Hamilton's Maiden Mercedes Victory

Lewis Hamilton takes the chequered flag for the fourth time in Hungary and wins his first race in a Mercedes car. It was a race where Hamilton was fairly unthreatened throughout and ended up winning at a canter. Kimi Raikkonen overtakes Fernando Alonso in to second in the overall standings after staving off an attack from Sebastian Vettel to finish second. There was also good news for Williams as a tenth place for Pastor Maldonado meant that they had now secured their first point of the season.

Romain Grosjean looked very competitive in the early going and was in contention for a podium until a drive through penalty ended that attempt. Nico Rosberg got beaten up on the first lap and ended up retiring late on with a blown engine.

Alonso had his usual good start, overtaking Rosberg and challenging with Vettel and Grosjean. Felipe Massa also tried to get around the Mercedes and there ended up being contact which sent Rosberg off the track before rejoining in 12th. Mark Webber and Jenson Button were also winners from the first lap, landing seventh and eighth respectively.

With Hungary well known for its lack of over-taking. Most of the talk was about the strategy and the pit stops. Hamilton pitted on lap nine and crucially came out ahead of Button, who had began on the medium compound not the soft. Vettel would pit on lap-11 but come out behind the McLaren which caused the Red Bull a problem. Alonso would pit on lap-13 before both Lotus cars came in on lap-14 with Grosjean coming out behind both Hamilton and Vettel, leaving Webber in the lead.

The first retirement of the race came on lap-20 when Adrian Sutil suffered a hydraulic leak. Webber pitted on lap-24, giving Hamilton the lead again. Meanwhile, Button's tyres were going and it allowed Vettel, Grosjean and Alonso to overtake the McLaren. There was contact between Grosjean and Button which caused the McLaren to pit in an incident that was to be investigated after the race. The Lotus also pitted on lap-26, possibly also due to the incident as well as just a tyre change.

Grosjean looked to have overtaken Massa fairly on lap-29 to gain sixth but because he went off track just after the manoeuvre, he was brandished with a drive through penalty on lap-37. Esteban Gutierrez became the second retirement of the race to continue his miserable debut season. Button also managed to overtake Massa to gain seventh on lap-31.

Hamilton pitted on lap-32 and just came out behind Webber, which would have played in to Vettel's hands. But Hamilton managed to overtake Webber two laps later as both Alonso and Vettel decided to pit. The Red Bull once again ended up behind Button but it didn't cost him as much time this time around as he managed to overtake the McLaren on lap-37 to go fifth.

Valtteri Bottas became the third retirement on lap-45 when his car looked to break down near the finish line. Hamilton pitted for the third and final time on lap-51 and came out behind the two Red Bulls before Hamilton aggressively overtook Webber. Vettel would pit on lap-55 and gained third place when Webber pitted on lap-60.

Rosberg's race came to an end on lap-66 because of that engine failure. Force India's disappointing weekend came to an end when they also decided to retire Paul Di Resta who had had a truly miserable weekend. Race result:

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 4. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 6. Romain Grosjean (Lotus), 7. Jenson Button (McLaren), 8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 9. Sergio Perez (McLaren), 10. Pastor Maldonado (Williams), 11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), 12. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), 13. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 14. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham), 15. Charles Pic (Caterham), 16. Jules Bianchi (Marussia), 17. Max Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Adrian Sutil (Force India), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Paul Di Resta (Force India)    

Hamilton's Hat-Trick Pole

Lewis Hamilton surprised pretty much everyone, including himself, by snatching Pole position under Sebastian Vettel's nose. Hamilton had been complaining that his Mercedes car has lost pace going in to this weekend's Hungary Grand Prix, but it hasn't stopped him grabbing his third consecutive Pole position. Vettel looked vexed when he stepped out of his Red Bull to know he only managed second after dominating most of Q3.

Nico Rosberg was fastest in both Q1 and Q2 but could only settle for fourth place behind the impressive Romain Grosjean. Fernando Alonso continued his relatively quiet season, despite sitting second in the standings, and will start fifth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Lotus. Felipe Massa sits seventh with Daniel Ricciardo continuing to push for Mark Webber's seat next season in eighth. Sergio Perez found some pace for McLaren to sit ninth with Webber not posting a time in Q3 due to a KERS problem and the Australian will sit tenth.

Adrian Sutil was the man to miss out on Q3 in 11th with Nico Hulkenberg just behind him. Jenson Button will be a little disappointed with 13th after seeing Perez's performance and also having been in the top ten at times during Q3. Christian Horner has publicly stated that Jean-Eric Vergne isn't ready for a big seat just yet and the Frenchman looks have vindicated those words by only managing to qualify 14th. There was a slight victory for Williams as both Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas making in to Q2 but will start 15th and 16th respectively.

Esteban Gutierrez continued his struggle in his debut season for Sauber, missing out on Q2 and starting 17th. But the biggest loser of the day was a very disappointed and bewildered Paul Di Resta who has it all to do tomorrow, starting 18th. Caterham beat Marussia at the back of the grid with both Charles Pic and Giedo Van Der Garde out-qualifying Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton.

Vettel Wins At Home

For for the first time in his career, Sebastian Vettel has won a race in July and, more importantly, has won his home grand prix. Vettel virtually led from the first corner and had to stave off a late attack by Kimi Raikkonen who had passed team-mate Romain Grosjean via team orders, giving Lotus a two-three finish. Lewis Hamilton was mugged by both Red Bulls from the first corner and had to settle for fifth. Mark Webber would have been contender today one feels, but a horrific pit stop meant he had to come from the back and claim seventh.

