Points for Petrov and first McLaren 1-2 since 2007 (Chinese GP stats and facts)
McLaren's championship-winning pair scored their first one-two
The Chinese Grand Prix saw McLaren score their first one-two finish since Fernando Alonso drove for them.
It was also the first British one-two in 11 years and Russia became the 33rd country to score points in F1. Read on for all the stats and facts from China.
Jenson Button won his second race in four starts for McLaren and the ninth of his career.
The Chinese Grand Prix has still not been won by the same driver twice. Since 2004 it’s been won by Rubens Barrichello, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and now Button.
With Lewis Hamilton finishing second this was the first one-two for a pair of British drivers since the 1999 Austrian Grand Prix, won by Eddie Irvine with David Coulthard in second place.
McLaren recorded their 45th one-two finish and their first since Fernando Alonso led home Hamilton in the 2007 Italian Grand Prix.
After four races we’ve already had three different teams record one-two finishes – Ferrari in Bahrain and Red Bull in Malaysia.
It was pole position number eight for Vettel, who has now started from first place as many times as 1964 champion John Surtees and Riccardo Patrese.
Red Bull kept up their run of pole positions in 2010 and achieved their second front row lock-out. No-one has won a race from pole position yet this year – the last person to do so was Vettel at Suzuka seven races ago.
Despite having 11 wins and 17 pole position, Lewis Hamilton’s fastest lap was only the fourth of his career. His last one came at the same circuit when he won the 2008 race.
All three drivers on the podium were powered by Mercedes – the first time this has happened since the 1955 British Grand Prix when the Mercedes factory team fill the podium, Stirling Moss leading home Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling at Aintree.
Vitaly Petrov scored the first points of his career – and became the first Russian driver to score in Formula 1. It was also his first race finish.
Russia is the 33rd different country to produce a Grand Prix points-scorer. The last addition to the club was Poland, when Petrov’s team mate Robert Kubica finished third at Monza in 2006.
Virgin and Sauber failed to get either of their cars to the finish once again. The two teams have only recorded one finish each so far this year. Timo Glock and Kamui Kobayashi are yet to see the chequered flag in 2010.
Most laps led
| Driver | Laps led |
| Sebastian Vettel | 110 |
| Jenson Button | 71 |
| Fernando Alonso | 18 |
| Nico Rosberg | 16 |
| Mark Webber | 4 |
Most podium finishes
| Driver | Podiums |
| Felipe Massa | 2 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2 |
| Jenson Button | 2 |
| Nico Rosberg | 2 |
| Fernando Alonso | 1 |
| Robert Kubica | 1 |
| Mark Webber | 1 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 1 |
Finishes and DNFs
2010 season finishes and DNFs
Spotted any more interesting stats and facts from the Chinese Grand Prix? Share them in the comments.
2010 Chinese Grand Prix
- Sunday in Shanghai – a fans’ view of the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix
- 2010 Chinese Grand Prix – the complete F1 Fanatic review
- Ferrari deny Alonso-Massa rift
- Points for Petrov and first McLaren 1-2 since 2007 (Chinese GP stats and facts)
- Safety car spares Hamilton and Alonso’s blushes (Chinese Grand Prix analysis)
- Chinese Grand Prix fastest laps
- Chinese Grand Prix in pictures
- Webber loses out in safety car incident
- Button leads McLaren to one-two in wet race
- Hamilton’s pit lane dice with Vettel could cost him second (Update: no penalty)
JSC said on 19th April 2010, 10:40
Shouldn’t Alonso be missing a finish?
Puffy said on 19th April 2010, 10:43
Nope, he completed enough of the race and was classified.
Puffy said on 19th April 2010, 10:46
Obviously I’m talking about Malaysia where Alonso’s engine blew just before the end and was ultimately classified 13th.
Dave Gilligan said on 19th April 2010, 10:44
RE: Coulthard and Irvine: I’d consider it an Anglo-Irish finish or better still a Celtic 1-2
MouseNightshirt said on 19th April 2010, 13:37
Huzzah! Won’t happen again in my lifetime methinks.
hartry said on 19th April 2010, 13:56
Anglo-Irish? ANGLO? I don’t think Coulthard would be very happy at that! Go with Celtic!
Ilanin said on 19th April 2010, 14:43
Irvine was born in County Down and remained a British citizen throughout his career; on the other hand, he competed under an Irish racing licence.
If you don’t count Irvine, you end up going back to the 1995 Hungarian Grand Prix for a Hill-Coulthard 1-2.
