2017 Chinese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton answered Ferrari‘s Melbourne victory with a commanding Chinese Grand Prix win. A drying Shanghai track produced bold tyre choices and plenty of overtaking, with Sebastian Vettel recovering to second and Max Verstappen charging onto the podium.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	1:31.678
Fastest lap	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	1:35.378 on lap 44
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Third	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
7 April 2017	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
7 April 2017	Practice 2 (cancelled)	14:00 – 15:30
8 April 2017	Practice 3	12:00 – 13:00
8 April 2017	Qualifying	15:00
9 April 2017	Race	14:00

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 2 leading the 2017 F1 World Championship on 25 points, with Lewis Hamilton on 18. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings with 37 points.

Race entries

Antonio Giovinazzi continued to substitute for Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber alongside Marcus Ericsson.

Free Practice

Low cloud and poor visibility severely restricted FP1 because the medical helicopter could not provide the required hospital access. Max Verstappen set the quickest wet-weather lap during the limited running. Many drivers gained little useful experience before the red flags returned, leaving race preparation dependent on conditions improving.

FP2 was cancelled when the medical-transport restrictions could not be resolved. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel therefore finished Friday without meaningful running, while Lewis Hamilton visited the grandstands to greet fans. The lost session left teams facing the unusual task of preparing for qualifying and the race largely within Saturday’s final practice hour.

Dry FP3 became a compressed preparation session, with teams splitting tyre work and longer runs between their drivers. Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari one-two, while Lewis Hamilton spoiled a promising lap at the hairpin. Valtteri Bottas lost time after his T-wing detached, further reducing Mercedes’ opportunity to complete its programme.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2017 Chinese Grand Prix FP1, 7 April 2017

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:50.491	4
2	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.595s	7
3	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.016s	7
4	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.349s	5
5	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.548s	6
6	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.823s	4
7	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+3.029s	5
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+3.547s	7
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+4.173s	4
10	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+4.613s	8
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+5.117s	6
12	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+6.954s	4
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+24.647s	4
14	36	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber	+24.790s	4
15	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	No time	3
16	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	No time	2
17	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	No time	1
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	No time	2
19	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	No time	3
20	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	No time	2

Free Practice 2 Classification

2017 Chinese Grand Prix FP2, 7 April 2017

The session was cancelled and no classification was issued.

Free Practice 3 Classification

2017 Chinese Grand Prix FP3, 8 April 2017

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:33.336	20
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.053s	19
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.371s	26
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.543s	25
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.437s	23
6	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.610s	20
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.756s	23
8	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+1.846s	24
9	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+1.856s	21
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.887s	24
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.113s	22
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.185s	22
13	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.290s	20
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.344s	22
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.468s	23
16	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+2.475s	24
17	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.576s	17
18	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.727s	25
19	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.885s	21
20	36	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber	+3.369s	24

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed the qualifying classification for Mercedes, with Sebastian Vettel second and Valtteri Bottas third. The table records the three session results; penalties and any changes to the starting order are noted below.

Antonio Giovinazzi crashed at the final corner in Q1 and could not take part in Q2. Max Verstappen was hampered by an engine misfire, leaving him with a recovery job on Sunday.

Qualifying Classification

2017 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying, 8 April 2017

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:33.333	1:32.406	1:31.678	13
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:33.078	1:32.391	1:31.864	15
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:33.684	1:32.552	1:31.865	14
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:33.341	1:32.181	1:32.140	15
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:34.041	1:33.546	1:33.033	12
6	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:34.205	1:33.759	1:33.507	14
7	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:34.453	1:33.636	1:33.580	16
8	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:34.657	1:33.920	1:33.706	15
9	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:34.440	1:34.034	1:33.719	17
10	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:33.986	1:34.090	1:34.220	18
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:34.567	1:34.150	—	11
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:34.942	1:34.164	—	12
13	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:34.499	1:34.372	—	11
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:34.892	1:35.046	—	15
15	36	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber	1:34.963	No time	—	8
16	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:35.023	—	—	6
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:35.223	—	—	6
18	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:35.279	—	—	6
19	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:35.433	—	—	7
20	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:35.496	—	—	8

Romain Grosjean and Jolyon Palmer received five-place grid penalties for ignoring yellow flags during qualifying.