Hamilton was perhaps too defensive from the start as he tried to cut across and stop Vettel. It didn't work as Vettel managed to around the outside of the Mercedes with Webber coming from the inside and Vettel took the lead after just one corner. Felipe Massa had a decent enough start, moving up to sixth. But the Ferrari's race was over after just four laps when the Brazilian seemed to just spin out from nothing and couldn't restart the car.

With the tyres under so much scrutiny this weekend, no-one was really sure what they could on them and luckily there were no incidents to speak of. For a three stop race, the window seemed to open between laps five and six as seven cars performed a stop. Paul Di Resta was lucky to have not been penalised for an unsafe release that caused Jean-Eric Vergne to slam the brakes. The incident is due to be looked at.

Hamilton was the first of the front runners to pit on lap seven and came back out in to tenth. Vettel followed a lap later and remained ahead of Hamilton, giving Webber the temporary lead. The second Red Bull pitted on lap nine and was guilty of a dramatic unsafe release, again an incident to be looked at; one of the wheels wasn't on the car properly and it quickly flew off. The runaway wheel then rolled and jumped down the pit lane before unfortunately hitting a cameraman from behind. Fortunately, the cameraman has only suffered some cuts and bruises after being taken to hospital. Webber did somehow make it back to the pits and came out at the back of the grid albeit a lap behind.

At this point, Grosjean led the race. Fernando Alonso pitted on lap-13 from second and came out ninth, behind the front runners. Grosjean would pit a lap later and it worked a treat as he managed to claim third, behind Vettel but ahead of Hamilton who had just overtook Nico Rosberg to claim fifth.

Lap-15 saw Raikkonen overtake Rosberg for sixth and Grosjean had overtaken Jenson Button to claim second. Three laps later, Raikkonen had overtook Hamilton to move in to fourth after Button had come in for his pit stop. By lap-21, Alonso was right up Hamilton's gearbox before they traded overtakes, Hamilton finally buckled and pitted on lap-23 to allow the Ferrari to pass.

The race was disrupted on the same lap as Jules Bianchi was forced to retire. A huge amount of smoke came out of the back of the Marussia before a fire started. It was an easily distinguishable fire but the drama continued as the empty Marussia began rolling back down the hill and across the track. Luckily no-one was near enough to get caught up in and the rolling chassis was stopped when it rolled over one of the advertising boards next to the track. Inevitably the Safety Car was called and it gave everyone a chance to dive in to the pits. Away from the drama, it emerged that Vergne was also forced to retire after suffering a hydraulics problem, similar to last week.

In compliance with the Safety Car rules, Webber was now able to unlap himself and now had a great chance of getting something out of the race. The Safety Car came in on lap-30 and Vettel got away perfectly. Within three laps, Webber had managed to move up to 15th before getting stuck behind a stubborn Esteban Gutierrez.

Vettel pitted for a third time on lap-42 and remained just ahead of Grosjean who had pitted a lap before. Three laps later and Vettel had overtaken Hamilton to claim fourth. Grosjean did the same on lap-46 which was a sure sign that the Mercedes should probably come in for its third stop.

Raikkonen and Alonso pitted on lap-50 to come out third and fourth with Raikkonen on the soft tyres. At this point, Webber had moved up to tenth. Button and Sergio Perez met once again on track on lap-51 with Button claiming fifth from his Mexican counterpart.

Grosjean was told a couple of times on the radio that Raikkonen is on the the softer tyres and that he shouldn't hold him up. By lap-55, Grosjean had heeded to the instructions and Raikkonen was now second and able to track the Red Bull down, but ultimately fell a second short. The final lap saw Hamilton overtake Button to claim fifth and Webber had overtaken Perez to steal seventh. Result:

1. Vettel (Red Bull), 2. Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Grosjean (Lotus), 4. Alonso (Ferrari), 5. Hamilton (Mercedes), 6. Button (McLaren), 7. Webber (Red Bull), 8. Perez (McLaren), 9. Rosberg (Mercedes), 10. Hulkenberg (Sauber), 11. Di Resta (Force India), 12. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 13. Sutil (Force India), 14. Gutierrez (Sauber), 15. Maldonado (Williams), 16. Bottas (Williams), 17. Pic (Caterham), 18. van der Garde (Caterham), 19. Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Massa (Ferrari), Bianchi (Marussia), Vergne (Toro Ross)

2013 German Grand Prix Qualifying Result

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
3. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
5. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
7. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
8. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
9. Jenson Button (McLaren)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
11. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
12. Paul Di Resta (Force India)
13. Sergio Perez (Sauber)
14. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
15. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
16. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
17. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
18. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
19. Charles Pic (Caterham)
20. Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
21. Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham)
22. Max Chilton (Marussia)

Rosberg Wins Puncture Filled Silverstone

Nico Rosberg claims his second victory of the season after seeing both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel surrender the lead due to faults. Despite a number or great overtaking laps, this will unfortunately be another race where Pirelli hit the headlines as four left rear punctures caused havoc amongst the field.

Rosberg had to hold off a fantastic charge from Mark Webber who came from fifth on lap-45 to second and just 0.7 seconds behind the Mercedes as they reached the chequered flag. Fernando Alonso had made a similar charge at the end to grab third and Hamilton managed to recover from one of those punctures to claim fourth from Kimi Raikkonen, who wasn't pitted during a Safety Car when his rivals were, much to Finn's dismay.

 Hamilton had got off brilliantly from the start with Rosberg falling behind Vettel. Webber also had a shocking start, falling to 15th after losing some his front wing after contact from Romain Grosjean. Felipe Massa was another winner from the start, climbing to fifth, with Raikkonen sixth.