Sush Meerkat said on 19th April 2010, 10:59
Can we have some sort of stat for Heiki’s Lotus being up in 6th place for about 3 minutes?, its just such a beautiful place to be for that Lotus.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 19th April 2010, 11:16
I mentioned it here: Safety car spares Hamilton and Alonso’s blushes (Chinese Grand Prix analysis)
sumedh said on 19th April 2010, 11:30
The real question to be asked is, why did the safety car come out in the first place!!
Nitpicker said on 19th April 2010, 12:58
Is it the first time a new-for-2010 team has finished ahead of an established team (Kovalainen ahead of Hulkenberg)?
sumedh said on 19th April 2010, 11:03
Perhaps, a record for maximum pit-stops in a race.
Earlier record was for Nurburgring 75 stops in 2007.
This one has about 100 i think ;-)
sumedh said on 19th April 2010, 11:07
My bad. just 67 stops in yesterday’s race.
' said on 19th April 2010, 11:15
When’s the last time 2 English drivers finished 1-2?
Ned Flanders said on 19th April 2010, 12:23
I was thinking some time in 1995 with Herbert and Hill, but that’s unlikely, because Herbert only ever won when Hill took himself (and Schumacher) out!
Then I thought Mansell and Hill, and again, in the one race where they might have finished 1-2 in 1994, Hill and Schumacher collided!
Then back in the 1970′s and 1980′s the two competitive English drivers, Mansell and Hunt, never raced together. So I think you’ll have to look back to the 60′s with the likes of Graham Hill and Surtees.
But while thinking about this, it has occurred to me how many race winning British drivers there have been from outside of England. I can think of Coulthard, Irvine, Watson, Stewart and Clark.
In the last 40 years, the only English drivers to win have been Hamilton, Button, Herbert, Hill, Mansell and Hunt
KMcD said on 19th April 2010, 11:33
Still think it a disgrace that Irvine is counted as British. Can recall him being referred to as an Irish driver by british media when he ran into bother in his early days back in Jordan.
2 Minutes To Midnight said on 19th April 2010, 12:15
He’s Northern Irish, mate (I think). So therefore, he’s counted as British.
CoolGav said on 19th April 2010, 12:32
It’s the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, so it’s up to him where his sympathies lie – British or Irish.
MouseNightshirt said on 19th April 2010, 13:39
Us Northern Irish suffer a lot from the “Are you Irish or British” malarkey. We can be both, just so you know.
Red Andy said on 19th April 2010, 17:28
The people of Northern Irish are entitled to both nationalities. Irvine raced under an Irish racing licence and identified himself as Irish, but raced in F1 as a Brit – some say because threats were made against his family.
Red Andy said on 19th April 2010, 17:29
“people of Northern Ireland,” I should say.
KMcD said on 21st April 2010, 11:57
Exactly. They have the choice. He chose Irish, as per his racing licence. Which was ignored by FIA who used his passport instead.
Stevensan said on 19th April 2010, 11:52
anyone know attendance? the stands looked full (well, apart from the bill board anyway…)
Ned Flanders said on 19th April 2010, 12:09
I spotted plenty of empty seats myself. Then again, the circuit has a huge capacity so that’s hardly a surprise. And at least the cameras didn’t try to conceal the issue, like they did in Turkey last season
sato113 said on 19th April 2010, 15:40
there were loads of empty seat at the end of the back straight to the left. and of course around turn 13.
Scott Joslin said on 19th April 2010, 12:03
Does anyone know when the last British 1-2 finish for British drivers in the same team was. Last I can remember is in Hungary in 1995 with Damon Hill and David Coulthard. Surely there has been a more recent occasion?
Also has there ever been a British 1-2 finish when the drivers were not racing for a British team?
2 Minutes To Midnight said on 19th April 2010, 12:19
More importantly, when is the last time ENGLISH drivers score a 1-2 (in the same team or in a different team). But for sure this is the first time that an English drivers score a 1-2 in a British team.
IDR said on 19th April 2010, 12:48
“ENGLISH drivers score a 1-2″:
Monaco 1969: Graham Hill, Piers Courage
Not easy one!!!!
Scott Joslin said on 19th April 2010, 14:54
IDR – I take my hat off to you Sir – Good knowledge!
James Bolton said on 19th April 2010, 18:17
Just to point out – Coulthard and Hill finished first and second in the 1995 Portuguese GP too, which was a few races after Hungary.
Also: The 1965 British Grand Prix was a Brti 1-2-3-4-5!
