Vote for your 2016 Chinese Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend

2016 Chinese Grand Prix

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Which F1 driver was the best performer during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend?

Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most during the last race weekend.

Chinese Grand Prix driver-by-driver

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton – A handful of off-track moments indicated he was less than happy with the car on Friday. But he might as well have stayed in bed on Saturday as a power unit fault wrecked his qualifying attempt. After picking up front wing damage in the first corner melee Hamilton was still in 21st place when the race restarted. Racing a wounded car once again – Hamilton suspected damage to his suspension as well as aerodynamics, and said the W07 “seemed to be flexing all over the place” – he nonetheless got stuck into the midfield and ran as high as third at one point. However he was forced to use medium tyres for his final stint which confined him to seventh place.

Rosberg had a quiet but profitable day
Nico Rosberg – With Hamilton compromised and Ferrari tripping up in qualifying, Rosberg was looking at an open net. He delivered on Sunday with a clean second run in Q3 to take his first pole position of the year, and had the added bonus of being able to start the race on soft tyres thanks to Mercedes’ performance advantage in Q2. The Safety Car meant he wasn’t able to take full advantage of the strategy, but with all his major rivals tripping up at the start a sixth straight win was never in doubt.

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel – Desiring a fresh set of soft tyres for the race, Vettel elected to do a single run in Q3. The gamble didn’t pay off: he took fourth. Squeezed between Raikkonen and Kvyat at the start, Vettel was clearly embarrassed to knock his team mate into a race-ruining spin. From then on he got his act together, passing two cars on the way into the pits and plenty more after he came back out on super-softs. That meant he was able to use softs for the final stint, which put him at an advantage when he left the pits behind the medium-tyres Kvyat. Vettel took him for second on his out-lap.

Kimi Raikkonen – As was also the case last year, Raikkonen seemed the more comfortable of the two Ferrari drivers. He even headed the times after his first run in Q3, but slipped up on his final run and was bumped down to third. But his race was wrecked when Vettel hit him at the first corner. Despite a damaged car, Raikkonen got back up into the top five, though his tyres went off several laps before the end of his final 19-lap stint on softs.

Williams

Felipe Massa – His Friday running was disrupted by two left-rear tyre blow-outs. He also did not have use of the FW38’s new front wing and was caught out by the red flag in Q2: the upshot was he missed a place in Q3. He got ahead off Bottas at the start, however, and stayed there until the end, though Raikkonen bumped him down to sixth.

Valtteri Bottas – Rob Smedley praised his run to fifth on the grid which, aided by the new front wing, seemed the best the Williams was capable of. Bottas was delayed by the first corner crash, however, and struggled for pace on the medium tyre in his final stint. Raikkonen and the two Toro Rosso drivers relegated him to tenth.

Red Bull

Ricciardo led – but suffered a puncture
Daniel Ricciardo – Ricciardo fancied Red Bull’s chances of taking a Ferrari or Mercedes scalp if it rained during qualifying, but beating both SF16-Hs in the dry was an outstanding performance. He took the lead at the start thanks to his super-soft tyres but they let him down two laps later – a puncture forcing him into the pits. The appearance of the Safety Car moments later was a double-whammy. But a feisty drive through the field eventually yielded fourth place. Crucially he kept Hamilton behind early on then passed the Mercedes with a gutsy move at turn six.

Daniil Kvyat – While his team mate hit new heights on Saturday, Kvyat quietly enjoy by far his most convincing qualifying performance of the year. He made a quick start and surprised the Ferraris with a pass which was legitimate despite Vettel’s over-strenuous protestations. Had it been the other car running second at the restart Ricciardo might have had the pace to keep Vettel behind, but having to run the medium tyres at the final stint made life tricky for Kvyat.

Force India

Nico Hulkenberg – Was unable to participate in Q3 after a wheel fell off his car at the end of Q2, which also earned him a three-place grid penalty. He jumped up to fifth at the start but had to queue behind Perez in the pits and made the mistake of backing off on his way in, which earned him another penalty. “The rules say you shouldn’t slow down coming in,” he admitted, “but in the heat of racing it’s hard to gauge if that is giving you an advantage”. He finish a lowly 15th.

Sergio Perez – Overnight changes on Friday produced a better-handling car for Perez and he pronounced himself happy after taking seventh on the grid. That became fourth after lap one and he was still ninth after the Safety Car, but he lacked the pace to get back where he had been and lost so much ground he ended up out of the points in another disappointing weekend for Force India.