Alonso began his first charge by overtaking Grosjean to claim eighth on lap two. Webber had to start regaining his places and it began on lap eight with an overtake on Jenson Button to go tenth. Lap eight was also where the carnage started as, out of nowhere, Hamilton's left rear tyre just imploded and his chances of winning this Grand Prix had now gone. The Brit did manage to get the wounded car back to the pits but the lead was now with Vettel.

Massa suffered the same problem on lap ten; the Ferrari's left rear also imploded as the Brazilian was taking a corner and he span off the track. Again, fortunately, Massa also managed to get it back to the pits and continue the race albeit in last place.

Grosjean became the first man to pit for his first tyre change on lap ten. Alonso and Webber followed on lap-11 with the Red Bull also getting a front nose change after its previous damage. The early stops seemed to work as Grosjean and Alonso managed to overtake Raikkonen on lap-12 before Alonso also moved ahead of Grosjean to claim seventh. Alonso was then fifth come lap-13 after overtaking Jean-Eric Vergne while Rosberg and Adrian Sutil came in for their stops. Vettel responded by pitting a lap later and comfortably retained his lead.

Lap-15 saw Vergne become victim number three as his left rear also burst and splattered all over the road. Luckily, the two Lotus' managed to get through without any trouble although Raikkonen was bombarded with the debris after passing Grosjean just before. Again, Vergne had managed to get to the pits and the Safety Car was deployed. It took five laps before the Safety Car came back in again and Webber was the first to react, overtaking Sergio Perez to gain eighth. Vettel had managed to surge away to keep his lead under control.

Ricciardo, who's now staking his claim to be in Webber's Red Bull next season, managed to overtake Grosjean on lap-28 to claim fifth. Esteban Gutierrez suffered some front wing damage on that lap after seemingly crashing in to one of the polystyrene advertising boards. A lap later and Webber had also found a way past Grosjean to take seventh.

Raikkonen was the first man to pit for a second time on lap-30 and he was followed by Grosjean and Alonso a lap later. Again the early stops seemed to pay dividends as both Raikkonen and Alonso managed to overtake Hamilton to claim sixth and seventh respectively. By lap-34, after a few more pit stops, Webber had also managed to overtake Hamilton to move in to fifth. Just like before, Rosberg pitted on lap-35 before Vettel came in a lap later an easily kept his lead. Webber had also managed to claim fourth from Alonso on lap-36. Vergne was then retired on lap-37 after his earlier puncture had caused too much damage to his floor and couldn't continue.

Vettel was also made to retire on lap-41 after suddenly suffering a gearbox failure, meaning he had to park the Red Bull on the finish straight and suffer his first retirement of the season when it looked like the win was all his. This caused a second Safety Car and it was here where nearly all but Raikkonen took advantage by coming in to the pits. This bemused Raikkonen and the Finn did ask why he wasn't called in and the team's response was simply 'we don't know but it's too late now'.

The Safety Car came in on lap-45 and Webber instantly began his final charge by overtaking Ricciardo for fourth place. Alonso began in the same vain by overtaking Button to claim seventh. Perez became the fourth victim of the rear left puncture on lap-46 where again the tyre just burst. It was his second left rear puncture of the weekend and again it caused too much damage for him to continue so also had to be retired from the race.

Webber overtook Sutil to claim third on lap-47 with Alonso and Hamilton managing to pass Ricciardo to claim fifth and sixth. Webber was second on the next lap after taking advantage of the poor decision not to pit Raikkonen and Alonso was also gaining by taking fourth from Sutil. As Webber continued his charge to Rosberg, Hamilton also overtook Sutil before both he and Alonso had passed Raikkonen by lap-51 to put the Ferrari on the podium.

Grosjean was retired on the final lap which meant he could watch the last few corners of Webber's chase on Rosberg. But Rosberg managed to hold on, although it may not have been the case if the race was a few laps longer, with 0.7 seconds to spare over Webber. Race result:

1. Rosberg (Mercedes), 2. Vettel (Red Bull), 3. Alonso (Ferrari), 4. Hamilton (Mercedes), 5. Raikkonen (Lotus), 6. Massa (Ferrari), 7. Sutil (Force India), 8. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 9. Di Resta (Force India), 10. Hulkenberg (Sauber), 11. Maldonado (Williams), 12. Bottas (Williams), 13. Button (McLaren), 14. Gutierrez (Sauber), 15. Pic (Caterham), 16. Bianchi (Marussia), 17. Chilton (Marussia), 18. Van der Garde (Caterham) DNF: Vergne (Toro Rosso), Vettel (Red Bull), Perez (McLaren), Grosjean (Lotus)

2013 British GP Qualifying Result

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
5. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
6. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
7. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
8. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
9. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
10. Jenson Button (McLaren)
11. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
12. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
13. Sergio Perez (McLaren)
14. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
15. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
16. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
17. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
18. Charles Pic (Caterham)
19. Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
20. Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham)
21. Max Chilton (Marussia)
22. Paul Di Resta (Force India)

Vettel Gets First Canada Crown

Sebastian Vettel led from virtually start to finish to finally win a Canadian GP. The win sees the German’s advantage in the standings increase despite Fernando Alonso taking second and Lewis Hamilton third. After his fantastic qualifying performance, Valtteri Bottas could only manage a 14^th place finish which means Williams are still yet to win a point this season. Ninth place for Kimi Raikkonen does mean that his title charge has taken a severe knock, but it was enough to level Michael Schumacher’s record of 24 consecutive point scoring races.

