2012 Chinese Grand Prix fastest laps

2012 Chinese Grand Prix

April 15, 2012 at 6:32 pm by Keith Collantine

Two pit stops or three? That was the question facing teams in the Chinese Grand Prix.

And several of them didn’t get the call quite right: towards the end of the race drivers including Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen fell back as their tyres wore out.

The fastest lap times chart below reveals who got their strategies right in China.

Chinese Grand Prix lap times

This chart shows each driver’s laptime on each lap of the race (in seconds). Very slow laps have been discarded.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2012drivercolours.csv

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56
Nico Rosberg	105.632	103.934	103.61	103.73	103.544	103.94	103.705	103.65	103.579	103.692	103.616	103.637	108.995	119.832	102.551	102.656	102.857	102.503	102.573	102.843	102.96	103.019	102.798	102.659	103.206	102.944	103.062	103.276	103.182	103.215	103.466	103.093	103.355	107.529	117.707	101.197	101.248	101.439	101.109	100.967	101.049	101.338	101.394	101.365	101.035	101.72	101.47	101.88	101.692	101.402	101.863	101.477	101.3	101.639	101.583	102.212
Michael Schumacher	106.359	104.32	104.148	104.112	104.187	104.173	104.341	104.288	104.109	104.238	104.565	108.697
Kamui Kobayashi	110.276	105.188	104.182	104.08	103.855	104.049	104.218	104.461	108.589	121.325	104.164	103.95	103.721	103.541	103.399	103.67	104.283	103.393	103.157	103.286	103.212	103.109	103.287	103.229	108.505	118.637	101.705	102.046	102.149	102.252	102.759	102.792	102.889	102.793	102.756	102.884	102.73	106.824	118.137	99.96	100.737	100.982	100.784	100.77	101.268	101.51	101.784	101.184	102.047	101.655	101.855	101.285	102.647	103.584	102.098	102.017
Kimi Raikkonen	108.6	104.458	104.161	104.008	103.769	103.996	104.183	104.206	104.431	109.019	122.763	103.324	103.703	102.951	103.045	103.464	103.035	102.79	102.98	103.147	103.413	103.053	102.752	102.837	103.038	102.927	103.079	107.45	120.779	102.531	102.519	103.296	103.161	102.923	102.729	102.836	102.683	102.918	102.838	102.444	102.799	102.096	101.794	101.885	102.073	102.228	102.293	106.707	107.379	104.086	104.479	104.268	103.165	103.243	103.114	103.654
Jenson Button	107.732	104.619	104.128	103.922	103.965	104.12	104.056	104.389	104.346	104.604	108.646	118.438	102.677	102.988	102.68	103.048	102.917	102.828	102.866	102.866	102.679	102.762	102.972	106.597	118.319	101.391	101.854	102.842	101.78	102.831	101.692	100.908	101.211	101.367	101.93	102.092	101.873	102.041	106.424	123.712	102.49	102.437	101.766	102.127	101.952	102.133	102.217	101.782	101.375	101.266	101.553	100.907	101.137	100.448	100.431	100.422
Mark Webber	111.27	105.459	104.439	104.179	104.345	108.465	119.956	103.01	103.591	103.127	104.916	103.601	103.442	102.993	103.093	102.875	102.967	103.019	103.116	103.512	107.533	118.131	101.466	101.724	102.827	103.775	102.591	102.207	102.05	102.496	101.746	102.183	103.359	107.728	117.836	102.112	100.709	100.725	101.52	101.494	102.093	101.408	101.905	101.891	101.962	101.643	102.371	104.722	101.717	101.074	100.832	100.49	101.634	102.028	102.389	101.107
Lewis Hamilton	109.228	104.594	104.169	103.982	104.148	103.989	103.728	104.218	104.3	108.886	120.863	102.789	103.027	102.807	102.693	102.879	102.862	102.612	102.961	103.22	103.063	107.073	118.264	103.023	103.316	102.602	103.315	101.98	102.494	101.831	101.781	102.823	103.396	103.423	104.545	101.584	101.73	105.758	117.274	100.53	101.374	101.561	101.257	101.423	101.955	101.657	102.174	103.779	100.683	100.711	101.076	101.479	102.105	102.089	101.039	100.819