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Renault

Kevin Magnussen – Renault were well off the pace in China and both cars failed to make the cut for Q2. Magnussen started 17th and finished there. “This isn’t a weekend that we will be very happy about.”

Jolyon Palmer – The other Renault driver was even less happy after being the last driver to see the chequered flag. “The balance of the car was all over the place,” he said, “tyre degradation was bigger than usual and the pace wasn’t as good as previous races”.

Toro Rosso

Verstappen fell to 20th but took points
Max Verstappen – Qualifying in the lower reaches of Q3 is not an advantageous place these days, and so it proved for Verstappen after lining up ninth. Lost ground at the start plus the timing of the Safety Car and being held up by Hulkenberg in the pits left him 20th by lap nine. Remarkably, he still managed to finish higher than he started, moving ahead of his team mate plus Perez and Bottas to take the flag in eighth place.

Carlos Sainz Jnr – Having out-qualified Verstappen, Sainz ended up on the medium tyres for longer than his team mate at the end of the race which explains how his team mate was able to get back ahead of him. Despite that he took Bottas for ninth on the final lap.

Sauber

Marcus Ericsson – At a track where the C35 was more competitive Ericsson led the team’s charge in qualifying, reaching Q2 and taking 15th. Tried to use two medium tyre stints to break into the points but didn’t have the pace despite a clean race.

Felipe Nasr – Picked up damage in the first corner incident which compromised his race, but he was pessimistic about reaching the points anyway. “I am still struggling with the same issues that I’ve been having in the last couple of events,” he admitted.

McLaren

Alonso was back in action
Fernando Alonso – Returned to action despite some rib pain but was disappointed by the red flags in Q2 which ruined his and Button’s hopes of making the final ten. Having stayed out of trouble at the start the Safety Car allowed him to run third, but his pace on two medium-tyre stints wasn’t quick enough to deliver his first points of the year.

Jenson Button – One of few drivers to start the race on new super-soft tyres, Button headed for the pits when the Safety Car came out but lost time behind Hulkenberg. Like Alonso he couldn’t find the necessary pace on mediums, so he tried a run on super-softs at the end but still ended up following his team mate home.

Manor

Pascal Wehrlein – Had an embarrassing crash in qualifying when his car snapped out of control on a damp bump on the pit straight. “I guess I was just unlucky as there was nothing I could do,” he said. But he made another great start, gaining six places, and staying out during the Safety Car briefly put him fourth. He was only ever going to slip back from there, however, and despite sticking to the softer compounds he was 18th at the flag.

Gutierrez finished without his DRS
Rio Haryanto – Wasn’t pleased with his qualifying run which was partly compromised by his team mate bringing the red flags out. He held off the struggling Palmer for 21st place after a trouble-free run.

Haas

Romain Grosjean – His points-scoring run for Haas was halted after first-corner contact damaged his front wing. Unhappy with his car’s balance from that point on. Grosjean urged his team to retire his car in the final laps.

Esteban Gutierrez – Saw the chequered flag for the first time this year and was well ahead of his team mate in 14th despite his Drag Reduction System not working.

Qualifying and race results summary

DriverStartedGap to team mate (Q)Laps leading team matePittedFinishedGap to team mate (R)
Lewis Hamilton22nd0/5657th+78.23s
Nico Rosberg1st56/5621st-78.23s
Sebastian Vettel4th+0.274s56/5632nd-28.096s
Kimi Raikkonen3rd-0.274s0/5635th+28.096s
Felipe Massa10th+0.516s52/5626th-10.681s
Valtteri Bottas5th-0.516s4/56310th+10.681s
Daniel Ricciardo2nd-0.482s3/5634th+6.752s
Daniil Kvyat6th+0.482s53/5633rd-6.752s
Nico Hulkenberg13th+0.184s0/55415thNot on same lap
Sergio Perez7th-0.184s55/55311thNot on same lap
Kevin Magnussen17th-0.855s43/55317th-37.192s
Jolyon Palmer19th+0.855s12/55322nd+37.192s
Max Verstappen9th+0.313s16/5638th-4.859s
Carlos Sainz Jnr8th-0.313s40/5639th+4.859s
Marcus Ericsson15th-1.688s55/55216th-39.244s
Felipe Nasr16th+1.688s0/55320th+39.244s
Fernando Alonso11th-0.267s29/56212th-4.737s
Jenson Button12th+0.267s27/56313th+4.737s
Pascal Wehrlein21st51/55318th-30.228s
Rio Haryanto20th4/55321st+30.228s
Romain Grosjean14th-0.345s1/55419th+28.069s
Esteban Gutierrez18th+0.345s54/55314th-28.069s

Review the race data

    Vote for your driver of the weekend

    Which driver do you think did the best job this weekend?

