2013 Chinese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Fernando Alonso won convincingly in China, while Kimi Räikkönen finished second despite front-wing damage. Lewis Hamilton held off Sebastian Vettel‘s late charge to secure his second podium for Mercedes.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	1:34.484
Fastest lap	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Fastest-lap time	1:36.808 on lap 53
First	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Second	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
12 April 2013	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
12 April 2013	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
13 April 2013	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
13 April 2013	Qualifying	14:00
14 April 2013	Race	15:00

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

Championship background

Sebastian Vettel arrived at round 3 leading the 2013 F1 World Championship on 40 points, with Kimi Räikkönen on 31. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 66 points.

Race entries

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

Free Practice

Nico Rosberg led FP1 after a slow start as teams conserved tyres and waited for the dusty racing line to improve. Ma Qinghua drove the Caterham in front of his home crowd. Kimi Räikkönen recovered from a spin, while the final part of the session shifted towards heavier-fuel running rather than outright times.

Felipe Massa led FP2 on soft tyres as Ferrari and Lotus challenged Mercedes. Max Chilton suffered repeated oil-pressure problems, while Sergio Pérez’s spin required repairs and Valtteri Bottas also lost running. Teams then compared longer runs on both compounds, with Sebastian Vettel still searching for a comfortable balance in his Red Bull.

Ferrari led FP3 after saving its soft-tyre attempts for the closing stages. Lewis Hamilton had set the earlier benchmark, but Nico Rosberg’s programme was interrupted by a problem when he changed compounds. The improving track and busy final runs made tyre timing important as Fernando Alonso established the strongest qualifying rehearsal.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2013 Chinese Grand Prix FP1, 12 April 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:36.717	21
2	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.454s	20
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.941s	21
4	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+1.225s	20
5	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.248s	17
6	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.352s	24
7	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.378s	14
8	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.408s	21
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.681s	17
10	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.844s	15
11	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+2.073s	16
12	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+2.340s	19
13	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.441s	22
14	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+2.463s	21
15	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.619s	19
16	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+2.643s	20
17	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.675s	21
18	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+3.315s	22
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+5.249s	16
20	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+5.339s	18
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+5.366s	21
22	20	Ma Qing Hua	Caterham	+6.828s	20

Free Practice 2 Classification

2013 Chinese Grand Prix FP2, 12 April 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:35.340	32
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.152s	32
3	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.415s	30
4	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.479s	35
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.752s	31
6	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.092s	29
7	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1.156s	39
8	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.174s	32
9	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.255s	33
10	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+1.451s	27
11	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.600s	16
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.623s	31
13	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+1.763s	22
14	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.866s	39
15	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+2.787s	34
16	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.845s	18
17	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+2.871s	32
18	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.936s	34
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+3.385s	29
20	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+3.931s	21
21	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+4.474s	27
22	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+7.887s	5

Free Practice 3 Classification

2013 Chinese Grand Prix FP3, 13 April 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:35.391	13
2	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.622s	11
3	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.674s	18
4	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.895s	17
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.029s	15
6	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.158s	16
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+1.214s	16
8	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.302s	16
9	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.386s	16
10	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.462s	15
11	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.681s	15
12	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.814s	18
13	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.909s	11
14	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.958s	12
15	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.066s	16
16	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+2.096s	13
17	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+2.349s	20
18	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+2.422s	16
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+3.105s	17
20	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+3.430s	18
21	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.236s	16
22	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+4.261s	18

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Kimi Räikkönen second and Fernando Alonso third.

Lewis Hamilton claimed his first Mercedes pole ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso. Mark Webber was excluded after Red Bull could not provide the required fuel sample, and subsequent changes led to a pit-lane start.

Qualifying Classification

2013 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying, 13 April 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:35.793	1:35.078	1:34.484	9
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:37.046	1:35.659	1:34.761	11
3	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:36.253	1:35.148	1:34.788	12
4	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:35.959	1:35.537	1:34.861	9
5	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:35.972	1:35.403	1:34.933	12
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:36.929	1:36.065	1:35.364	9
7	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:36.993	1:36.258	1:35.998	15
8	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:36.667	1:35.784	2:05.673	12
9	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:36.537	1:35.343	no time	13
10	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	1:36.985	1:36.261	no time	11
11	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:37.478	1:36.287	—	9
12	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	1:36.952	1:36.314	—	10
13	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:37.349	1:36.405	—	11
14	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:37.281	1:37.139	—	10
15	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:37.508	1:37.199	—	12
16	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:37.769	—	—	3
17	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	1:37.990	—	—	5
18	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	1:38.780	—	—	6
19	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	1:39.537	—	—	3
20	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	1:39.614	—	—	6
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	1:39.660	—	—	6
EX	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:36.148	1:36.679	—	6

Webber originally qualified 14th but was relegated to the back of the grid for failing to provide a one-litre fuel sample after qualifying. The Red Bull team opted to change Webber’s gearbox to improve his straight line speed and overtaking ability, obliging them to start from the pit lane.