Sergio Perez	109.726	104.574	104.118	104.336	104.031	103.933	103.911	103.976	104.378	104.481	103.954	103.906	103.847	103.894	104.04	109.024	121.729	103.663	105.167	103.363	103.069	102.972	103.114	102.903	103.436	103.389	103.161	103.916	103.38	103.354	103.269	103.221	103.211	103.812	108.803	120.194	101.071	101.131	101.672	101.588	101.615	101.673	102.024	101.411	102.98	103.726	101.412	101.249	104.22	101.81	101.851	101.895	102.072	103.505	102.413	103.422
Fernando Alonso	110.905	105.36	104.284	104.205	104.456	104.154	104.365	104.073	104.257	104.021	103.935	108.091	119.017	102.96	103.135	103.272	103.187	103.027	102.915	102.972	103.329	103.141	103.003	102.931	103.121	103.031	106.964	117.736	102.115	102.857	102.202	101.785	101.74	102.209	102.527	101.97	101.795	105.765	116.842	101.363	101.152	101.745	104.951	101.421	102.373	102.321	101.552	101.737	102.575	102.423	101.377	101.773	103.479	102.81	101.87	101.609
Romain Grosjean	112.513	105.425	105.09	104.366	104.561	104.557	104.346	104.467	104.635	104.428	108.458	119.6	103.335	102.831	102.983	102.955	103.13	103.282	103.145	103.321	103.247	103.447	102.923	103.227	102.995	103.148	102.55	102.387	103.253	102.532	102.512	106.386	123.623	101.285	101.12	101.398	102.185	102.662	102.218	103.164	102.464	102.483	101.907	102.088	107.208	101.522	101.193	101.999	102.393	101.131	101.457	101.325	101.944	101.829	102.24	101.547
Sebastian Vettel	114.438	105.568	105.13	104.786	104.897	104.657	104.437	104.484	108.756	120.491	102.732	103.178	102.952	102.775	102.987	103.18	103.502	103.41	103.431	102.978	102.915	102.954	102.981	103.142	103.634	103.076	103.077	102.884	103.167	103.937	108.259	117.749	100.601	101.035	101.399	102.576	102.86	102.887	102.267	102.414	102.746	102.148	101.798	101.942	102.065	102.162	102.281	101.651	101.376	101.302	102.399	101.914	102.111	102.734	103.117	103.083
Felipe Massa	111.897	105.61	104.828	104.519	104.509	104.594	104.397	104.516	104.51	104.18	104.131	104.251	104.311	104.297	104.206	104.456	104.794	108.838	119.265	103.114	103.531	103.739	103.387	103.074	103.433	104.04	104.177	103.509	103.426	103.948	103.746	103.979	103.131	102.901	102.722	102.714	102.844	102.869	102.707	102.606	106.585	116.946	101.316	101.382	101.306	101.781	101.417	101.24	101.426	102.254	102.193	101.963	101.624	101.932	102.255	102.382
Pastor Maldonado	114.494	106.352	104.955	104.64	104.913	104.759	104.591	105.198	103.697	104.27	109.2	120.041	103.056	103.714	103.615	102.783	103.648	103.18	103.098	103.317	103.711	103.204	102.887	102.817	103.649	103.217	103.167	103.37	103.39	104.981	103.53	104.018	108.886	118.011	100.563	100.482	101.024	100.903	100.73	100.983	101.545	102.591	102.34	101.756	104.94	101.672	101.29	101.769	103.513	101.835	101.603	101.873	104.105	101.8	101.341	101.555
Bruno Senna	113.302	105.46	105.274	104.701	105.234	104.326	104.403	104.159	104.395	104.072	104.195	108.47	119.414	102.948	102.903	103.222	103.355	103.446	104.531	103.485	103.061	103.319	103.111	103.176	103.337	104.086	103.631	106.217	109.042	119.599	101.443	101.405	101.829	101.657	101.314	101.4	101.293	101.523	101.819	101.635	102.917	101.982	102.762	101.801	101.95	101.955	102.095	103.567	103.182	101.952	102.145	101.716	101.744	101.976	102.613	101.977
Paul di Resta	113.925	105.796	104.998	104.636	105.231	104.439	104.438	104.352	104.391	105.052	109.203	119.62	103.569	103.747	103.323	103.019	103.246	103.007	103.488	104.142	104.697	103.596	103.207	103.158	103.182	103.218	104.553	104.091	103.63	103.421	104.603	107.913	119.028	102.069	101.617	101.535	101.684	101.734	101.683	101.498	101.65	101.849	101.784	101.715	101.838	102.437	102.808	102.416	102.236	103.43	103.394	101.539	101.616	101.958	102.519	102.274
Nico Hulkenberg	115.795	107.27	105.607	105.472	105.379	105.277	105.789	105.635	109.397	131.412	103.726	105.518	103.178	104.203	103.975	104.525	104.458	104.596	103.564	102.717	103.189	103.111	102.978	102.877	103.327	103.322	103.514	103.837	103.722	108.577	118.823	101.483	101.512	101.675	101.342	101.738	102	101.439	101.784	101.402	101.582	101.656	101.633	101.427	101.304	101.239	101.338	100.977	101.346	101.665	101.652	101.688	102.423	102.321	103.101	103.645