    Cast your vote below and explain your choice in the comments.

    Who was the best driver of the 2015 Chinese Grand Prix weekend?

    • Esteban Gutierrez (0%)
    • Romain Grosjean (0%)
    • Rio Haryanto (0%)
    • Pascal Wehrlein (0%)
    • Jenson Button (0%)
    • Fernando Alonso (1%)
    • Felipe Nasr (0%)
    • Marcus Ericsson (1%)
    • Carlos Sainz Jnr (0%)
    • Max Verstappen (4%)
    • Jolyon Palmer (0%)
    • Kevin Magnussen (1%)
    • Sergio Perez (0%)
    • Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
    • Daniil Kvyat (12%)
    • Daniel Ricciardo (45%)
    • Valtteri Bottas (0%)
    • Felipe Massa (2%)
    • Kimi Raikkonen (11%)
    • Sebastian Vettel (8%)
    • Nico Rosberg (14%)
    • Lewis Hamilton (1%)

    Total Voters: 530

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    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    86 comments on “Vote for your 2016 Chinese Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend”

    1. Daniel Ricciardo for me.

      He had a fantastic qualifying, capitalizing on the mistakes of the Ferrari drivers. Then in the race he made a good start, but got an unfortunate puncture that dropped him to near the rear of the field. Despite dropping back, he charged through the field to finish only 8 seconds off of Kvyat.

      1. Totally right. Daniel Ricciardo for me too. Best out of the car in qualifying, best out of the race despite bad luck.

      2. @blockwall2 Same for me, it makes Kvyat his podium seem even more ‘lucky’ than it already was.

      3. Yep, has to be Ricciardo for me too. He must so be looking forward to the summer engine upgrade, then he might be appearing here quite often.

      4. @blockwall2 Agree. He was the best one out there: fast in qualy, fast in the race, he was never going to win the race but even after the puncture, he got back into the game very quickly and efficiently. For me, he’s been the best driver in the field so far this year.

        Nico comes a close second for the DoTW award, but he had it “easier” without Hamilton in the way. It’s harder to measure his efforts.

        Kudos to Kvyat too, his move on turn 1 was inspired, and after the SC he got up to 2nd really quickly and just failed to resist Vettel’s resurgence. He only missed a bit in qualy.

      5. Spot on, though Kvyat also deserves praise, not for his T1 overtake (to me legit but unnecessarily aggressive) but for extracting so much potential out of that engine. Both RBR drivers were DOTW. In the end I choose Daniel because he had a hard time following his puncture, and a master class recovery.

    2. Has to be Ricciardo, although strong shouts for Kvyat, Raikkonen, Rosberg and Verstappen IMO.

    3. It must be Dan. Great Qualy, unlucky in the race after a great start, great recovery, great passing against Hamilton. Everything he did was just great!

    4. Who is voting for Raikkonen over Ricciardo? People probably forgot, but Raikkonen was directly behind Ricciardo during the safety car, and in a much quicker car should have gotten past in the next 47 laps. Instead, Ricciardo beat him by 13+ seconds in an inferior car. So again, why would you vote for Raikkonen over Ricciardo? If it was because Raikkonen’s recovery was great, then Ricciardo’s must’ve been something out of this world.

      1. @mashiat Kimi was directly behind Ricciardo after the SC and he was 15+s adrift. He got provisional pole before missing out on the second run and had an OK start until Vettel tagged him.

        He used his strategy right and got into the best possible place for Ferrari after being dead last at one point.

        It was as impressive as Ricciardo’s drive.

    5. MARCIN PILIPCZUK
      18th April 2016, 14:42

      seb vettel

    6. Daniel Ricciardo must have it in the bag. In another news, this GP goes to show how much Grosjean deserves the previous two DoTW : he converted both points occasions when the car was OK, and it seems they need to get this sweet area of performance back before they score anymore points. (and get lucky with Grosjean’s race because Gutiierrez showed how much even with no racing incident, he isn’t ready to score points yet).

