2016 Chinese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Nico Rosberg extended his perfect start to the season with a decisive Chinese Grand Prix victory. The action behind him was relentless, with collisions, punctures and recovery drives producing a reshuffled podium and a difficult afternoon for Lewis Hamilton.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Pole time	1:35.402
Fastest lap	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India
Fastest-lap time	1:39.824 on lap 48
First	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Second	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Third	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
15 April 2016	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
15 April 2016	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
16 April 2016	Practice 3	12:00 – 13:00
16 April 2016	Qualifying	15:00
17 April 2016	Race	14:00

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

Championship background

Nico Rosberg arrived at round 3 leading the 2016 F1 World Championship on 50 points, with Lewis Hamilton on 33. Mercedes headed the constructors’ standings with 83 points.

Race entries

Fernando Alonso raced for McLaren, replacing Stoffel Vandoorne.

Free Practice

Tyre trouble repeatedly interrupted FP1. Felipe Massa spun after losing pressure in a rear tyre, while Kevin Magnussen’s failure damaged his suspension and scattered debris, costing valuable running. Nico Rosberg still finished fastest despite a late power-unit fault, and Lewis Hamilton twice spun while reporting braking difficulties.

Kimi Räikkönen led a Ferrari one-two in FP2 before attention shifted towards race preparation. Mercedes split its longer runs between soft and medium tyres, while Ferrari continued on supersofts. Kevin Magnussen sat out as Renault investigated his earlier failure, and a rear-brake fire kept Esteban Gutiérrez in the garage for much of the session.

Rain curtailed FP3, with the first timed lap arriving only halfway through the session. Improving conditions eventually allowed intermediates, and Sebastian Vettel made the most of his late running to finish fastest. Both Mercedes drivers avoided timed laps, while a technical problem restricted Marcus Ericsson to a single brief outing.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2016 Chinese Grand Prix FP1, 15 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:38.037	16
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.146s	16
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.628s	12
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.024s	13
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.118s	11
6	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+1.588s	14
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.639s	12
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.937s	11
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.132s	13
10	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+2.195s	13
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.310s	15
12	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.501s	11
13	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.791s	10
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+3.321s	9
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.356s	18
16	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	+3.577s	20
17	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+3.779s	16
18	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+4.871s	14
19	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+4.943s	8
20	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	No time	6
21	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	No time	2
22	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	No time	4

Free Practice 2 Classification

2016 Chinese Grand Prix FP2, 15 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:36.896	35
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.109s	33
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.237s	33
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.433s	33
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.247s	31
6	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.372s	28
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.631s	31
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.646s	32
9	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.673s	31
10	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.827s	34
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.832s	31
12	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.932s	28
13	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+2.282s	31
14	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.318s	34
15	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+2.878s	32
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.994s	22
17	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+3.045s	36
18	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.083s	35
19	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	+3.654s	33
20	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+4.170s	32
21	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+6.058s	4

Free Practice 3 Classification

2016 Chinese Grand Prix FP3, 16 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:57.351	3
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+0.710s	7
3	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.338s	4
4	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.449s	9
5	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+2.175s	7
6	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+2.326s	7
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+2.410s	9
8	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+2.613s	8
9	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+2.799s	6
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.807s	4
11	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.846s	8
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+3.461s	5
13	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+5.087s	4
14	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	+5.381s	5
15	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	No time	3
16	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	No time	3
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	No time	4
18	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	No time	4
19	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	No time	2
20	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	No time	3
21	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	No time	2
22	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	No time	1

Qualifying

Nico Rosberg headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Daniel Ricciardo second and Kimi Räikkönen third.

The conventional three-stage format returned after the elimination experiment. Nico Rosberg claimed pole, while Lewis Hamilton failed to set a time because of a power-unit problem and started at the back.

Qualifying Classification

2016 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying, 16 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:37.669	1:36.240	1:35.402	16
2	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:37.672	1:36.815	1:35.917	13
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:37.347	1:36.118	1:35.972	13
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:37.001	1:36.183	1:36.246	10
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:37.537	1:36.831	1:36.296	13
6	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	1:37.719	1:36.948	1:36.399	14
7	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:38.096	1:37.149	1:36.865	15
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:37.656	1:37.204	1:36.881	15
9	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:38.181	1:37.265	1:37.194	15
10	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:38.165	1:37.333	No time	10
11	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:38.016	1:37.347	—	9
12	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:38.451	1:38.826	—	11
13	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:37.593	1:39.093	—	11
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:38.425	1:39.830	—	13
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:38.321	1:40.742	—	11
16	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:38.654	1:42.430	—	11
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:38.673	—	—	9
18	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas	1:38.770	—	—	9
19	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:39.528	—	—	9
20	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	1:40.264	—	—	9
—	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	No time	—	—	2
—	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	No time	—	—	3

Nico Hülkenberg received a three-place grid penalty for having been released from the pit lane in an unsafe condition during Q2.