Antonio Giovinazzi received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

What happened in the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix?

Most drivers started on intermediates, but Carlos Sainz chose slicks and committed to the drying track. Lewis Hamilton held the lead while Sebastian Vettel stopped for dry tyres during an early virtual safety car period.

Antonio Giovinazzi then crashed on the main straight, bringing out the safety car. Hamilton could make his own tyre change under the neutralisation, and Vettel’s earlier stop left him behind several rivals when racing resumed.

Sebastian Vettel fought back, passing Kimi Räikkönen and Daniel Ricciardo before moving ahead of Max Verstappen. Hamilton remained out of reach, managing the race from the front and setting the fastest lap on his way to victory.

Max Verstappen transformed a 16th-place start into third, resisting Daniel Ricciardo late on. Carlos Sainz‘s adventurous tyre call ultimately helped deliver seventh, while Valtteri Bottas recovered to sixth after spinning behind the safety car.

Further down the points places, Carlos Sainz, Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon completed the scoring positions. Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2017 rules.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 43 points, followed by Sebastian Vettel on 43. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 66, with Ferrari on 65.

2017 Chinese Grand Prix race results

The 2017 Chinese Grand Prix was held on 9 April 2017, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	1:37:36.158	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	+6.250	18
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	56	+45.192	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	56	+46.035	12
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	56	+48.076	10
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	56	+48.808	8
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	56	+1:12.893	6
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	55	+1 Lap	4
9	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	55	+1 Lap	2
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	55	+1 Lap	1
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	55	+1 Lap	0
12	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	55	+1 Lap	0
13	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	55	+1 Lap	0
14	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	55	+1 Lap	0
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	55	+1 Lap	0
Ret	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	33	Driveshaft	0
Ret	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	18	Hydraulics	0
Ret	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	17	Fuel pressure	0
Ret	36	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber	3	Accident	0
Ret	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	0	Collision	0

2017 Chinese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	44	15:21:52	1:35.378	205.745
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	40	15:15:37	1:35.423	205.648
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	41	15:17:44	1:35.849	204.734
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	42	15:19:17	1:36.003	204.406
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	50	15:34:04	1:36.511	203.330
6	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	55	15:41:28	1:36.531	203.288
7	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	31	15:01:08	1:36.722	202.886
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	36	15:09:21	1:36.791	202.741
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	55	15:41:34	1:37.036	202.230
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	30	14:59:42	1:37.398	201.478
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	35	15:08:27	1:37.528	201.209
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	50	15:33:37	1:37.551	201.162
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	36	15:10:44	1:38.015	200.210
14	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	47	15:28:54	1:38.181	199.871
15	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	31	15:01:18	1:39.496	197.230
16	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	50	15:34:20	1:39.732	196.763
17	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	18	14:40:04	1:40.090	196.059
18	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	15	14:35:12	1:41.460	193.412

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.

2017 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix.

2017 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	43
2	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	43
3	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Red Bull Racing	25
4	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Mercedes	23
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	22
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	12
7	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	10
8	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	8
9	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	8
10	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	Haas	4
11	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Toro Rosso	2
12	Esteban Ocon	French	Force India	2
13	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Renault	0
14	Romain Grosjean	French	Haas	0
15	Antonio Giovinazzi	Italian	Sauber	0
16	Stoffel Vandoorne	Belgian	McLaren	0
17	Jolyon Palmer	British	Renault	0
18	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	0
–	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	0
–	Lance Stroll	Canadian	Williams	0

2017 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	66
2	Ferrari	65
3	Red Bull Racing	37
4	Toro Rosso	12
5	Force India	10
6	Williams	8
7	Haas	4
8	Renault	0
9	Sauber	0
10	McLaren	0

2017 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2017 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	26 March
2	2017 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	9 April
3	2017 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	16 April
4	2017 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	30 April
5	2017 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	14 May
6	2017 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	28 May
7	2017 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	11 June
8	2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	25 June
9	2017 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	9 July
10	2017 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	16 July
11	2017 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	30 July
12	2017 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	27 August
13	2017 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	3 September
14	2017 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	17 September
15	2017 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	1 October
16	2017 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	8 October
17	2017 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	22 October
18	2017 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	29 October
19	2017 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	12 November
20	2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	26 November