It was always going to be hard for Bottas to maintain his position and he went backwards from the start as both Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber were able to overtake the Finn from the start. Alonso followed later on in the opening lap, leaving Bottas in sixth place. Jean-Eric Vergne was the next to overtake Bottas on lap six but Adrian Sutil would suffer a spin whilst also attempting to move ahead of Bottas and this pushed the German down to 13^th. Raikkonen managed to overtake Daniel Ricciardo on lap-12 to take eighth.

The change in tyres has seemed to have served well as this race wasn’t about the rubber or really about the strategy. There was a bit more overtaking but it still wasn’t Formula One at its very best. The first man to pit was Mark Webber on lap-14 which was just about synonymous with a two stop strategy. Rosberg and Bottas followed a lap later before Vettel and Alonso pitted on lap-17 with Hamilton waiting until lap-20 to come in.

Pastor Maldonado was handed a drive through penalty on lap-16 for causing a collision. The Venezuelan locked up as he broke in to a corner and clipped the back of Sutil. Fortunately, there was only slight rear wing damage sustained by Sutil and all cars were still on track. This race turned out to be only the second time where the Safety Car hasn’t been deployed in two consecutive Montreal races, the last time being in 2003-2004.

Webber managed to overtake Rosberg on lap-31 to claim third with Alonso also passing the Mercedes a little later on to take fourth. There was a worry for Webber on lap-38 when Giedo Van Der Garde decided he was going to turn in on the Red Bull, this caused damage to end plate on the front wing of Webber but, if anything, it actually made the Australian quicker than before. Van Der Garde received a ten second stop/go penalty for ignoring the blue flags.

The wing damage may have cost Webber in the end though as Alonso managed to overtake the Red Bull on lap-42 to allow the Spaniard to begin his charge towards Hamilton. Webber pitted for the second time on lap-47 but decided against a front wing change. Van Der Garde was in the wars again as Nico Hulkenberg hadn’t quite completed the overtake and his rear wheel clipped the front wing of the Caterham. This caused rear suspension failure to the Sauber whilst the front wing of Van Der Garde had come apart and ended underneath the chassis. Neither car could be recovered and both retired from the race.

Alonso pitted a lap later than Webber with Hamilton pitting on lap-49, a lap before Vettel. Alonso had been managing to close up to Hamilton and when Adrian Sutil received a drive through penalty on lap-61 for ignoring blue flags and stopping the Mercedes from overtaking; Alonso was right up behind him. It took a further two laps before Alonso managed to get past Hamilton and claim second. Paul Di Resta deserved a mention on lap-57 as he came in for his first and only pit stop after doing a fantastic stint on the medium compound tyres.

The other retirement of the race happened on lap-66 when Esteban Gutierrez seemingly came out of the pits, mistimed the corner and ended up going straight in to the tyre wall. Massa managed to get the final piece of the action on the final lap as he overtook Raikkonen to claim eighth. Race result:

1. Vettel (Red Bull), 2. Alonso (Ferrari), 3. Hamilton (Mercedes), 4. Webber (Red Bull), 5. Rosberg (Mercedes), 6. Vergne (Toro Rosso), 7. Di Resta (Force India), 8. Massa (Ferrari), 9. Raikkonen (Lotus), 10. Sutil (Force India), 11. Perez (McLaren), 12. Button (McLaren), 13. Grosjean (Lotus), 14. Bottas (Williams), 15. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 16. Maldonado (Williams), 17. Bianchi (Marussia), 18. Pic (Caterham), 19. Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Hulkenberg (Sauber), Van Der Garde (Caterham), Gutierrez (Sauber)

      

Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying Result

1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
4. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
5. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
6. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
7. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
8. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
9. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
10. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
12. Sergio Perez (McLaren)
13. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
14. Jenson Button (McLaren)
15. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
16. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
17. Paul Di Resta (Force India)
18. Charles Pic (Caterham)
19. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
20. Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
21. Max Chilton (Marussia)
22. Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham)

Nico Follows Keke 30-Years On

Nico Rosberg has followed in his dad's footsteps to become the first father-son combination to both win a Monaco Grand Prix, Keke's coming 30 years previously. After a rather pedestrian start, continuing the trend of this season, the 2013 Formula One campaign finally got going with three Safety Cars and even a red flag. It the first of which that cost Lewis Hamilton a podium place as both of the Red Bulls managed to leap frog him to claim second and third, Sebastian Vettel extending his lead in the standings.

There was no real drama at the beginning, although Jules Bianchi had to start from the pit lane after failing to get off the grid for the Formation Lap. Pastor Maldonado and Giedo Van Der Garde had a coming together in which both drivers lost their front wings. Adrian Sutil and Kimi Raikkonen also had contact, leaving Sutil with front wing damage, but it didn't really harm the Force India's final outcome in the race.

The race went on as a cruise around Monaco for the next eight laps until Charles Pic was forced to retire due to an engine fire caused by a gear seizure. Sergio Perez looked in a fighting mood throughout and a couple of moves and missing of chicanes left his team mate Jenson Button rather angry on the radio.

The first leader to pit was Mark Webber from fourth on lap-26 and he came out 11th with a decent gap to stretch his legs in. Raikkonen pitted from fifth a lap later and remained behind Webber before Fernando Alonso pitted on lap-29 from fourth and also rejoined behind both Webber and Raikkonen, meaning that nothing had really changed.

The first Safety Car was deployed on lap-30 after Felipe Massa had a pretty much carbon copy of his crash in practice. His brakes somehow locked up going in to the first corner and the Ferrari hit the barrier head on before also moving and crashing in to the second barrier, side on. Fortunately, Massa was able to get out of the car but was put in to a neck brace and taken to hospital for a once over.

