In the past Honda have been very much involved with Formula One racing.  They had two spells racing under the name of Honda Racing F1 Team, first in 1964 to 1968 and then again from 2006 to 2008.  Between 1983 and 1992 they returned to F1 supplying engines for other teams.  In 2000 they began another successful period of supplying engines, this time to the British American Racing (BAR) Team; and at the end of the 2005 season they had bought out BAR and once again there was a Honda Racing Team in Formula One.

In December 2008 Honda once again quit F1 racing stating the current economic climate as the reason, and the team were sold in February 2009 to a management buy-out led by team principal Ross Brawn.

Honda has continued its involvement in other motor sports and sponsorship deals across a wide spectrum of sport and entertainment and recently announced it will be continuing its sponsorship of Channel 4 documentaries throughout 2011.  The new campaign will continue with the strapline ‘Documentaries on 4, sponsored by Honda’.

Martin Moll, Head of Marketing at Honda (UK) said, ‘”I am very excited that our continued relationship sponsoring Channel 4 documentaries allows us to focus on our customers, highlighting their warm – sometimes quirky – personal experiences of Honda products either for fun or as a necessary part of their daily livelihood.  We hope that this campaign will unveil further examples from our customers, one of which will be nominated to be brought to life on TV for a final set of idents later on in the year”.

Four new mini-documentary films have been commissioned to accompany the Channel 4 sponsorship.  The films were created by Wieden + Kennedy (W+K) and each include a unique website link to further related content online.

Each film stars a real Honda customer and shows how they use their own Honda vehicles in their everyday life. The first of four films introduces Philippa and how she uses her trusted Honda ATV on her Oxfordshire farm.

Chris Groom and Sam Heath, Creative Directors, Wieden + Kennedy said, “We knew there were all sorts of people using all sorts of Honda products in extraordinary ways. A documentary format provided the perfect platform to celebrate them.”

As part of the campaign Honda will also be using Facebook and Twitter and linking to an online hub at www.honda.co.uk/stories where the videos will be available in full along with articles and other interesting stories.  There is also a competition in the ‘Take Part’ section of the website, where Honda owners can upload their own amusing and interesting stories and photographs, explaining the unusual ways in which they use their own Honda.  

W+K will select their favourite story and make it into the final mini-documentary to be shown later in the year as part of the Channel 4 campaign.

Sponsored Post

‘Senna’ has already been released in Brazil, the drivers home country and also in Japan where the three time F1 champion enjoyed a huge following through his association with Honda.

The film/documentary will be released in the UK in July 2011 to coincide with the British Grand Prix. It is written by Manish Pandey and directed by Asif Kapadia.

Watch the trailer for the sensational ‘Senna’ movie here:

Christian Klien

Former F1 driver Christian Klien has joined the Hispania F1 team to be their second test driver and will begin his duties at this weekends Spanish Grand Prix.

The 27-year-old drove for the Red Bull team in 2006-2007 following his stint with the Jaguar team in 2004 alongside Mark Webber before moving onto be a reserve driver for the Honda and BMW teams.

The Austrian said;

“This role offers me the opportunity to rejoin the Formula One environment and drive again, which is naturally where my longer-term ambitions lie”

Toyota 2009

It has been confirmed that the Toyota team are leaving Formula One with immediate effect due to the economic crisis and after failing to win a race since 2002.

A statement from the manufacturer read;

“TMC, which had viewed its participation in F1 as contributing to the prosperity of automotive culture, remained dedicated to competing at the pinnacle of motor sports, even in the face of the abrupt economic changes that started last year.  However, when considering TMC’s motor-sports activities next year and beyond from a comprehensive midterm viewpoint reflecting the current severe economic realities, TMC decided to withdraw from F1.

TMC leaves F1 having compiled 13 podium and 87 point finishes over eight challenging seasons since 2002 with Panasonic Toyota Racing, a full-constructor team. It views its time in F1—in which teams put forth their best efforts to fiercely compete at racing’s highest level—as an irreplaceable experience that provided an opportunity to develop both human resources and its R&D operations. TMC expresses its deepest appreciation to its F1 fans and others for their warm support.

