Sebastian Vettel showed the world that Lewis Hamilton won’t necessarily be cruising to another World Championship title this year, with a comfortable victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix a fortnight ago.
Despite that, Lewis Hamilton managed to claim pole position for the third time this season in Saturday’s qualifying, with Vettel having to settle for a third position, behind Hamilton’s Mercedes’ team-mate, Nico Rosberg.
The big question now is: can Ferrari maintain their impressive pace from a wet and humid Sepang in the cooler climes of Shanghai?
After a difficult year with Red Bull, Vettel is looking much more comfortable in his Ferrari – and let’s not forget that this is the man who won four consecutive Driver’s Championships between 2010 and 2013 – clocking up a joint record of a remarkable 13 wins in 2013.
Hamilton, meanwhile, also had pole position in Shanghai last year and held onto his lead to be first past the checkered flag. Indeed, last year’s victory was his third in Shanghai – making him the most successful driver ever at this Grand Prix. But can the Brit repeat that success this year?
Nico Rosberg was just 0.042 off Hamilton in qualifying, and he’ll be desperate to get one over on his team-mate to show that Mercedes’ isn’t all about Hamilton. Vettel, despite taking third, was nearly a second behind the pair.
Ahead of the race, Vettel said: “China is a unique event. It’s a crazy track and crazy conditions, and anything can happen there but for sure, we will be very happy to go there after the great success in Sepang.”
2015 Chinese Grand Prix Starting Grid
- Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
- Nico Rosberg – Mercedes
- Sebastian Vettel – Ferrari
- Felipe Massa – Williams
- Valtteri Bottas – Williams
- Kimi Raikkonen – Ferrari
Prediction
It looks like it’ll be another three-horse race in Shanghai, with most eyes focussed upon the battle between Hamilton and Vettel. But let’s not forget Rosberg amongst all of this. The German is unquestionably a world class driver and was just a shade behind Hamilton in qualifying.
There’s no real value in backing Lewis Hamilton to win at around 3/10 at most bookies, so your focus would be better placed with either Rosberg at 4/1 or Vettel at 12/1 (both at William Hill). However, Rosberg showed a lot more sharpness in qualifying and he’ll be eager to get his first win of the season here – so he’s my pick.
Tip:
Nico Rosberg – 4/1 at William Hill
Chinese F1 Race Details:
Track: Shanghai International Circuit
Start Time: 07:00 GMT Sunday (14:00 local)
Laps: 56
Track Length: 5.541
Tyre Allocation: Medium (white) and Soft (yellow)
Lap Record: Michael Schumacher – 1:32.238 (Ferrari; 2004)