      1. In GUT’s defense, even in the early stages the Haas looked a handful. If it is, as everybody says it is, a less developed Ferrari, then it must also suffer from low front end grip. Add to that the less developed front wing and the real performance of that car is somewhere between the McLarens and the Force Indias.

        1. Quite true @faulty, but still highlights how vital Grosjean’s points in the frist race will prove to be and how important it was for him to be able to deliver the perfect races when he could.

    7. Ricciardo, followed by Rosberg. Can’t think of any other candidates, really.

      1. ColdFly F1 (@)
        18th April 2016, 16:06

        Ricciardo for me as well.
        Rosberg a very strong second (not sure what he could have done better in Q and Race, but tough to get DOTW without a proper fight).
        VES strong in the race (20-8th) but needs to show his skills in quali and stop losing places on lap 1.
        VET did very well, but botched Q and complaining to the wrong guy helped him miss DOTW
        RAI was good, but not spectacular either. Overtaking a handicapped HAM isn’t DOTW either.
        KVY did nothing wrong, nor anything spectacular, and was ages behind RIC in quali.
        Very impressed with WEH as well, if only I hadn’t seen his quali move.

        Not sure why people voted for MAS. Maybe for his demands that FIA steps in and help drivers with the proper use of DRS when there is some water on track.

        1. Massa’s defense against Hamilton? People only admire overtaking, but not successful or gamely defense?
          Fully agree on Ricc

          1. Thing is Park, Massa only really seemed to be able to defend from Hamiltons damaged care, lost relatively quickly to Raikkonen and Ricciardo.

            You said that quite well @coldfly, had VET not complained so much he might have been my driver of the race, showed some really good actions to get back into the fight (like that presence of mind in the pit entry) though even there I think Ricciardo edges him out, as he got the start down. I do think Kvyat did well in the race, that was a great start, and cleverly opportunistic move into T1, then he held it well with some good racing, so I gave him my vote (as RIC is already well ahead for the win).

            I also think HAM did quite good (great start!) though there might be an argument he could have done better had he started his stints a bit easier to keep the tyres longer. And Wehrlein again did great in the race; but he botched the Saturday. Rosberg had a very strong end of Q3, and did what he needed to do in the race, but he wasn’t under any pressure for the win, especially after the SC.

        2. “VES strong in the race (20-8th) but needs to show his skills in quali and stop losing places on lap 1.”

          Agreed he can improve on his starts, but losing just one qualifying (Abu Dhabi) to his team mate when he (or his team mate) didn’t have mechanical problems in the last 15 races needs improving?…I know he’s good, but come on?.

          Ricciardo was flawless and really fast, so he’s DTOW for me.

          1. Don’t go down the ‘Its not him, its the car’ excuse line, that is exclusive Hamilton/Hamilton Fan territory, you really don’t want to start with that. Results are results, no ifs or buts.

            1. To the Max !
              19th April 2016, 0:25

              I was pointing out to clear results. Pointing towards mechanical problems doesn’t make any sense.

      2. Agree. It was close between Ricciardo and Rosberg for me. The only thing I think Rosberg could have improved was his start, where he lost the lead and was following Dan. I also thought Rosberg was a little lucky to have taken pole in this race, as his pole lap did lock his tyres twice on that lap, and Lewis really wasn’t there to pounce on that error.

        Dan though, really maximised every opportunity. Put in a stellar quali lap to jump the Ferraris, then followed it by a stellar start into the lead, and then an awesome recovery drive after the unfortunate puncture.

        Had to vote for Dan on this one

    8. Daniil Kvyat. If not for the start, the race could have been a dreary race.

    9. Felipe Massa for me. Yes, he was outqualified by Bottas but he was unlucky with the red flag situation in Q2. In the race though, made a great start and drove the wheels of that Williams!

      1. Yes, he really motored :)

    10. I can think of several candidates:
      – Nico Rosberg, for making winning look easy when everyone else keeps tripping over their own and other peoples’ feet.
      – Sebastian Vettel, for his overtaking frenzy, including cheeky moves in the pits and on Kvyat (wherein I liked his ‘do or die’ attitude). However, I really disliked his whining over Kvyat’s move at the start. If you can’t stand other cars zooming past you on the racing line, don’t leave a gap there. Yes, it really is as simple as that.
      – Daniel Ricciardo, for delivering a perfect weekend and also a great deal of overtaking, including against big names.
      – Lewis Hamilton, for his move on Bottas (perfect execution, on a portion of the track where you would least expect it to happen).
      – Felipe Massa, for his defensive driving during the final stint, keeping Hamilton at bay, as well as conserving his tyres under pressure and distancing his team mate Bottas, whose strategy was the same.