TMC also wants to express its heartfelt gratitude to all Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers to date and to all Toyota Motorsport GmbH employees who have helped make the team’s achievements possible. TMC intends to do its best to find a solution for those parties who will be affected by any inconvenience this decision may cause.”

With the withdrawal of Honda early in the season followed by BMW, the tyre manufacturer Bridgestone and now Toyota, only three main manufacturers remain on the grid for the 2010 season, Ferrari, McLaren and Renault.

The end of the Toyota team could now pave the way for the return of the Sauber team, backed by Swiss-based Qadbak Investments, who have been on standby as the fourteenth team.

Mark Webber - Brazilian Grand Prix 2009

The Red Bull driver Mark Webber took the chequered flag yesterday in the Brazilian Grand Prix as Jenson Button was crowned the 2009 Formula One World Champion.

Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello started the race from pole position followed by Webber,but after the first set of pit stops it was Webber that took to the front and dominated the race.  Barrichello had managed to create a gap of three-seconds but an early stop lost him the lead as he was passed by both Webber and the BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica.

At the beginning of the race the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen made contact with the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella at turn 1.  At the same time the Toyota driver Jarno Trulli attempted a pass on the outside of  Adrian Sutil but instead spun into the Force India with Fernando Alonso’s Renault getting collected as Sutil rejoined the circuit.

Kimi Raikkonen used his KERS system to move into third place as he passed Webber at the start of the race but made contact and damaged his front wing.  As the Ferrari returned to his pits for a new wing, Kovalainen exited in front of him with the fuel hose still attached causing fuel to leak and spray the Ferrari which burst into flames.  Raikkonen managed to keep going and rejoined the race without damage.

Rubens Barrichello led the race followed by Webber, Kubica and the Williams of Nico Rosberg.  Jenson Button in the second Brawn GP had moved into seventh place by lap 11 behind Timo Glock’s replacement driver Kamui Kobayashi in the Toyota.

Barrichello pitted from the lead on lap 22 as Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber pulled off track with a problem, apparently running out of fuel after the earlier incident with the fuel hose.  Button finally made it past Kobayashi, moving up into fourth place with Webber taking his pit stop on lap 27 from the lead.

On lap 28 Nico Rosberg retired to the garage after suffering a gearbox problem with the Williams car as Button pitted on lap 30.  On lap 31 the second Williams car of Kazuki Nakajima crashed into the tyre wall after losing his front wing after hitting the  back of the Toyota of Kobayashi.

By lap 41 it was Webber ahead of Kubica, Barrichello, Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren, Raikkonen, Button, Vettel and Sebastien Buemi in the Toro Rosso.

Webber took his second pit stop on lap 53 and rejoined ahead of Kubica as Button took his final pit stop on lap 56, exiting in front of Kovalainen until the McLaren passed him at turn 4.  On the following lap Vettel pitted and rejoined ahead of Kovalainen and Button to sit in fifth place.

On lap 60, Kovalainen made a surprising pit stop with Lewis Hamilton passing the Brawn GP of Barrichello on lap 62.  Barrichello appeared to have a problem with his car and was soon told over the team radio that he had developed a puncture after making contact with Hamilton earlier in the race.

On lap 65, Webber led Kubica, Hamilton, Vettel, Button, Raikkonen, Buemi and Barrichello. Felipe Massa was given the job of waving the chequered flag at his home circuit as Webber crossed the line, followed by Kubica in second and Hamilton in third.

Here are the results;

1. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 71 laps 1hr 32m 23.081s
2. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber +7.6s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +18.9s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +19.6s
5. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +29.0s
6. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +33.3s
7. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +35.9s
8. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes +45.4s

Rtd. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 30 laps completed
Rtd. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 27 laps completed
Rtd. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 21 laps completed
Rtd. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 0 laps completed
Rtd. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 0 laps completed
Rtd. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 0 laps completed

The Italian Grand Prix 2009

The Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello took the chequered flag yesterday ahead of team-mate Jenson Button at the Italian Grand Prix.