Vettel pitted just before the Safety Car was deployed and the two Mercedes' came in just after. This hurt Hamilton because the Safety Car ushered the Red Bulls through so it could catch up to Rosberg and begin slowing everyone down. The Red Bulls had managed to get around and rejoin Rosberg before Hamilton emerged from the pits and he therefore lost two places. The Safety Car finally came in on lap-38.

Button and Alonso had a slight coming together on lap-42 but this allowed Perez to pounce on his team mate and steal seventh place on the chicane. The race had to be stopped on lap-46 due to a severe collision; Max Chilton didn't seem to realise Maldonado was near him and the Marussia caused the Williams to lose its front wing before sending it slightly in the air and in to the air fence. The impact was so fierce that the air fence buckled around Maldonado and protruded in to the middle of the track. Bianchi was an unfortunate victim too as he lost his front wing due to the oncoming barrier. Fortunately, Maldonado got out of his cockpit with only a few scrapes and bruises and Bianchi also managed to get back in to the pits to continue the race.

Before that collision, Alonso had prevented Perez from claiming sixth by going over the chicane. It was agreed while everyone was on the grid that Alonso would give the place up during the restart under the Safety Car. The race was restarted 25-minutes later and by lap-48, the Safety Car was back in. Chilton was also unsurprisingly given a drive through penalty for causing a collision.

Perez continued to be aggressive on lap-53 and it resulted in both drivers missing the apex. Sutil was able to secure an overtake on Alonso on lap-57 to gain seventh. Bianchi's awful weekend came to an end on lap-60 when he collided with a barrier, locking up like Massa but managing to miss the initial barrier before crashing side on down the slip road.

The Safety Car was deployed once again on lap-63 when Romain Grosjean had a lapse of concentration and drove straight up the back of Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo suffered a lot of rear damage which forced him out. Grosjean lost his front wing but did manage to get back in to the pits. The Frenchman was then retired two laps later either for unforeseen damage to the car or to keep Grosjean away from the stewards' wrath. For the final time, the Safety Car came in on lap-66.

Raikkonen and Perez were again getting up close and personal coming out of the tunnel when Raikkonen seemed to force Perez in to the barrier. The Mexican suffered damage to his front wing and steering column which ended up forcing the McLaren to retire later on lap-74. Raikkonen did suffer a puncture which meant he would have to pit and looked likely to end his record of 23 consecutive races with points scored. But the Finn managed to to find seven seconds in six laps to catch up to Nico Hulkenberg and scrape tenth, keeping the record alive. Button was the last to mug Alonso on lap-71 to steal sixth for the McLaren. Race result:

1. Rosberg (Mercedes), 2. Vettel (Red Bull), 3. Webber (Red Bull), 4. Hamilton (Mercedes), 5. Sutil (Force India), 6. Button (McLaren), 7. Alonso (Ferrari), 8. Vergne (Toro Rosso), 9. Di Resta (Force India), 10. Raikkonen (Lotus), 11. Hulkenberg (Sauber), 12. Bottas (Williams), 13. Gutierrez (Sauber), 14. Chilton (Marussia), 15. Van Der Garde (Caterham) DNF: Pic (Caterham), Massa (Ferrari), Maldonado (Williams), Bianchi (Marussia), Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Grosjean (Lotus), Perez (Sauber)

Nico's Hat-Trick

Nico Rosberg has managed to make it a hat-trick of Pole positions, Mercedes' fourth in row, in their latest bid to win a second race this season. For the second race in a row, it will be a Mercedes front row lockout as Lewis Hamilton was also on hand to show off the Mercedes' one lap pace.

It was a changeable qualifying session but it did end with the top ten all on the super soft tyres, after originally starting with the intermediates on the wet Monaco track. Sebastian Vettel was fastest in Q2 but he could only manage third alongside his Red Bull team mate, Mark Webber. Kimi Raikkonen will start fifth with Fernando Alonso sixth after saying the Ferraris will soon be dominating the Red Bulls earlier in the week.

It turned out to be a fantastic session for McLaren as Sergio Perez managed to get himself up to seventh with Jenson Button ninth. Adrian Sutil sits in between the McLarens to end Force India's day on a happier note than they started off with. Jean-Eric Vergne manages to round up the top ten in the Toro Rosso.

The first man in Q2 to change from intermediates to super-softs was Giedo Van Der Garde with five minutes and ten seconds remaining of the session. Not many people thought that they would be following from a Caterham, but after Van Der Garde emerged with the slick tyres, so did everyone else. It was enough for the Caterham to go 15th in their first appearance in Q2 this season. After being quickest in Q1, Pastor Maldonado couldn't find any pace and he will now start 16th.

Nico Hulkenberg was the one to miss out on Q3 and he will now start in a Toro Rosso sandwich with Vergne ahead of him and Daniel Ricciardo, in 12th, behind him. After a nightmare and very short Q1, Romain Grosjean couldn't find any real pace in Q2 and will start 13th ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the other Williams.

The reason for Grosjean having a nightmare Q1 was because the Lotus garage was hard at work trying to fix the Frenchman's car after his collision in practice. Lotus just about managed to get Grosjean out with three minutes and 30-seconds left to spare. Unfortunately, Felipe Massa wasn't so fortunate as Ferrari were trying to build his new car from scratch. They couldn't get the Brazilian out and, if allowed which he should be, he will start at the back of the grid.

