Unsurprisingly it was Lewis Hamilton who gained the most places during the Chinese Grand Prix. He finished 15 spots higher than he started, but nonetheless was disappointed not to have got further from his starting position at the rear of the field.
Nico Hulkenberg made the most progress on the first lap, taking advantage of the collisions in front of him to leap up to fifth place having started thirteenth. Team mate Sergio Perez also gained ground and was running one place ahead of the other Force India at the end of lap one.
But as with Williams in Bahrain, Force India weren’t able to deliver on their first-lap gains: Both drivers finished lower than they started, and out of the points.
2016 Chinese Grand Prix lap chart
The positions of each driver on every lap. Toggle drivers using controls below:
Position change summary
Driver | Start position | Lap one position change | Race position change |
---|---|---|---|
Lewis Hamilton | 22 | 1 | 15 |
Nico Rosberg | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Sebastian Vettel | 4 | -4 | 2 |
Kimi Raikkonen | 3 | -17 | -2 |
Felipe Massa | 10 | 3 | 4 |
Valtteri Bottas | 5 | -5 | -5 |
Daniel Ricciardo | 2 | 1 | -2 |
Daniil Kvyat | 6 | 3 | 3 |
Nico Hulkenberg | 13 | 8 | -2 |
Sergio Perez | 7 | 3 | -4 |
Kevin Magnussen | 17 | 3 | 0 |
Jolyon Palmer | 19 | 3 | -3 |
Max Verstappen | 9 | -3 | 1 |
Carlos Sainz Jnr | 8 | 2 | -1 |
Marcus Ericsson | 15 | 4 | -1 |
Felipe Nasr | 16 | -6 | -4 |
Fernando Alonso | 11 | -2 | -1 |
Jenson Button | 12 | 3 | -1 |
Pascal Wehrlein | 21 | 6 | 3 |
Rio Haryanto | 20 | 2 | -1 |
Romain Grosjean | 14 | -5 | -5 |
Esteban Gutierrez | 18 | 1 | 4 |
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2016 Chinese Grand Prix race chart
The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
2016 Chinese Grand Prix
- 2016 Chinese Grand Prix team radio transcript
- Ricciardo’s recovery drive earns fourth Driver of the Weekend win
- 2016 Chinese Grand Prix Rate the Race Result
- 2016 Chinese Grand Prix Predictions Championship results
- Top ten pictures from the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
17th April 2016, 19:24
At least the mcLarens were not lapped for once.
Todfod (@todfod)
18th April 2016, 11:59
Yes. That is their silver lining. But Fernando’s fastest lap was slower than both the Manors’ fastest lap.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
17th April 2016, 20:01
Messiest lap chart I have ever seen, I think! I guess that’s a good thing
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
17th April 2016, 21:37
Been a while since we’ve had a combo of such a dominating leader, yet surprisingly few lapped cars.
Impressed with a full 22 circulating at the end, and no one lapped more than once.
Does this show that despite the continued Mercedes dominance, things are actually closing up?
F1 in Figures (@f1infigures)
18th April 2016, 8:40
Yes, Manor has improved a lot, so now they’re lapped only once instead of 2 or 3 times per race. Actually, there is a huge midfield with disappointing teams like Force India, surprises like Haas and Manor, and teams like McLaren, Renault and Sauber. There is surprisingly little in between these teams, unlike last year.
Todfod (@todfod)
18th April 2016, 12:05
Agree. Manor have definitely improved a lot. I remember that they were dead last, and a few laps down at the end of every race last year, despite drivers in mid field teams who lost a lap due to 1st lap incidents. I think Mclaren needs to learn a lesson or two from Manor on how to really improve over the winter.
Alonso (@alonshow)
18th April 2016, 23:27
Just one lesson, actually: Buy a Mercedes engine. That’s all the winter improvement Manor had. But McLaren are understandably reluctant to follow that path.
Boomerang
18th April 2016, 9:14
I think extra set of softs would keep Daniil ahead of Seb.
Alonso
18th April 2016, 23:39
I have tried hard, but I have only managed to see one driver going faster that the leader for several laps. Quite surprisingly, that driver is Grosjean (laps 45-49). Two conclusions might be drawn from that:
1. The Mercedes are still on a league of their own. Even when they’re cruising, nobody goes faster.
2. Those guys at Haas must know something the rest doesn’t. They’re doing something very, very well.