At the start of the race it was pole man Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren that led the field into the first corner followed by Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari and Adrian Sutil in the Force India in third, after qualifying in second place.

Both of the Brawn GP drivers passed the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen on the first lap as Mark Webber in the Red Bull Racing car went off into the gravel trap at the second chicane, after being clipped by the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica.  Kubica was called into the pits on lap 9 to have his front wing replaced while running in ninth position while Webber was out of the race.

Tonio Liuzzi, who has replaced Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India cockpit, was the next man to pass Kovalainen who was running on a heavy fuel load for his one-stop of the day.

By the second lap Hamilton was leading Raikkonen, Sutil, Barrichello, Button, Liuzzi, Kovalainen and Alonso, but by lap 4, Alonso’s Renault had also passed the McLaren of Kovalainen.

Lewis Hamilton came in for his first pit stop on lap 15, with a 17 second lead on Rubens Barrichello, not nearly enough as the two Brawn GP cars were on a one-stop strategy.

On lap 16, the BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica retired his car to the garage, while Adrian Sutil in the Force India came in for his first pit-stop on lap 18.  Kimi Raikkonen entered the pits from the lead on lap 20 and rejoined just behind the Renault of Fernando Alonso in sixth place.

On lap 21, Jaime Alguersari retired his Toro Rosso as Barrichello led the Italian Grand Prix ahead of his team-mate Button, Hamilton, Liuzzi, Raikkonen, who has passed Alonso, Sutil and Kovalainen.

On lap 23, the Force India car of Tonio Liuzzi developed a problem and was seen crawling around the track until he parked it at the side of the track and retired from the race, a great shame after an impressive drive from Liuzzi.

Alonso pitted the Renault on lap 27 as Barrichello increased the gap from Hamilton to 14 seconds while Button made his first and only pit stop on the following lap.  Barrichello entered the pits from the lead on lap 28 and rejoined ahead of Button leaving Hamilton up front until his next stop.

Hamilton took his final stop on lap 35, with only a 16 second gap on Barrichello and rejoined behind Button. Raikkonen pitted on lap 38 along with the Force India of Sutil, who got it all wrong on his approach to his box and clipped one of his crew.  Raikkonen exited the pits ahead of Sutil and was now running in fourth place behind race leader Barrichello, Button and Hamilton.

Hamilton began to pick up the pace and was chasing down second placed man Button while Sutil was all over the back of Button again.

Vettel went off track on lap 43, taking the Red Bull Racing car through the gravel at the second Lesmo while on lap 47, Button set his fastest lap as he desperately tried to shake off the approaching McLaren of Hamilton.

On lap 48, Jarno Trulli in the Toyota made contact with the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima into the first chicane, causing him to nearly collect his team-mate Timo Glock as he battled to stay on track, taking a trip through the gravel at the second chicane.

On lap 51, Kovalainen seemed to find the extra speed he’d been looking for and was chasing the Renault of Alonso as Hamilton continued to put the pressure on second placed man Button.

On lap 52, it was all over for the reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who got it all wrong at the exit to the second Lesmo, putting his McLaren into the wall.  The safety car was deployed as Barrichello crossed the line to take his second victory of the season followed by his team-mate Button in second and Ferrari driver KimiRaikkonen in third.

Force India driver Adrian Sutil finished in fourth place followed by Alonso in fifth, Kovalainen in sixth, Nick Heidfeld for the BMW Sauber team in seventh, Vettel in eighth, Giancarlo Fisichella in his first drive for the Ferrari team in ninth and the Williams of Nakajima completing the top ten drivers of the day.