As the track was wet for Q1, there were many yellow flags for people missing corners and going down the escape holes. The first yellow flag came just two minutes in to the session and it was because Jules Bianchi had suffered an air box fire. Unfortunately, the Marussia was unable to continue and he will now start 21st tomorrow. This meant that, for the first time this season, Max Chilton was able to out-qualify Bianchi, albeit to start 20th. Esteban Gutierrez continues his miserable debut season and will start 19th with Charles Pic in the second Caterham 18th.

The biggest shock in Q1 saw Force India lose Paul Di Resta. There was a clear tactical error made by the team and it was one that Di Resta is less than impressed with. The Scot will now start 17th tomorrow.

Alonso Wins At Home

Fernando Alonso takes the chequered flag in front of his home fans in Barcelona. It was a race that Alonso had in his hands for the large majority of it with Kimi Raikkonen closing the gap to Sebastian Vettel to four points after second with the Red Bull in fourth. It was a superb day for Ferrari as, despite starting from ninth, Felipe Massa claimed the other podium and tells the world he's back to his best.

The Spanish Grand Prix has always been known more for its strategy rather than its overtaking and today was no different. Although this might have been a different story if Mercedes had any pace instead of finishing sixth, Nico Rosberg, and 12th, Lewis Hamilton. It was also a good day for McLaren as both drivers made it in to the points with Jenson Button eighth and Sergio Perez ninth.

As usual, the Ferraris made a fantastic start off the line; Alonso got himself up to third with Massa sixth. Mark Webber again failed to make the start which saw him fall to 11th from eighth. Vettel quickly moved ahead of Hamilton in to second and began to hunt Rosberg down. Perez was also a winner from the start, moving up to sixth.

Raikkonen's hunt came in to fruition on lap seven when he overtook Hamilton to take fourth. The difference in strategies was between a three and a four stop race but it was Webber who came in first on lap eight, presumably to find some cleaner air from 13th place.

Massa was the next to overtake Hamilton on lap nine to take fifth but then immediately came in to the pits. The first retirement came on that lap when Romain Grosjean came in to the pits with a broken suspension and had no choice but to go in to the garage. Adrian Sutil's race was also hampered on that lap when his rear  was smoking during the stop, but he was able to continue.

Both Alonso and Hamilton pitted on lap ten before the top three, Vettel, Rosberg and Raikkonen, came in a lap later. The strategy paid off for Alonso as he ended up ahead of Vettel to go second. Massa also gained from the pit stops as he was now ahead of Raikkonen. It was probably a pit stop to forget for Pastor Maldonado as the only real action he partook in, in this race, was to serve a drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Alonso took the lead of the race on lap-13 when he overtook Rosberg. Vettel and Massa quickly followed to see the Mercedes drop to fourth within a few corners. That became fifth two laps later when Raikkonen past the slow German. At this point in the race, Webber had managed to get himself up to sixth and Perez was seventh.

Lap-21 saw Massa come in first with Alonso pitting a lap later for the second round of stops. By lap-23, Alonso was able to overtake Rosberg once again without the Mercedes having its second pit stop. Lap-24 saw the second retirement of the race as Giedo Van Der Garde lost a wheel during his out lap, he did manage to get the Caterham back in to the pits but the damage to the chassis was too much to continue.

Massa also managed to re-overtake Rosberg on lap-24 before Vettel came in a lap later, giving Raikkonen the lead of the race. That only lasted for two laps though as the Lotus came in and ended up coming back out behind Vettel. At this point there was a Ferrari one-two.

Raikkonen finally managed to overtake the below par Red Bull on lap-33 to gain third. There was more drama in the pit lane on lap-36 when Nico Hulkenberg was unsafely released in to the path of the pitting Jean-Eric Vergne. But instead of getting off the throttle, Hulkenberg continued and drove in to the back of the Toro Rosso, causing front wing damage and would later receive a ten second stop/go penalty for the unsafe release.

Lap-37 saw both Ferraris come in for their third stops and Alonso came out second with Massa fourth. Vergne's race deteriorated a little more on lap-38 when he suffered a puncture and went off the track, fortunately the Frenchman made it back in the pits to continue. Alonso regained the lead on lap-39 by overtaking Raikkonen, who was a three stop strategy. Webber was also able to overtake Rosberg to claim fifth.

Vettel pitted again on lap-40 and a lap later Button had overtaken the impressive Esteban Gutierrez to claim seventh. The rookie Mexican just missed out on a point in the race but he did claim the fastest lap. Raikkonen's final pit stop came on lap-46 which saw him third as Alonso pitted for the fourth time on lap-49. Massa's fourth stop came on lap-52 which saw him come out behind Raikkonen in to third as Vettel also pitted in to the uncompetitive fourth spot.

Unfortunately, Vergne had to retire on lap-54 due to the damage seen from his earlier incidents. The rest of the race went on without any real action. It was a shame to see how poor the Mercedes cars were today and how off the pace Vettel was in fourth. It was also remarkable to see the time difference between the top six or so as Button was a minute behind in eighth. Race result:

1. Alonso (Ferrari), 2. Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Massa (Ferrari), 4. Vettel (Red Bull), 5. Webber (Red Bull), 6. Rosberg (Mercedes), 7. Di Resta (Force India), 8. Button (McLaren), 9. Perez (McLaren), 10. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 11. Gutierrez (Sauber), 12. Hamilton (Mercedes), 13. Sutil (Force India), 14. Maldonado (Williams), 15. Hulkenberg (Sauber), 16. Bottas (Williams), 17. Pic (Caterham), 18. Bianchi (Marussia), 19. Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Grosjean (Lotus), Van Der Garde (Caterham), Vergne (Toro Rosso)