Daniel Ricciardo	116.795	107.182	105.307	105.402	105.31	105.226	105.614	105.951	105.138	104.974	107.449	106.454	106.331	105.941	106.755	105.414	108.782	122.279	104.437	103.405	102.731	103.956	102.726	102.533	102.435	102.752	102.877	103.165	103.188	103.752	103.332	103.744	108.779	121.132	101.501	101.706	101.285	101.535	101.262	101.251	101.672	102.241	101.343	101.576	101.26	101.401	103.93	101.484	101.421	101.594	101.593	101.686	102.999	101.916	102.001	102.18
Jean-Eric Vergne	119.116	107.744	105.55	105.586	105.041	105.345	105.81	106.005	105.269	105.328	109.904	123.108	103.475	105.94	103.926	104.171	103.457	103.669	103.119	103.323	103.183	103.131	102.923	103.002	103.234	103.556	103.628	107.908	120.724	101.205	101.104	101.417	101.754	101.88	101.714	102.047	101.803	101.566	101.861	101.77	106.371	118.524	100.682	100.272	100.173	100.353	100.36	100.019	100.377	100.489	100.361	100.661	100.493	101.297	101.698	102.259
Heikki Kovalainen	114.941	106.993	105.674	105.897	105.408	105.275	105.793	105.581	105.276	105.656	105.216	112.903	122.217	105.613	104.322	105.004	105.348	105.317	105.091	104.515	104.266	104.153	105.115	104.523	104.57	104.462	104.491	108.639			105.315	103.313	106.811	105.506	103.841	105.66	103.282	103.326	104.081	105.548	105.606	104.066	104.445	103.9	104.261	104.526	109.884		105.358	101.466	101.334	102.321	101.19
Vitaly Petrov	117.261	107.651	106.514	105.805	105.35	105.353	105.699	106.654	107.896	110.145	121.954	106.554	104.796	104.92	105.312	104.645	104.501	104.497	104.885	105.386	104.186	104.31	104.185	103.765	104.015	104.239	104.298	104.652	108.323	120.405	102.915	103.734	103.106	103.004	102.804	102.763	102.766	102.385	103.101	103.638	102.893	102.723	102.877	102.889	102.965	102.968	103.213	104.602	103.115	102.881	103.496	103.126	105.953	104.904	103.577
Timo Glock	116.348	108.256	107.206	107.7	106.654	106.591	106.884	106.291	106.338	106.522	106.129	106.898	106.249	106.19	106.374	106.473	106.697	112.392	122.373	104.544	104.362	104.402	104.1	104.16	104.199	104.386	104.316	104.402	104.384	104.574	104.29	104.718	104.75	105.124	104.922	108.906	122.161	102.924	102.978	103.056	102.748	102.993	103.08	102.944	103.215	102.885	102.934	103.132	103.063	103.164	103.152	106.693	103.778	107.977	118.173
Charles Pic	117.684	108.694	107.946	107.266	106.948	106.307	106.854	106.407	106.816	106.268	106.174	106.249	106.075	106.24	106.144	106.245	106.167	107.915	111.048	123.582	104.133	104.851	104.619	104.125	104.697	104.982	104.502	104.498	104.336	104.347	104.137	104.075	104.158	104.078	103.884	104.233	108.656	123.433	102.621	102.882	103.087	102.922	102.968	103.158	103.183	103.02	103.105	107.713	114.823	103.73	103.482	104.289	103.462	103.779	103.555
Pedro de la Rosa	118.091	109.437	108.061	107.404	107.019	106.861	106.979	106.991	107.044	107.011	106.884	107.047	106.94	108.805	108.039	107.697	111.808	125.755	105.117	105.042	105.114	105.092	105.029	105.246	105.293	105.471	108.693	105.585	109.391	107.874	112.242	125.601	106.334	104.471	104.223	104.342	106.097	105.924	104.116	104.394	105.922	104.544	105.345	104.136	104.057	104.178	103.897	104.097	103.876	104.804	104.143	104.348	103.858	103.61	103.844
Narain Karthikeyan	119.05	109.47	109.086	107.466	107.914	107.622	107.875	107.638	107.721	107.004	107.815	108.885	108.05	108.334	108.595	112.677	129.269	106.062	105.999	106.072	107.303	107.354	105.93	107.638	109.258	112.821	108.748	107.127	106.337	106.051	107.825	114.427	124.824	104.104	106.686	104.935	104.601	104.594	104.486	103.935	104.531	104.198	104.252	106.895	105.049	104.72	107.228	104.847	104.39	104.752	111.174	109.854	106.674	105.128