      1. You have highlighted great moments of the weekend, but it doesn’t make much sense to say that Lewis is a candidate to DOTW because he made a great move. It takes a lot more than one great move to be DOTW. It’s true he wasn’t very lucky this weekend, but it’s also true that he was far from his most brilliant performances. Massa had a bit more merit, but still not enough to name him as a candidate.

    11. I enjoyed Max Verstappen his race, being in 20th Position after the first pitstop to 8th and almost catching Hamilton was remarkable.

    12. I voted Ricciardo. Awesome qualifying. Great start. Even better comeback from P18. Ironically, I am kind of glad he got a puncture. If he hadn’t he would have been second all race with no passing. Rosberg a boring first and Ricciardo a boring second. A puncture made him earn his finishing position. His finishing position happened to be miles in front of Hamilton and Raikonnen despite him battling them at point in the race. Every time I see Ricciardo come up behind a car, I just know he will overtake. With everyone else in the field, I see them catch someone but then get in the dirty air and I make excuses about how the current rules are crap. Ricciardo just passes them within a lap or two. I can’t remember a time in the last 2.3 years where he has been stuck behind anyone for more than 3 laps. I can’t say that of anyone else on the circuit. And he isn’t in a Merc.

      However, Rosberg was a very close second. I know he had it easy and had no bad luck, but he just nailed it all weekend. He loses point this weekend for doing what I expected of him. Must suck to come first and be downrated because everyone expected you to do it!

      Lastly, How many people have passed Hamilton in a competitive situation this season or in the 2 previous? I can think of 3 times Ricciardo has passed him (China 2016, USA 2015 and Hungary 2014). I know Kimi passed him last weekend as well. Has Rosberg or anyone else ever overtaken him in the last 2.2 years? I can’t remember one instance, but I am sure to be proven wrong. Look, I am no statistician, but I bet Ricciardo has passed him more than any other driver in the last 2 and a bit seasons. In fact, I would bet that Kimi (and maybe Rosberg) is the only other drivers to have passed him in a completive position. He is in the best car and passing is hard, but Ricciardo can still do it in a lesser car. Hamilton should be scared. I am sure Vettel is!

      1. P.S. Rosberg is currently battling for 4th in this poll. Raikonnen and Kvyat are currently polling higher with Vettel not far behind. Seriously people. What more could Rosberg have done. Lap the field? He nailed it all weekend. Give him some credit even if he is in the best car. He is still delivering in spades.

        Hamilton also has 1%. Are you freaking serious people. Try voting for the “Driver of the Weekend” like the title suggests. Hamilton may be a good driver, but he was a long way from the DOTW this weekend.

        1. Trouble with Rosberg is (what stopped me even considering him) is that while he won and got pole, it was the minimum he would have been expected to do because he was driving the only non-compromised Mercedes. And he didn’t even race anyone… just drove round on his own after Ricciardo’s puncture.

          Maybe he did it brilliantly, or maybe he was just cruising… we can’t tell – he had no proper competition at all in any of the competitive sessions because none of the other cars were on a par with his. Whenever that happens, whether it’s Hamilton or Rosberg who gets the easy ride, I’ll only vote for them if no one else impresses me.

          1. Yeah, you are right. I didn’t vote for him either. He has to win because he is in the best car and anything less would be a dissapointment. However, Ricciardo and Rosberg must be the highest rated drivers for the season. They both keep delivering all that is asked of them. Rosberg is probably cruising for 90% of the race, but only because he puts himself in the position to do that. Hamilton may have had bad luck in China, but the previous 2 races were his problem because of poor starts. Rosberg is driving the same car, but delivering.

            It reminds me of Vettel and Webber. Vettel just drove off into the distance. Nothing to see here, while Webber needed a comeback drive to finish 4th. Same car different result. Rosberg is delivering all that he needs to right now. I am sure that Hammy will change this in the coming 18 races, but for now, Rosberg does deserve a lot of credit and he isn’t receiving it. As I said, right now, him and Ricciardo must be the 2 best drivers of the 3 previous races. No-one else is close to those 2 right now.

      2. I may be a biased Dutchman, but another Red Bull driver does a lot of overtakes quite soon as well. No excuses about dirty air, usually (forgetting about Australia 2016 here).