F1 European Qualifying Result

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
6. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
7. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
8. Sergio Perez (McLaren)
9. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) (Received Three Place Grid Penalty For Impeding)
10. Paul Di Resta (Force India)
11. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
12. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
13. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
14. Jenson Button (McLaren)
15. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
16. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
17. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
18. Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham)
19. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) (Received Three Place Grid Penalty For Impeding)
20. Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
21. Max Chilton (Marussia)
22. Charles Pic (Caterham)

Vettel Untouchable In Bahrain

Sebastian Vettel takes his second victory of the season to extend his lead in the early stages of the season. The Red Bull took the lead in the third and virtually never looked back as he finished nine seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who still breathes down his neck in the race for the title. Paul Di Resta was six laps away from claiming his first ever podium in Formula One, but Romain Grosjean took advantage of the Force India's failing tyres to put both Lotus' on the podium.

Fernando Alonso's race was virtually ended before it began after suffering a problem with his DRS flap. Numerous pit stops to try and find a solution meant the Ferrari was well out of contention, but he did well to finish eighth. Mark Webber started and finished seventh after a three grid place penalty for his collision with Jean-Eric Vergne in Shanghai, Vergne ended up being the only retirement of the Bahrain GP. A quiet race saw Lewis Hamilton finish fifth with Nico Rosberg ninth after struggling from Pole. It ended up being a good race for McLaren as Sergio Perez finished sixth and Jenson Button tenth. 

The race was an extremely eventful one and another great start from Alonso saw him pass Vettel to claim second, but that only lasted for a few corners. Di Resta got himself up to fourth from the lights. The incidents came at the back of the grid as Esteban Gutierrez and Giedo Van Der Garde suffered substantial front wing damage. Van Der Garde's damage came via a collision in to Vergne and the Toro Rosso sustained fatal damage underneath it and he was finally retired on around lap-18. Felipe Massa also suffered slight front wing damage after a coming together with Adrian Sutil, this harmed the Force India greatly as he was forced down the back of the pack.

Vettel's hunt for Rosberg was almost completed on the second lap, but the Red Bull had to wait another lap before finally getting his prey and taking the lead. By the third lap Raikkonen had lost ground behind the McLarens in ninth while Hamilton was struggling down in 11th. 

Alonso had the same experience with Rosberg; almost catching him on lap four before finally getting the overtake done on lap five to take second. Di Resta was the next to overtake Rosberg on lap six before he gained second after Alonso's DRS flap problems began. The first time around, Alonso came out 15th but the flap still wouldn't shut when opened and he again had to come in. There was nothing that could really be done so Alonso had to drive the stricken Ferrari without the use of the DRS. 

Webber was the first to pit solely for tyres on lap nine and Massa had managed to overtake Rosberg to gain third in the same lap. Button and Rosberg both pitted on lap ten but ended up coming out behind Webber, which was a huge gain for the Red Bull. Lap-11 saw Vettel, Massa and Perez all pit which meant Di Resta was now leading the race. Button was the next to fancy a move on Rosberg in lap-12 but the Mercedes regained the place a lap later, the battle also Massa to close the gap on the pair.

Di Resta pitted on lap-15 and Vettel's fresher tyres allowed him to easily overtake Raikkonen, who was still yet to pit until lap-17, to regain the lead in the race. Massa suffered a puncture on lap-18 but was able to get back to the pits before coming out in 15th and at this point there was a Red Bull one-two.

Button managed to re-overtake Rosberg on lap-20 to take third and Grosjean took fourth a few corners later as Rosberg was again in free fall. Lap-21 saw Rosberg and Perez pit for their second stops and Perez had overtaken the Mercedes by the next lap just as Webber and Button came in. To his credit, Rosberg never stopped fighting and he managed to regain the place on Perez on lap-23, only to see both McLarens force their way past the Mercedes on the following lap.

Vettel pitted on lap-25 but his lead was substantial enough to remain in front and Button managed to overtake Perez on lap-27 in what was the beginning of a great inter-team battle. Di Resta had gained second over Raikkonen on the same lap before the McLarens came together on lap-30, fortunately there was only bit of damage to Perez's front wing and perhaps Button was lucky not to suffer a puncture. 

Grosjean then picked off the squabbling McLarens on lap-33 to move in to fifth and Raikkonen reclaimed second from Di Resta at the end of the lap before pitting for the second time in the race. Hamilton managed to overtake Perez on lap-36 to take fifth as Di Resta pitted on the next lap. Massa ended up suffering a second puncture but once again made it to the pits in order to carry on.

Raikkonen claimed third off Hamilton on lap-39 before Vettel pitted for his final time on lap-42, Grosjean did likewise and came out in fifth. The Frenchman was soon third on lap-44 after overtaking Webber and Rosberg with Button sitting sixth. Although that only lasted for another lap before Button was passed by his former team mate, Hamilton. Perez and Alonso also managed to pass Button on lap-46 to push the Brit down to eighth.