Here are the results;

1. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 53 laps 1h 16m 21.706s
2. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +2.8s
3. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +30.6s
4. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +31.1s
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +59.1
6. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +60.6s
7. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +82.4s
8. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +85.4s

all times unofficial

Jenson Button - Monaco Winner 2009

The Brawn GP Team Formula One driver Jenson Button, claimed his first victory at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, after winning his fifth race out of the six so far this season.

Button had qualified in pole position followed by the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, team-mate Rubens Barrichello and Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull.

Button dominated the race from the start as the cars headed to the first corner, with Raikkonen dropping back to third as Barrichello slipped past to follow his team-mate.

On lap 2, Button and Barrichello were followed by Raikkonen, Vettel, Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari, Heikki Kovalainen in the McLaren, Mark Webber in the second Red Bull, Fernando Alonso in the Renault, Kazuki Nakajima for Williams and Nelson Piquet in the second Renault.

Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren, started from the back of the grid after crashing during the qualifying session and then needing a gearbox change, but by lap three he had moved up to sixteenth place.

Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber pitted on lap 3 with a right rear puncture but ended up retiring from the race on lap 31.

Vettel was running six seconds slower than Raikkonen by lap 7 and continued to hold up Massa, Nico Rosberg and Kovalainen, who were looking for any opportunity to get past.  Massa made a move by taking to the escape road but was forced to not only let Vettel back in front but was also squeezed out by the Williams of Rosberg.

As Vettel’s tyres deteriorated rapidly, the queue behind continued to grow leaving the cars ahead free to extend the gap until he finally pitted on lap 11,

Sebastian Buemi in the Toro Rosso ran into the back of Renault driver Nelson Piquet on the first turn of lap 11 putting both drivers out of the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, as Hamilton came in for his first pit stop.

Barrichello then began to struggle with the grip on his tyres and was 2 seconds a lap slower than his team-mate, as he slowed further Raikkonen was unable to pass giving Button even more of an advantage to build his lead.

Raikkonen pitted on lap 16 and rejoined in seventh place ahead of  Alonso while Vettel lost the rear of his Red Bull and crashed at Sainte Devote, ending his race.

Button came in for his first pit stop on lap 17 and rejoined in second behind the Williams of Rosberg but ahead of Massa and Kovalainen.  Rosberg pitted on the next lap putting Button back in the lead and the Williams driver back behind Alonso.

Webber in the Red Bull pitted on lap 23 and rejoined behind Massa but ahead of both Rosberg and Kovalainen, gaining two places.

Alonso in the Renault was on a long first stint and finally pitted on lap 29 while in fourth place but rejoined behind Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India in tenth.

Button lapped Hamilton on lap 37, the Mclaren driver was still only ahead of Adrian Sutil in the second Force India.

Massa began to gain on Raikkonen who was chasing down the second Brawn GP car but was yet again warned over his team radio not to cut the chicane in the process.

On lap 51. Barrichello pitted while the race leader goes in for his final stop on the following lap and slots in behind Raikkonen, who had yet to stop.

On lap 53, Kovalainen ran into the wall exiting turn 14, careered across the track and ended up at the Swimming Pool after running in seventh place.

Raikkonen made his final stop on lap 54, taking the softer tyres and rejoined in fifth place as Button led Barrichello by a gap of 13 seconds.

The Williams driver, Kazuki Nakajima ran his car into the tyre wall on the penultimate lap after running in the top ten all weekend and leaving him to finish down in fifteenth place.

Another Brawn GP first and second on the street circuit of Monaco followed by Raikkonen on the podium for the first time this season.

In fourth place was Massa, ahead of Webber in an impressive fifth, Rosberg in sixth, Alonso in Seventh, Bourdais in eighth, Fisichella in ninth and Timo Glock for Toyota completing the top ten drivers of the day.

Button is now leading the championship with a 16 point lead and with 11 races still to run.  Barrichello is running in second while the Red Bull driven by Sebastain Vettel is still Button’s main contender, only 28 points behind.