        I don’t want to take away anything from RIC, voted for him too as DOTW. But there are more drivers who do significantly better than their car allows. Wehrlein comes to mind, Vandoorne seems to be one as well. And don’t forget Grosjean, our darling of the last two GPs.

      3. Don’t forget Hungary 2015 where Ricciardo got Hamilton so well on the restart (was a textbook how to restart a race after a safety car) that Hamilton had to dirty crash into him at turn 1 to stop Ricciardo overtaking him around the outside. Hamilton then got a penalty for his usual dirty driving.

    13. Complete disgrace from Mercedes and not for the first time. Heads must roll and the leadership should resign over their poor show this weekend. Their favoritism for the german golden boy is becoming all the more apparent.
      In light of this heroic effort from Lewis for sitting in the car and battling it out to the end, despite the odds stacking against him with the team’s abysmal strategy and carrying big car damage. Truly inspirational resolve and beautiful overtake of the race on Bottas, he is DOTW for me.

      1. not sure if sarcastic….

        1. @thetick If it was any other driver I’d say it was sarcastic, Hamilton fans however…

      2. Yeah…I forgot ROS was world champion in ’14 and ’15.

    14. Wow. Little love for Vettel here. He was a demon!

      1. He was a Demon in the entry to pit lane. But thought he would do a Senna in qualifying and wait till the last minute to do hes flying lap….and came 4th. Oh and he ruined hes teammates race. Average weekend for Vettel

    15. Daniel Ricciardo unquestionably. He was in my top 3 at the first 2 races and here he was head and shoulders above the rest in terms of driving ability all weekend

      Honorable mentions also to Rosberg, Kvyat, Kimi, Massa, Verstappen and Sainz

    16. Kvyat for me. Not only he extract the maximum of his Red Bull, but more importantly he outdid himself. The move on turn 1 is a world champion move, and he stand by his right to that move even though a more senior and 4 times WDC driver scold him publicly. My opinion on him just improved drastically on that race.

      1. @sonicslv The entire move in T1 aside I don’t see how he is even eligable for DOTW. Outqualified again, was nowhere near Ricciardo all weekend and his podium is only thanks to the Ferrari drivers hitting each other and his teammate getting a puncture. If it wasn’t for this bold move he would have finished a lonely 5th…

      2. @sonicslv I agree with @xtwl . Not only he was trashed again by DR in qualy, but in the race he was nowhere near DR’s pace and to say that he extracted the maximum of the RBR isn’t supported by facts. Yes Kvyat had a good first corner and a good race afterwards, but DoTW? Not even close

        1. @xtwl @montreal95 Hmm, let’s see, true he’s beaten by Ricciardo on qualifying but it’s more of Ricciardo putting a mega lap insteap of Kvyat botching his lap. His time is consistent of the usual Red Bull place in the pecking order. On the race, on first and second stint their pace is pretty much similar (look at the lap chart data). Kvyat generally faster in first stint although it attributing to Ricciardo has traffic, Ricciardo slightly faster in second stint but more or less same pace, and on last stint Ricciardo is faster but that’s because Kvyat position is basically secured. He don’t have hope chasing Vettel on soft while he on medium and have no threat from behind, so I don’t see any reason for him to keep pushing unlike Ricciardo who still have chance to improve his position.

          Ricciardo have a good race like he always does, but Kvyat is showing something new. This could be a milestone on him becoming a much better driver and I stand my vote of DOTW for him.

          1. From your last paragraph it seems you are mistaking this for the Most Unexpectedly Good Performance of the Weekend (MUGPOTW) and not the Driver of the Weekend.
            From your own words Dan had a “mega lap” in quali compared to Kvyat. you also mentioned that in the race it was hard to compare stints as Kvyat was in clear air and Dan was in traffic so we only have the last stint as comparison and Dan wins there. However you prefer to reward the erratic performance of Kvyat as he is “showing something new” as opposed to consistent excellence as Dan has “a good race like he always does”.
            So yeah I think you are voting in the wrong category. Perhaps Keith should implement a new category? MUGPOTW – you heard it here first.

    17. Dan-Dan for me, but Kvyat comes first because of Seb torpedoing.

    18. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
      18th April 2016, 17:19

      Voted for Kvyat, but – I was a bit surprised that Ricciardo had the most votes even if Kvyat topped F1’s official DOTD result.