Red Bull split their strategy: Mark Webber stopping three times, Sebastian Vettel twice.

But Vettel’s 23-lap stint on medium tyres proved too long for the RB8 to keep its tyres alive. “I had no tyres left,” at the end, he said, and was passed by the two McLarens and Webber as he fell back.

Kimi Raikkonen tried to make his last set of tyres last even longer – 26 laps. He times started to fall off a dozen laps before the end. To begin with he held up Vettel who, of course, was also trying to protect his tyres.

When Raikkonen’s tyres cried enough he lost ten places in two laps. Lotus’s trackside operations director Alan Permane said: “We’ll dissect the data and see if a three stop would have been better for us, but everything before the race suggested a two-stop was the way to go, and this approach benefitted Romain.”

Romain Grosjean made his last pit stop four laps later than Raikkonen and ended the race in much better shape, claiming sixth place.

Most drivers began the race on soft tyres and ended it on mediums. Jean-Eric Vergne was an exception, and he was flying at the end of the race on soft tyres. He was the fastest driver on the track for nine laps in a row beginning on lap 43.

Chinese Grand Prix fastest laps

Rank	Driver	Car	Fastest lap	Gap	On lap
1	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber-Ferrari	1’39.960		40
2	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1’40.019	0.059	48
3	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1’40.422	0.462	56
4	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	1’40.482	0.522	36
5	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1’40.490	0.530	52
6	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1’40.530	0.570	40
7	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	1’40.601	0.641	33
8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1’40.967	1.007	40
9	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1’40.977	1.017	48
10	Sergio Perez	Sauber-Ferrari	1’41.071	1.111	37
11	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	1’41.120	1.160	35
12	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1’41.152	1.192	41
13	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham-Renault	1’41.190	1.230	53
14	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1’41.240	1.280	48
15	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1’41.251	1.291	40
16	Bruno Senna	Williams-Renault	1’41.293	1.333	37
17	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	1’41.498	1.538	40
18	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus-Renault	1’41.794	1.834	43
19	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham-Renault	1’42.385	2.425	38
20	Charles Pic	Marussia-Cosworth	1’42.621	2.661	39
21	Timo Glock	Marussia-Cosworth	1’42.748	2.788	41
22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT-Cosworth	1’43.610	3.650	54
23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT-Cosworth	1’43.935	3.975	40
24	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1’44.109	4.149	9

Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest lap of the race when he came out of the pits on a new set of medium compound tyres on lap 40.

2012 Chinese Grand Prix

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33 comments on 2012 Chinese Grand Prix fastest laps

Bleu (@bleu) said on 16th April 2012, 15:16

I had been waiting for some surprise name to get FL. I thought it would happen more often. Prior to his season, there was two fastest lap by drivers not driving for Red Bull, McLaren or Ferrari in the new non-refuelling era. Kubica and Petrov had one each in 2010. I have participated some predictions and I picked Vergne for FL, and I was so close to get that correct.

david white said on 17th April 2012, 0:02

What’s interesting when you compare Hamilton and Button which i hadn’t appreciated during the race is how slow Hamilton’s first stop was – 2 seconds slower than Button’s. And also Button only lost 6 seconds to Hamilton on his final stop – so overall Button was only down 3 seconds due to pit stops compared to Hamilton.