Here are the results;

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  1h40:44.282
 2.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  +     7.666
 3.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +    13.443
 4.  Massa         Ferrari               (B)  +    15.110
 5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +    15.730
 6.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    33.586
 7.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +    37.839
 8.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +  1:03.142
 9.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +  1:05.040
10.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +     1 lap
11.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +     1 lap
12.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +     1 lap
13.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +     1 lap
14.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +     1 lap
15.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, 1:15.154

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)    52
Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)    31
Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      (B)    16
Piquet        Renault               (B)    11
Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)    11

World Championship standings, round 6:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Button        51        1.  Brawn GP-Mercedes      86
 2.  Barrichello   35        2.  Red Bull-Renault       42.5
 3.  Vettel        23        3.  Toyota                 26.5
 4.  Webber        19.5      4.  Ferrari                17
 5.  Trulli        14.5      5.  McLaren-Mercedes       13
 6.  Glock         12        6.  Renault                11
 7.  Alonso        11        7.  Williams-Toyota        7.5
 8.  Raikkonen      9        8.  BMW Sauber              6
 9.  Hamilton       9        9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari      5
10.  Massa          8
11.  Rosberg       7.5
12.  Heidfeld       6
13.  Kovalainen     4
14.  Buemi          3
15.  Bourdais       2       

All timing unofficial

Nico Rosberg - Williams 2009

As the Formula One cars and drivers head to Monaco for one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar, rumours are yet again rife on whether Nico Rosberg will remain with the Williams team when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The 23-year-old German driver allegedly said after the Spanish Grand Prix, that he is looking at his options for 2010 but would be happy to stay with the team if they can continue to give him a good car or an even better one!

So far this season, Rosberg’s inconsistency in the races has puzzled not only his fans but also members of his team.

The Grove team are currently running eighth in the constructors’ championship ahead only of the Toro Rosso team and Rosberg himself is in tenth place in the drivers championship.

The Monaco streets of the circuit are open to the public on Friday and so the practice session takes place on Thursday, with the normal qualifying session on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

In last years race ,Rosberg qualified in sixth position at his home town, living only 100 metres away from the circuit.  Unfortunately he crashed out on lap 62 at Piscine, hitting both sides of the track and spreading debris across the circuit, bringing out the safety car.  The German was unhurt but was seen at both the track medical centre and at the local hospital before being given the all clear.

Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima qualified in thirteenth place and after an impressive drive finished in seventh place for the Williams team.

Rosberg has always held the Williams team in high esteem and it is with the very same team that his father Keke Rosberg won the championship back in 1982, but will that be enough to keep the young German’s enthusiasm?

He made his feelings perfectly clear at the beginning of the season that 2009 would be his decision year, to stay with Williams or to look at other teams.  Despite the new car showing some encouraging performances there still seems a long road ahead to get the team back to challenging some of the front runners.

Rosberg has shown much potential over the years but has he now lost that edge or is it solely down to the car he is driving, perhaps now is the time to find out as further developments are expected at the Monaco round to the FW31, hopefully giving the teams more points, as for Nico, we’ll just have to wait and see!

The Bahrain Grand Prix 2009

The Brawn GP driver Jenson Button, took his third victory of the new season yesterday after dominating the race at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Jarno Trulli for the Toyota team had qualified on pole position ahead of team-mate Timo Glock in the Saturday session, although as was expected, both drivers were running on a very light fuel load.

Glock led the pack on the first lap after jumping ahead of Trulli as the race got underway but Button took full control of the race after the first set of pit stops as the Toyota’s opted for the harder prime tyres seeing them falling back down the field.

Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes McLaren took full advantage of his KERS system on the line to pass both Button and Sebastien Vettel in the Red Bull.  Trulli was briefly passed by Hamilton but the Toyota soon retook the second place as Button re-passed Hamilton on the pit straight to sit behind the two leading Toyota drivers.