      1. This is UK site, so obviously largely biased.

        1. @iluvsoundtracks, @regs The entire move in T1 aside I don’t see how he is even eligable for DOTW. Outqualified again, was nowhere near Ricciardo all weekend and his podium is only thanks to the Ferrari drivers hitting each other and his teammate getting a puncture. If it wasn’t for this bold move he would have finished a lonely 5th…

          Has nothing to do with this site being English. If anything the voting on the F1 site happens by ill informed fans who only watch at the final result.

        2. @regs @iluvsoundtracks Anybody voting for Kvyat is biased in my book since it’s not supported by facts. He was trashed in qualy, he was nowhere near DR’s pace in the race and just got lucky with the latter’s puncture otherwise he would’ve finished far behind. Therefore, logically, anyone voting for Kvyat over Ricciardo is biased and lets his bias cloud his objective judgement

          Also, this suggestion, about British site being biased toward Ricciardo(why would Brits be biased toward an Aussie anyway?) is laughable. It had been proved time and time again that this site has a hugely international following, on account of being simply brilliant. I, for example, am not even close to being British or Australian, never even visited there(though the latter I intend to change in the future)

          1. He didn’t trash anything. He was on used tyres in Q3.

        3. jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
          19th April 2016, 5:45

          A UK site biased for an Australian, great logic there….

      2. Because RIC was the true ‘Driver Of The WEEKEND’.

    19. Toss-up between Ricciardo and Raikkonen I think. Great recovery from both. I think Raikkonen has shown himself to be worthy of that Ferrari drive at the start of this year, despite what people have been saying – he was quite a bit quicker than Vettel in raw pace this weekend.

      1. It is funny how people stereotype drivers and then are unable to see past their own stereotypes. Kimi Räikkönen is a great example of this: After his 2014 and 2015 seasons, he has been dismissed as a has-been who is only taking up a race seat deserved by Hülkenberg or __________ (insert your own favourite driver). Now he delivers a fantastic race with the number of overtaking manoeuvres and quality of those he overtook unmatched by any other driver, yet he is outvoted 5 – 1 by Ricciardo? Remember? About ten laps from the end he was 12th, immediately behind Hamilton (who only managed 7th in a car that just like Räikkönen’s had been damaged at the beginning of the race) and just look at the people he scorched past to reach fifth.

        1. Did you forget his amateur-hour sloppy driving and re-entry torpedo that caused all the lap one chaos?

          1. Not to mention his botched up quali lap, that had the potential to put him on P2. It was a good recovery drive from him nonetheless, but he got out qualified and out raced by Ricciardo in a slower car, so it’s a no brainer that Ric would get the vote over Kimi

            1. Correction 1 – Christian Horner now claims that Red Bull are “snapping at the heels of Ferrari” and on a track where aero is more at a premium than the previous two, it is no surprise that Red Bull, who are acknowledged to have the best aerodynamic package (with a less powerful engine), are up there.

              Correction 2 – the SS of both Räikkönen and Vettel went off in the third sector during their final qualifying attempts.

              Ricciardo did a fantastic job in qualifying as well as in the race, but it still does not disprove my point; that most people cannot see past their own stereotypes as evidenced by the comments of Mike and Todford above.

    20. It should be between Ricc and HAM for me.
      Daniel had better pace than Dany in the race, but hit by pure bad luck. He deserved the podium, I feel for him.
      Lewis had more bad luck, but fought back to 7th with a damaged car, I feel for him even more.

      1. This guy….

    21. Of course, it’s Ricciardo.

      I’m baffled Kvyat won the official vote. He did a great job, of course, and I don’t even blame him for the first corner incident. (I think it was mainly on Vettel.)

      But Ricciardo had slightly better race pace and a lot better deg than him and that in itself warrants that (at least) one driver was better than him.

      1. I agree. Ricciardo outqualified Kvyat by a large margin, and then would have went on to finish at least 2nd in the race and miles ahead of Kvyat, if it wasn’t for the Pirelli tyres yet again being a liability. Bring back Bridgestone!

        1. Kvyat was on used tyres in qualification. Ricciardo on fresh.

    22. Obviously Daniel Ricciardo. Nobody else gets close.

    23. Vettel, for having the presence of mind to overtake two cars on the entry to the pits.

      1. Move of the day for sure.

    24. Driver of thee weekend… Very hard choice this week, race produced several outstanding drivers, especially Riciardo, arguably Kvyat, maybe Vettel…

      Honestly Riciardo maximized his race after bad luck.