What happened in the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix?

Hamilton led away, but both Ferraris soon passed him as tyre degradation reshaped the early running. Several drivers who had started on harder tyres briefly moved to the front during the first pit-stop cycle.

Alonso combined strong pace with well-timed stops to take control. Räikkönen continued after contact with Sergio Pérez damaged his front wing, while Webber’s recovery ended when a rear wheel detached following a stop.

Vettel ran an alternative strategy and saved his soft tyres for a short final stint. He rapidly reduced the gap to Hamilton, turning the final laps into a close contest for the last podium position.

Alonso won ahead of Räikkönen, with Hamilton narrowly keeping Vettel behind. Jenson Button finished fifth and Felipe Massa sixth, while Daniel Ricciardo achieved his best result to that point in seventh for Toro Rosso.

Further down the points places, Daniel Ricciardo, Paul di Resta, Romain Grosjean and Nico Hülkenberg completed the scoring positions. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2013 rules.

After the race, Sebastian Vettel headed the drivers’ standings with 52 points, followed by Kimi Räikkönen on 49. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 78, with Ferrari on 73.

2013 Chinese Grand Prix race results

The 2013 Chinese Grand Prix was held on 14 April 2013, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	56	1:36:26.945	25
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	56	+10.168	18
3	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	+12.322	15
4	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	56	+12.525	12
5	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	56	+35.285	10
6	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+40.827	8
7	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	56	+42.691	6
8	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	56	+51.084	4
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	56	+53.423	2
10	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	56	+56.598	1
11	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	56	+1:03.860	0
12	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	56	+1:12.604	0
13	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	56	+1:33.861	0
14	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	56	+1:35.453	0
15	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	55	+1 Lap	0
16	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	55	+1 Lap	0
17	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	55	+1 Lap	0
18	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	55	+1 Lap	0
Ret	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	21	Suspension	0
Ret	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	15	Wheel	0
Ret	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	5	Collision damage	0
Ret	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	4	Collision	0

2013 Chinese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	53	1:36.808	202.706
2	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	56	1:38.058	200.122
3	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	53	1:38.200	199.832
4	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	46	1:39.506	197.210
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	51	1:39.955	196.324
6	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	50	1:39.981	196.273
7	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	55	1:40.101	196.038
8	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	56	1:40.138	195.965
9	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	55	1:40.240	195.766
10	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	55	1:40.284	195.680
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	55	1:40.563	195.137
12	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	31	1:40.630	195.007
13	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	54	1:40.968	194.354
14	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	55	1:41.281	193.754
15	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	35	1:41.537	193.265
16	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	39	1:41.978	192.429
17	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	48	1:41.997	192.393
18	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	42	1:42.357	191.717
19	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	7	1:43.378	189.823
20	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	12	1:43.416	189.754
21	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	3	1:44.257	188.223
22	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	2	1:44.775	187.292

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

2013 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix.

2013 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	52
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	49
3	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	43
4	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	40
5	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	30
6	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	26
7	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	12
8	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	12
9	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	11
10	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	8
11	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Toro Rosso	6
12	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	6
13	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Sauber	5
14	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	McLaren	2
15	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	1
16	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	0
17	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Sauber	0
18	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia	0
19	Charles Pic	French	Caterham	0
20	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	0
21	Giedo van der Garde	Dutch	Caterham	0
22	Max Chilton	British	Marussia	0

2013 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	78
2	Ferrari	73
3	Lotus F1	60
4	Mercedes	52
5	McLaren	14
6	Force India	14
7	Toro Rosso	7
8	Sauber	5
9	Williams	0
10	Marussia	0
11	Caterham	0

2013 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2013 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	17 March
2	2013 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	24 March
3	2013 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	14 April
4	2013 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	21 April
5	2013 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	12 May
6	2013 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
7	2013 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	9 June
8	2013 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	30 June
9	2013 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 July
10	2013 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	28 July
11	2013 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	25 August
12	2013 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
13	2013 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	22 September
14	2013 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	6 October
15	2013 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	13 October
16	2013 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	27 October
17	2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	3 November
18	2013 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	17 November
19	2013 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	24 November