On lap 3, the BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica and the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima, both pitted after a coming together on the previous lap left the both needing new front wings.  On the following the lap Felipe Massa in the Ferrari also pitted for a new front wing from ninth place.

By lap 5, Mark Webber in the Red Bull had carved his way through the pack to eleventh place from eighteenth as Vettel closed in on Hamilton for fourth place.

Glock stayed in the lead until his pit stop on lap 11 with his team-mate Trulli pitting two laps later, however, Trulli lost time battling with the Spanish driver Fernando Alonso in the Renault.

Button pitted on lap 15 and rejoined ahead of the two Toyota drivers, while Vettel led the race with a lead of 19 seconds before he himself pitted on lap 20.

Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari briefly took the lead ahead of his pit stop as Reubens Barrichello in the second Brawn GP car passed Glock to take seventh place.  The lead was passed back to Button on lap 22 as Raikkonen came in for his stop ahead of Trulli, Vettel, Hamilton, Rosberg and Barrichello.

Button pitted for the final time on lap 38, followed by Trulli, Hamilton and Alonso, leaving Vettel in the lead once again.  Button rejoined in second place, ten seconds behind Vettel until the Red Bull driver went in for his final pit stop on lap 41.

Nakajima’s race ended on lap 50 after being hit on lap 46 by Kubica, who had clipped the back of the Williams car while trying to make a pass to take eighteenth position.

The Toro Rosso drivers Sabastien Bourdais and Sebastien Buemi finished in thirteenth and seventeenth places respectively.  Buemi suffered from under-steer which was down to the fact that a piece of debris from the BMW had wedged itself under his front wing.

Giancarlo Fisichella finished in fifteenth place while team-mate Adrian Sutil followed in sixteenth for the Force India team.  Sutil, lost three places at the start of the race when he was hit by the Williams of Nakajima while Fisichella confessed to ending the race in some pain after the seat in his car had rubbed against his hip causing bruising.

Here are the results;

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  1h31:48.182
 2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +     7.187
 3.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +     9.170
 4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +    22.096
 5.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  +    37.779
 6.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +    42.057
 7.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +    42.880
 8.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +    52.775
 9.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    58.198
10.  Piquet        Renault               (B)  +  1:05.149
11.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +  1:07.641
12.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +  1:17.824
13.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +  1:18.805
14.  Massa         Ferrari               (B)  +     1 lap
15.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +     1 lap
16.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +     1 lap
17.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +     1 lap
18.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)  +     1 lap
19.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +     1 lap

Fastest lap: Trulli, 1:34.556

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)    49

Sebastian Vettel

As was predicted, the heavens opened ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix resulting in a start behind the safety car for the first 8 laps of the race.

Sebastian Vettel had qualified in pole position and dominated the race to claim the first win for the Red Bull Renault team ahead of team-mate Mark Webber.

Fernando Alonso had qualified for Renault team second on the grid for the start of the race but after an early pit stop, Webber took up the place.

Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber and Timo Glock in the Toyota, both started from the pit lane after penalties but neither were really affected due to the start behind the safety car.

On lap 3, Felipe Massa in the Ferrari was one of the first drivers to slide off the track but rejoined without any damage to his car as the dismal weather continued. On lap 4, Adrian Sutil in the Force India car, also ran off track but only to avoid hitting the back of the Renault driven by Nelson Piquet, and pitted on the next lap.

While the safety car remained on the track and the drivers were eager to get the race underway, many of the teams decided to change their strategy, seeing cars coming into the pits to take on fuel and change tyres before the restart.

Finally on lap 9, the race started and although many of the drivers were cautious, Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren was on a mission and passed the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, moving him up to sixth place.

On lap 10, Vettel was leading the race followed by Webber, Rubens Barrichello in the Brawn GP car, Jenson Button, Jarno Trulli in the Toyota, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Sebastien Buemi in the Toro Rosso, Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber and Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren.

On lap 11, Hamilton made an impressive pass on Trulli before running off track on both of the next two laps putting him back down into fifth place while Buemi passed Raikkonen and then Trulli in an impressive drive.