      But my vote goes to Nico Rosberg, because he won himself the race already on saturday. For me he was head and shoulders above the rest. Only one to dare qualify on Softs.

    25. This is DOTW, not DOTD, so I voted for Ricciardo. Close 2nd was Rosberg.

      Thumbs up for:
      Hamilton for keeping his cool after all the bad stuff in Qualify and the beginning of the race.
      Same for Raikkonen.

      Verstappen for another great drive in the race. Please do better in Qualify and the Race Start next time.
      Wehrlein for another great drive in the race. Please don’t go swimming during Quali next time.

    26. Ricciardo. Brilliant 2nd place ont the grid and amazing recovery during the race.

    27. I don’t see what was so impressive about Kvyat’s drive that 13% voted for him, Rosberg, Ricciardo, Raikkonen and even Vettel and Verstappen almost certainly drove a better race than him.

    28. Kimi Raikkonen, beat Vettel who is a usually very good in qualy, and recovered very well to 5th though had a chance of winning his first race in some time.

      Other mentions go to the two Dan’s, Rosberg and Massa.

      Also, it says above the list ‘Who was the best driver of the 2015 Chinese Grand Prix’

    29. My first vote was to RIC but after the poor description of Massa’s race I vote for MAS. He didn’t practice on FP1 because of blown tyres which was not his fault. He did not have the new equipment on his car as Bottas did. He was eliminated on Q2 because of a red flag that caught him in the wrong time and place.
      His answers to this was a AWESOME start and a BRILLIANT defense stint against so-called best driver Hamilton which had tyres 1 lap older than Massa only. I read stupid guys saying that Massa wasn’t able to hold RIC and RAI, but they were on brand new soft tyres, meanwhile Massa had at least 15 laps used Medium! These guys don’t understand about F1.

      1. Ric was on mediums as well. @v27racing

    30. I find inappropriate the metaphore about scalps.

    31. Has to be Dan the Man, for the reasons already ventilated by others.

    32. I think, Vettel.

    33. Close vote between RIC and ROS. Difference being the start. Ricciardo did everything right, Nico failed at getaway..

      1. Actually, the commentators said ROS had a pretty good start, considering he was alongside RIC at the start of turn 1. He simply lost out because he wasn’t on the supersoft tyres like everyone else around him. Even then, he only lost one position.

    34. Happy to see there’s some consensus on the poll this weekend.

    35. Ricciardo all the way!!!!

    36. Vettel coming from almost last to 2nd with a damaged car was a great feat of driving, so he was the man of the race for me.

      His first lap shunt wasn’t really his fault, but he did mess up qualifying (well the team did by not letting him get a run to learn the wind conditions), so my DOTW vote still has to go to Ricciardo.

      1. You’re biased and you haven’t watched the race closely.It was his decision to do one run in Q3. He messed it up. He hit his team to avoid a charging Kvyat.
        And he wasn’t ‘almost last’. Kimi was. And there was barely any damage on his car. Just side end plates on the front wing.
        I bet Kimi had more damage than him.

        1. No, you’re biased and it’s obviously you who haven’t watched the race closely. Vettel was squeezed in T1. The crash was not his fault, hence no reaction was taken. After the wing change he was 15th, Raikkonen was 19th. In addition to the wing damage that you noticed, he had quite a hit on L1 bending the suspension making the car pull to the left which meant cornering was less than ideal. The qual lap I already admit he messed up, so you can’t counter argue that he messed up, that’s just silly. My point was the team should have insisted he go for a sighter lap with so obviously variable wind conditions.

    37. It has to be Riccardo… He performed very well over the practice sessions, qualified in the best possible place (considering I don’t thing anything will outqualify the Merc at the majority of circuits) and starts brilliantly… After his puncture, he fell back down to 18th and battled his was back up to 4th…

      Rosberg also had a strong weekend and deserves a mention…

      Kvyat, I still feel had Vettel not collided with Raikonnen, would have collided with him further into the corner given the pace he had and therefore, not worthy…

    38. My driver of the weekend was Ricciardo, a great lap in qualifying put him on the front row and he followed it up with another great performance in the race, if it hadn’t been for his tyre failure he would surely have had a podium.

      My second choice would be Raikkonen, at one point it looked as if he may spring a big surprise and take pole but in the end a mistake meant he had to settle for third on the grid. In the race he put in a good recovery drive after being hit by his teammate on the first lap to finish a credible fifth.

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