1st Jim Clark Lotus
2nd Graham Hill BRM
3rd John Surtees Ferrari
4th Mike Spence Lotus
5th Jackie Stewart BRM
Ned Flanders said on 19th April 2010, 19:39
Wow, incredible! Great stat James
matt90 said on 19th April 2010, 12:03
When was the last time 2 British drivers driving for a British team/s came 1st and 2nd?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 19th April 2010, 12:49
I think Scott’s already answered your question! (See new comment thread above)
David A said on 19th April 2010, 16:28
IDR answered it, but it is funny they posted at the same time! :P
Patrickl said on 19th April 2010, 16:08
Lol, you posted the same question at exactly the same time :)
CoolGav said on 19th April 2010, 12:36
Apart from the first 30 metres of so, until Alonso got past Vettel, Red Bull didn’t lead the race – the first time this year, despite what Legard said… I certainly don’t count being passed down to the first corner (even if by a jump-starting competitor) leading the race.
Nitpicker said on 19th April 2010, 13:01
I guess you have to cross the line in the lead to be classified as “led a lap”.
You must admit commenting on live TV is a bit more tricky than writing about it a few days after the fact.
GeoCucc said on 19th April 2010, 13:14
It’s only the third time, when none of the first 4 races were won from the first row. This year Alonso won from 3rd, Button from 4th, Vettel from 3rd and Button from 5th.
It happened in 1970 and 1975.
1970: Brabham 3rd, Stewart 3rd, Rindt 8th, Rodriguez 6th place.
1975: Fittipaldi 5th, Pace 6th, Scheckter 3rd, Mass 11th place.
If same happen in Spain, it would be incomparable, but it will be tricky, because races in Barcelona were won from the first row every time since 1997 (and incredibly, since 2001 from the pole).
:)
Magnificent Geoffrey said on 19th April 2010, 13:46
That reminds me, I really need to do some research on Carlos Pace. I honestly know absolutely nothing about the man himself, apart from the plane crash.
Patrickl said on 19th April 2010, 13:55
What was the last time we had a full Mercedes powered podium?
SonyJunkie said on 19th April 2010, 14:30
You obviously didn’t read the article because Keith has answered this question!!
To save you reading it the answer is the 1955 British Grand Prix when the Mercedes factory team fill the podium, Stirling Moss leading home Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling at Aintree.
Patrickl said on 19th April 2010, 16:01
Oh lol. Indeed I missed that one.
Odd since I even searched for “mercedes” to see if anyone else had brought it up.
Calum said on 19th April 2010, 14:12
In that photo, is Lewis not in orange because he didn’t actually win?
Carl said on 19th April 2010, 14:40
I was wondering the same thing. Looks like he still has his Racing kit on.
Ninjenius said on 19th April 2010, 14:47
I’m wondering if this photo was taken before Hamilton’s visit to the stewards. Perhaps the bright orange will have been inappopropriate when arguing a case to the stewards! :D
sato113 said on 19th April 2010, 15:41
maybe it’s in rebellion!
TommyC said on 19th April 2010, 14:45
i think this race has prompted the most comments on this website… up to 345 on the vettel/hamilton article. wow.
Patrickl said on 19th April 2010, 16:06
I’m sure the Spa 2008 stewarding debacle got more comments.
But yeah, whenever Hamilton is involved in a stewarding decision (or lack thereof) there are a lot of people with strong opinions (not founded in any rulebooks).
Not sure if the German 2008 pit incident between Alonso and Vettel already got posted, but go to 2:21 and see Vettel do exactly what is now claimed to be illegal for Hamilton to do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A1mJhyQuHU
Harv's said on 20th April 2010, 5:00
thanks patrickl, finally someone who has a valid point, i said what you said on that article that has had so many comments and i havnt had a good response from any of those hamilton haters!
Dr. Gonzo said on 20th April 2010, 17:28
Vettel did not do EXACTLY what Hamilton did.
First – He was AHEAD of Alonso after his release from the box
Second – While he did drive side-by-side with Alonso, they were both in the FAST LANE to the left of the double dashed lines, unlike Hamilton who did it in the SLOW LANE to the right and in the actual pit working area!
Calum said on 19th April 2010, 14:53
Hamilton hasn’t led a lap :O
Massa, the leader just a few days ago hasn’t led a lap :O
It’s still tight, a win changes it all, look how mixed up the table is compared to before China.
Also, there was a pattern in the way the WCs finished, most recent first, and the first one to do it last out of the 4.
Button ahead of Hamilton ahead of Alonso ahead of Schumacher.
Enigma said on 19th April 2010, 19:49
Off the top of my head, that was also the case in:
- Hungary 2009
- Most of the races in 2008 where Kimi beat Alonso
- Every race of 2007
- Every time Alonso beat Schumacher in 2006
But off course with 4 WDCs it’s more rare.