Massa passed his team-mate Raikkonen before lining up Trulli and eventually passing him two-laps later, while Timo Glock ran into the back of Heidfeld on lap 14 as he tried to pass him.

Race leader Vettel, pitted on lap 15 after building-up an 11 second lead, followed by Webber, letting Button take the lead. Vettel rejoined in 3rd place behind the Brawn GP pair.   Raikkonen and Hamilton had passed Trulli with Hamilton then making the move on Raikkonen until the Finn took the place back from the British driver as he made yet another mistake.

Button was now leading the race followed by Barrichello and Vettel as Kubica flew over the back end of the Toyata driven by Trulli going into the final turn and ending the race for the Italian.

Once again, the safety car was deployed due to the debris from the rear of the Toyota across the circuit causing Button to go from a 14 second lead to nil as he entered the pits,  leaving Vettel and Webber back at the front of the pack.

On lap 21, Felipe Massa went from third place to a complete standstill on the back straight after an electrical  failure on the Ferrari, putting him out of the race and another the third without scoring  points.

The safety car came in once again on lap 23 with Vettel leading Button followed by Webber, as Hamilton passed Raikkonen to sit in fourth place.

Webber began to put the pressure on Button before passing him on lap 29.  Raikkonen pitted from fifth place on lap 29 and rejoins back in seventeenth as Nelson Piquet went off track and hit a marker board before going into the wall and damaging his front wing.  His problems didn’t end there as he also suffered a problem in his pit stop fitting the new front wing  and dropped to sixteenth place.

On lap 31, Button re-passed Webber for second place as the Red Bull driver ran wide but only held it until the next lap when Webber forced his way back through.  Fernando Alonso had meanwhile fought his way back to seventh place.

On lap 34, Hamilton pitted from fourth place and rejoined in eighth handing the position to Heikki Kovalainen who pitted on the following lap.

Vettel came in for his final pit stop on lap 38 after building a 17 second lap advantage ahead of his team-mate and rejoins in third place.

Alonso spun the Renault on lap 38 while in fifth place, a costly mistake which saw him drop back down the field to thirteenth place.

On lap 40, Webber took  his final stop while Vettel closed in on the Brawn GP of Button and eventually slips past him with ease on the following lap, Button then takes his stop, opting again for full wet tyres and rejoins in fourth.

A terrible day for the Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima, who appeared to be off the track more than on it before the FW31 developed a gear box problem on lap 45, ending his race.  Team- mate Nico Rosberg, pitted from thirteenth place and opted for intermediate tyres, a bad choice on a still sodden track and returned to the pits on lap 50 for full wets.

Hamilton again ran wide on lap 48, letting Kovalainen through for the fifth place before spinning again on lap 50, letting Sutil through.  Unfortunately, Sutil slid across the track on lap 52, smashing the Force India into the wall.

The Red Bull duo took the chequered flag of the two Brawn GP drivers Button and Barrichello with Heikki Kovalainen in fifth.  Hamilton followed his team-mate with sixth place ahead of Timo Glock and an impressive Sebastien Buemi in eighth.

Spanish driver Fernando Alonso finished in ninth place followed by the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Bourdais in the second Toro Rosso.

Here are the results;

 1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1h57:43.485
 2.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +    10.970
 3.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  +    44.975
 4.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  +  1:03.704
 5.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +  1:05.102
 6.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +  1:11.866
 7.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +  1:14.476
 8.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +  1:16.439
 9.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +  1:24.309
10.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +  1:31.750
11.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +  1:34.156
12.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +  1:35.834
13.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)  +  1:46.853
14.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +     1 lap
15.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +     1 lap
16.  Piquet        Renault               (B)  +    2 laps

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  (B)    51
Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)    44
Massa         Ferrari               (B)    23
Trulli        Toyota                (B)    19

Fastest lap: Barrichello, 1:52.592