2007 Chinese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Kimi Räikkönen kept the championship alive with victory in China after Lewis Hamilton slid into the pit-entry gravel on badly worn tyres. Fernando Alonso finished second at the Shanghai International Circuit, sending the title fight to a three-way finale in Brazil.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
Pole time	1:35.908
Fastest lap	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:37.454 on lap 56
First	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Second	Fernando Alonso	McLaren
Third	Felipe Massa	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
5 October 2007	Practice 1	10:00
5 October 2007	Practice 2	14:00
6 October 2007	Practice 3	11:00
6 October 2007	Qualifying	14:00
7 October 2007	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Lewis Hamilton arrived at round 16 leading the 2007 F1 World Championship on 107 points, with Fernando Alonso on 95. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 170 points.

Race entries

The 11 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Chinese Grand Prix. Kazuki Nakajima also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Kimi Räikkönen led the opening session, with the four title contenders separated by little more than two tenths. The circuit was slippery despite warm conditions, and the forecast threatened rain later in the weekend. Kazuki Nakajima drove for Williams on Friday morning, while Toyota worked through tyre and set-up comparisons ahead of a planned floor change.

Kimi Räikkönen stayed fastest in the afternoon, just six thousandths ahead of Fernando Alonso. Toyota’s switch to a floor with characteristics better suited to Shanghai improved its balance, helping Jarno Trulli to fifth and Ralf Schumacher to seventh. Both drivers completed useful long runs, although Jarno Trulli still wanted more grip and Ralf Schumacher encountered traffic. The prospect of a wet race remained an important uncertainty.

Kimi Räikkönen completed a clean sweep of practice on Saturday. Jarno Trulli’s progress had gone the other way: he reported a changed balance and a worsening lack of grip from his first lap, prompting more investigation before qualifying. Stronger winds added another variable, while Ralf Schumacher remained competitive and the teams prepared for the approaching weather system.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2007 Chinese Grand Prix FP1, 5 October 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:37.024	24
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+0.084s	18
3	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.104s	21
4	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.186s	20
5	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.683s	23
6	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.031s	23
7	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.184s	30
8	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+1.193s	16
9	38	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.246s	30
10	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.421s	13
11	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	+1.527s	17
12	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+1.637s	23
13	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.676s	25
14	7	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.918s	18
15	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.921s	22
16	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+2.214s	23
17	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+2.473s	22
18	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+2.511s	23
19	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+2.515s	20
20	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+2.874s	24
21	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	+3.102s	27
22	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	+3.125s	26

Free Practice 2 Classification

2007 Chinese Grand Prix FP2, 5 October 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:36.607	31
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+0.006s	28
3	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.023s	29
4	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.269s	33
5	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+0.544s	36
6	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.843s	34
7	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+0.917s	32
8	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.010s	27
9	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+1.039s	36
10	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+1.363s	32
11	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	+1.455s	21
12	7	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.598s	41
13	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.697s	40
14	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.772s	39
15	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.781s	16
16	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams	+1.924s	32
17	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+2.368s	38
18	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+2.458s	36
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	+2.617s	37
20	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+2.753s	37
21	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+2.797s	34
22	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	+3.444s	38

Free Practice 3 Classification

2007 Chinese Grand Prix FP3, 6 October 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:36.100	15
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+0.026s	13
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.127s	14
4	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.305s	14
5	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+0.859s	18
6	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+0.864s	13
7	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.924s	23
8	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	+1.006s	14
9	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.076s	18
10	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.215s	13
11	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+1.223s	16
12	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+1.363s	18
13	7	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.464s	19
14	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.579s	20
15	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+1.632s	15
16	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+1.659s	19
17	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+1.691s	17
18	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.820s	20
19	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams	+1.826s	16
20	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+2.477s	16
21	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	+2.768s	20
22	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	+3.417s	21

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton took pole despite Kimi Räikkönen having led all three practice sessions and the first two qualifying segments. Kimi Räikkönen lined up second, with Felipe Massa third and Fernando Alonso fourth. David Coulthard qualified an excellent fifth, ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Mark Webber, while Jenson Button again reached Q3.

Sebastian Vettel’s penalty for the Fuji collision had been reduced to a reprimand, but he incurred a separate five-place penalty for impeding Heikki Kovalainen here. Both Toro Rossos went out in Q2, as did Nico Rosberg, Anthony Davidson, Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli. Lewis Hamilton had put himself in a strong position to settle the championship with a race to spare.

Qualifying Classification

2007 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying, 6 October 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:35.798	1:35.898	1:35.908	16
2	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:35.692	1:35.381	1:36.044	17
3	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:35.792	1:35.796	1:36.221	16
4	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:35.809	1:35.845	1:36.576	16
5	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:36.930	1:36.252	1:37.619	22
6	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:37.135	1:36.709	1:38.013	23
7	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:37.199	1:36.602	1:38.153	22
8	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:36.737	1:36.217	1:38.455	21
9	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:36.309	1:36.116	1:38.472	20
10	7	Jenson Button	Honda	1:37.092	1:36.771	1:39.285	22
11	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	1:37.047	1:36.862	—	12
12	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	1:37.006	1:36.891	—	12
13	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:37.209	1:36.959	—	13
14	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	1:37.225	1:36.991	—	12
15	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	1:37.203	1:37.247	—	12
16	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:37.144	1:37.483	—	13
17	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:37.251	—	—	6
18	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:37.290	—	—	7
19	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams	1:37.456	—	—	6
20	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	1:38.218	—	—	6
21	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	1:38.668	—	—	8
22	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	1:39.336	—	—	7

Sebastian Vettel took a five-place grid penalty for impeding Heikki Kovalainen during qualifying.

