Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took a perfectly-judged maiden victory at an enthralling Chinese Grand Prix that was dominated by tyre strategy.
Rosberg led Jenson Button across the line by 20.6s as the Mercedes driver bucked the trend by nursing his tyres to make a two-stop strategy work. The gap could have been closer but for a 9.7s final pit stop for Button, which robbed the amassed crowds of a potential grandstand finish. The victory marked Mercedes' first victory since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.
The Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai, China.
56 laps, 305.066km, Weather: Dry.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG 1h36:26.929
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes + 20.626
3. Lwis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 26.012
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault + 27.924
5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 30.483
6. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 31.491
7. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault + 34.597
8. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault + 35.643
9. Fernando Alonso Ferrari + 37.256
10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 38.720
11. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 41.066
12. Paul Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 42.273
13. Felipe Massa Ferrari + 42.700
14. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 50.500
15. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 51.200
16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 51.700
17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:03.100
18. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
19. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
20. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
21. Pedro De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
22. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
23. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 3 laps
Fastest lap: Kamui Kobayashi, 1:39.960
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Michael Schumacher Mercedes AMG 16
After 3 races:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. Hamilton 45 1. McLaren-Mercedes 88
2. Button 43 2. Red Bull-Renault 64
3. Alonso 37 3. Ferrari 37
4. Webber 36 4. Sauber-Ferrari 31
5. Vettel 28 5. Mercedes 26
6. Rosberg 25 6. Lotus-Renault 24
7. Perez 22 7. Williams-Renault 18
8. Raikkonen 16 8. Force India-Mercedes 9
9. Senna 14 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6
10. Kobayashi 9
11. Grosjean 8
12. Di Resta 7
13. Vergne 4
14. Maldonado 4
15. Ricciardo 2
16. Hulkenberg 2
17. Schumacher 1