Pascal Wehrlein failed to set a time within 107% of the fastest lap during Q1. He was allowed to start at the stewards’ discretion.

Lewis Hamilton had already incurred a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change when he failed to post a qualifying time. He was granted permission to race by the stewards, before the penalty was applied and he was moved to the back of the grid.

What happened in the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix?

Daniel Ricciardo beat Nico Rosberg away from the line, while Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen collided as Vettel reacted to Daniil Kvyat‘s move on the inside. Lewis Hamilton also sustained front-wing damage in the opening scramble.

Ricciardo’s early lead disappeared with a puncture. The safety car allowed debris to be cleared, and the field’s different tyre choices set up a series of recovery drives once racing resumed.

Nico Rosberg pulled clear at the front as Sebastian Vettel worked back into second. Daniil Kvyat held on to third, while Daniel Ricciardo recovered from his puncture to finish fourth ahead of Kimi Räikkönen.

Lewis Hamilton could recover only to seventh after repeated stops and early damage. Both Toro Rosso drivers passed Valtteri Bottas late on, and all 22 starters reached the finish. Rosberg’s third win of the year extended his championship lead to 36 points.

Further down the points places, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Valtteri Bottas completed the scoring positions. Nico Hulkenberg set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2016 rules.

After the race, Nico Rosberg headed the drivers’ standings with 75 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 39. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 114, with Ferrari on 61.

2016 Chinese Grand Prix race results

The 2016 Chinese Grand Prix was held on 17 April 2016, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	1:38:53.891	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	+37.776	18
3	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	56	+45.936	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	56	+52.688	12
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	56	+1:05.872	10
6	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	56	+1:15.511	8
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	+1:18.230	6
8	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	56	+1:19.268	4
9	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	56	+1:24.127	2
10	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	56	+1:26.192	1
11	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	56	+1:34.283	0
12	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	56	+1:37.253	0
13	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	56	+1:41.990	0
14	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas	55	+1 Lap	0
15	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	55	+1 Lap	0
16	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	55	+1 Lap	0
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	55	+1 Lap	0
18	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	55	+1 Lap	0
19	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	55	+1 Lap	0
20	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	55	+1 Lap	0
21	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	55	+1 Lap	0
22	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	55	+1 Lap	0

2016 Chinese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	48	15:30:49	1:39.824	196.581
2	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	47	15:29:27	1:39.923	196.387
3	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	46	15:27:07	1:40.298	195.652
4	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	45	15:25:41	1:40.368	195.516
5	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	41	15:18:21	1:40.399	195.456
6	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	38	15:12:09	1:40.418	195.419
7	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	42	15:20:53	1:40.582	195.100
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	40	15:16:26	1:40.593	195.079
9	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	37	15:10:55	1:40.610	195.046
10	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	32	15:02:44	1:40.662	194.945
11	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	55	15:41:41	1:41.015	194.264
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	35	15:07:58	1:41.485	193.364
13	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	48	15:31:05	1:41.489	193.356
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	38	15:12:39	1:41.546	193.248
15	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	23	14:46:52	1:41.558	193.225
16	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	34	15:06:00	1:41.815	192.737
17	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	30	14:59:16	1:41.846	192.679
18	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	42	15:21:03	1:42.009	192.371
19	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	36	15:09:50	1:42.226	191.962
20	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	26	14:52:54	1:42.232	191.951
21	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	22	14:45:37	1:42.311	191.803
22	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	41	15:18:36	1:43.269	190.024

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

2016 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix.

2016 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	75
2	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	39
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	36
4	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	33
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	28
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	22
7	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Red Bull Racing	21
8	Romain Grosjean	French	Haas	18
9	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Toro Rosso	13
10	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	7
11	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	6
12	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	4
13	Stoffel Vandoorne	Belgian	McLaren	1
14	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	Renault	0
15	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	0
16	Jolyon Palmer	British	Renault	0
17	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	0
18	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	0
19	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	0
20	Pascal Wehrlein	German	Manor Racing	0
21	Felipe Nasr	Brazilian	Sauber	0
22	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Haas	0
23	Rio Haryanto	Indonesian	Manor Racing	0

2016 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	114
2	Ferrari	61
3	Red Bull Racing	57
4	Williams	29
5	Haas	18
6	Toro Rosso	17
7	Force India	6
8	McLaren	1
9	Renault	0
10	Sauber	0
11	Manor Racing	0

2016 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2016 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	20 March
2	2016 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	3 April
3	2016 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	17 April
4	2016 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	1 May
5	2016 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	15 May
6	2016 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	29 May
7	2016 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	12 June
8	2016 European Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	19 June
9	2016 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	3 July
10	2016 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	10 July
11	2016 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	24 July
12	2016 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	31 July
13	2016 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	28 August
14	2016 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	4 September
15	2016 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	18 September
16	2016 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	2 October
17	2016 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	9 October
18	2016 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	23 October
19	2016 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	30 October
20	2016 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	13 November
21	2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	27 November