What happened in the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton led on a wet track, but his intermediate tyres deteriorated badly as the surface dried. McLaren kept him out while the weather and strategy evolved, and Kimi Räikkönen eventually passed. When Lewis Hamilton finally headed for the pits, he could not negotiate the entry corner and became stranded in the gravel, ending his race.

Robert Kubica briefly led after the pit-stop sequence before hydraulic failure forced him out. Kimi Räikkönen then controlled the race, with Fernando Alonso ahead of Felipe Massa after the stops. Further back, Sebastian Vettel recovered from his grid penalty with an effective one-stop strategy, while Jenson Button and Vitantonio Liuzzi also capitalised on the changing conditions.

Kimi Räikkönen won from Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, with Sebastian Vettel fourth, Jenson Button fifth and Vitantonio Liuzzi sixth. Nick Heidfeld and David Coulthard completed the points. Lewis Hamilton still led the championship, but only by four points from Fernando Alonso and seven from Kimi Räikkönen, leaving all three with a chance at Interlagos.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 107 points, followed by Fernando Alonso on 103. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 186, with BMW Sauber on 94.

2007 Chinese Grand Prix race results

The 2007 Chinese Grand Prix was held on 7 October 2007, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	56	1:37:58.395	10
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	56	+9.806	8
3	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+12.891	6
4	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	56	+53.509	5
5	7	Jenson Button	Honda	56	+1:08.666	4
6	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	56	+1:13.673	3
7	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	56	+1:14.224	2
8	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	56	+1:20.750	1
9	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	56	+1:21.186	0
10	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	56	+1:24.685	0
11	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	56	+1:26.683	0
12	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams	55	+1 Lap	0
13	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	55	+1 Lap	0
14	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	55	+1 Lap	0
15	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	55	+1 Lap	0
16	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	54	+2 Laps	0
17	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	53	+3 Laps	0
Ret	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	33	Hydraulics	0
Ret	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	30	Stuck in Gravel	0
Ret	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	25	Spun off	0
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	24	Accident	0
Ret	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	11	Brakes	0

2007 Chinese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	1:37.454	201.362
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	54	1:37.991	200.259
3	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	52	1:38.285	199.660
4	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	39	1:38.900	198.418
5	7	Jenson Button	Honda	39	1:38.913	198.392
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	54	1:39.233	197.752
7	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	55	1:39.325	197.569
8	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	52	1:39.331	197.557
9	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	55	1:39.371	197.478
10	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	55	1:39.640	196.945
11	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	53	1:39.654	196.917
12	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams	54	1:39.743	196.741
13	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	52	1:39.890	196.452
14	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	55	1:39.911	196.410
15	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	54	1:40.126	195.989
16	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	55	1:40.516	195.228
17	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	52	1:40.764	194.748
18	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	32	1:40.926	194.435
19	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	22	1:43.131	190.278
20	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	25	1:44.062	188.576
21	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	22	1:47.603	182.370
22	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	9	1:51.765	175.579

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2007 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix.

2007 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	107
2	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	103
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	100
4	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	86
5	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	58
6	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	35
7	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Renault	30
8	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Renault	21
9	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	15
10	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	14
11	Alexander Wurz	Austrian	Williams	13
12	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	10
13	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	7
14	Sebastian Vettel	German	BMW Sauber / Toro Rosso	6
15	Jenson Button	British	Honda	6
16	Ralf Schumacher	German	Toyota	5
17	Takuma Sato	Japanese	Super Aguri	4
18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Toro Rosso	3
19	Adrian Sutil	German	Spyker	1
20	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	0
21	Scott Speed	American	Toro Rosso	0
22	Anthony Davidson	British	Super Aguri	0
23	Sakon Yamamoto	Japanese	Spyker	0
24	Christijan Albers	Dutch	Spyker	0
–	Markus Winkelhock	German	Spyker	0

2007 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	186
2	BMW Sauber	94
3	Renault	51
4	Williams	28
5	Red Bull Racing	24
6	Toyota	12
7	Toro Rosso	8
8	Honda	6
9	Super Aguri	4
10	Spyker	1
E	McLaren	0

2007 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2007 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	18 March
2	2007 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	8 April
3	2007 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	15 April
4	2007 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
5	2007 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
6	2007 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
7	2007 United States Grand Prix	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis	17 June
8	2007 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	1 July
9	2007 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
10	2007 European Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	22 July
11	2007 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	5 August
12	2007 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	26 August
13	2007 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	9 September
14	2007 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	16 September
15	2007 Japanese Grand Prix	Fuji Speedway, Oyama	30 September
16	2007 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	7 October
17	2007 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	21 October