed them, he would have left half an inch worth of space and made no contact. His wheel-to-wheel combat skills are outstanding.

Melbourne notwithstanding.

Aye Max's race craft is pretty much exceptional.. It's the maturity which is lacking but he's young so that will come. Red Bull almost have a glut of quality drivers at the moment. It's very easy to envisage a Ricciardo - Verstappen lineup at Red Bull which would be pretty potent which has the potential to leave both Kyvat and Sainz out in the cold.

I should have taken a leaf out of Gav's book because the C4 highlights suddenly jumped about 20 laps and I completely missed how Vettle got back to P2. But it looked like a good race. First corner squabble was fun.. Ol Seb might be a bit embarrassed after he sees the replay because Kyvat is basically innocent.

It's a bit frustrating being a Williams fan. The car seems to slipping back. You'd expect Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull to pull clear with their superior resources but they're basically falling into the clutches of Toro Rosso who to their credit have built a really good car. The disappointment is that Williams stopped development last year to concentrate on their weakness in slow corners.. well.. seems just as bad and what's more whilst last years car was difficult to overtake this years is being overtaken with ease.

Maybe I should've clarified that the Max comment was a joke, though with a wink to the Monaco incident last year. I like Max a lot, he's a real breath of fresh air. It's like seeing JP Montoya, only without the mighty car and the tennis injuries.

I echo your thoughts Jim. I'm not a Williams fan but I'm a Massa fan and I don't believe the car is weaker, the thing is that the rest got stronger. When the new formula came in in 2014, Mercedes nailed it best, and Williams nailed it second best. They deserved a win that season. Then Ferrari caught up and now... well, Merc isn't so dominant anymore (bear in mind that Rosberg would've had a handful with the Ferraris in his back had they made it through T1, and had Hamilton not had that engine trouble), Ferrari is even faster (though more unreliable), RBR as always has a masterpiece of a chassis, STR has a surprisingly awesome car, even McLaren isn't... embarrassing! It's harder for Williams this year, but in your place I'd take this place instead of the Cosworth-Toyota years.



Stats: 139 Starts / 7 Wins / 9 Poles / 5 Fastest laps

At least Williams has won the first three rounds of the Pit Stop Award so they have addressed one area of concern from previous years. Strategy is still a bit iffy though.

What I found concerning was that they couldn't even make a 2nd version of their new nose/front wing between Bahrain and China so still only had one in China (which I believe was destroyed when Massa spun off with the tyre failure). Such a team should be able to fabricate new parts quicker than that and I hope they are both ready for Spain as it is not helpful going in different directions like they have been.

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X (@ed24f1)

Bottas had the new front wing at China. What interests me is that at Bahrain where Massa had it, Bottas was quicker but at China it was a role reversal. So has it been a benefit to the performance? Maybe they haven't quite got it calibrated to the car yet but it's hardly the significant gain it promised to be.

The pit crew have definitely raised their game which is pleasing since they'd let the errors creep back in last year. But that's wasted with the chassis weakness in traction and slow corners. It's visibly noticeable compared to other cars.

Bottas was supposed to have it but I believe Massa tried it in FP1 since he had the experience using it and that's when the failure happened which broke it.

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X (@ed24f1)