Hamilton took fifth off Webber on lap-51 with Grosjean breaking Di Resta's heart a lap later to steal the final podium place. Webber took that place back on lap-54, only for both Hamilton and Perez to overtake the Red Bull on the final lap to force the Red Bull down to seventh. Result:

1. Vettel (Red Bull), 2. Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Grosjean (Lotus), 4. Di Resta (Force India), 5. Hamilton (Mercedes), 6. Perez (McLaren), 7. Webber (Red Bull), 8. Alonso (Ferrari), 9. Rosberg (Mercedes), 10. Button (McLaren), 11.Maldonado (Williams), 12. Hulkenberg (Sauber), 13. Sutil (Force India), 14. Bottas (Williams), 15. Massa (Ferrari), 16. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 17. Pic (Caterham), 18. Gutierrez (Sauber), 19. Bianchi (Marussia), 20. Chilton (Marussia), 21. Van Der Garde (Caterham) DNF: Vergne (Toro Ross)   

F1 Bahrain GP Qualifying Result

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
5. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
6. Paul Di Resta (Force India)
7. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
8. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - Given Five Place Grid Penalty For Gear-Box Change
10. Jenson Button (McLaren)
11. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
12. Sergio Perez (McLaren)
13. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
14. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
15. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
16. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)
17. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
18. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
19. Charles Pic (Caterham)
20. Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
21. Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham)
22. Max Chilton (Marussia)

Alonso Spot-On In Shanghai

In a race very much about strategy, Fernando Alonso emerged the victor with the fastest car all race. The different strategies were there from the start with places one to seven all having to start on the soft compound with Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg all on the medium.

It almost paid dividends for Vettel, but he left it a lap too late to chase down Lewis Hamilton for third and had to settle for fourth. The Mercedes' pace wasn't there today and it allowed Kimi Raikkonen to take second. Nico Rosberg' season is still yet to get going after a second retirement in three races and Mark Webber's weekend also failed to get any better, resulting in he also not finishing the race. Paul Di Resta enjoyed a good race, managing to finish eighth in the Force India. Daniel Ricciardo managed to stay where he qualified, seventh, to post his best ever result in Formula One.

As per usual, both Ferraris got away the best from the start and quickly found themselves second and third. The biggest piece of drama on the opening lap saw the two Force Indias go wheel to wheel and it ended with Adrian Sutil being forced on to the grass, but there was no damage done and both cars continued. Webber had to start in the pit lane and began the race on the soft tyres, the Red Bull then immediately came in on the opening lap to change to the medium compound.

Romain Grosjean had a rather quiet race in the second Lotus but he had moved to fifth on lap four by overtaking Rosberg. The lead Mercedes soon found himself third on lap five as both of the Ferraris overtook Hamilton, giving Alonso the lead of the race.

Both of the Mercedes cars pitted at the end of that lap, the first to do so, but it hampered Rosberg as he came out behind both Hulkenberg and Vettel. The first two retirements were made on lap six when Esteban Gutierrez was too busy with what was going on around him to realise there was a corner approaching. The Mexican failed to brake and he collided in to the back of Sutil and the Sauber was out. Sutil had managed to get to the pits, but the damage to the rear wing was too catastrophic and a rear brake fire concluded the race for Sutil, his second retirement in two races.

Alonso and Raikkonen came in on lap seven for their first pit stops with Massa coming in a lap later. That proved costly for the Brazilian though as he ended up behind Webber. This left Hulkenberg in front for Sauber with Vettel sitting just behind him. Massa managed to overtake Webber on lap ten and Alonso began to make his back through the field on lap-14 by overtaking Sergio Perez. Hulkenberg and Vettel finally pitted on the same lap and the Red Bull managed to pass the Sauber with a superior stop.

Webber's race began to conclude on lap-15 when a late decision to try and overtake Jean-Eric Vergne ended up seeing the Australian t-bone the Toro Rosso, leaving Vergne facing the wrong way and Webber with front wing damage. Both drivers managed to continue though.

Raikkonen was the next to suffer front wing damage whilst trying to overtake Perez on lap-16. The McLaren somewhat forced the Lotus off the track before the Finn came back and touched the back of the Mexican. This was where Webber's race ended as a bungled pit stop saw the right rear tyre come off the chassis and rolled in to the middle of the track. Fortunately no-one hit the tyre as it ended up rolling back in to a safe area.

Massa and Rosberg were the first to pit again on lap-20. With Vettel again on the medium compound, he was able to overtake Perez to move in to fifth. Rosberg's pit stop didn't go as planned and the German ended up having to pit again on the next lap, really ruining his race. Alonso was once again in front on lap-21 after overtaking Jenson Button, who performed excellently in the below par McLaren.

Hamilton and Raikkonen came in on lap-22 from fourth and fifth before Rosberg retired on lap-23 with suspension problems. Alonso and Button came in on lap-24, Button's first pit stop in the race, and they came out third and fifth. But Button instantly moved to fourth by overtaking Perez before the Mexican also pitted for the first time.

It took just two laps before Alonso had moved past Hulkenberg and in to second and it was lap-29 when Alonso re-took the lead from Vettel. Lap-29 was also the same when Hamilton overtook his former team-mate, Button, to take fourth. After Hulkenberg pitted, Raikkonen was the next to overtake Button to claim fourth on lap-31 as Vettel also pitted. The Red Bull came out in eighth but Vettel immediately overtook both Massa and Di Resta to go sixth. The German moved in to fifth on the next lap by overtaking Hulkenberg.

Raikkonen was the first driver to pit for a third time on lap-35. Vettel ended up being third after lap-36 by overtaking Button, but Vettel still hadn't used the soft tyre and had to pit once more. Hulkenberg and Massa pitted on lap-37 and ended up coming out of the pits side-by-side before the Ferrari ended up overtaking the Sauber.

Hamilton came in on lap-38 but he ended up coming out behind Raikkonen and had therefore lost a place. The Mercedes was quick to overtake Ricciardo though to move fifth and go behind the Lotus. Alonso pitted for the final time on lap-41 which gave Vettel the lead in the race. But that lead only lasted two laps before Alonso was back in front, with Vettel not fighting for the place.

Raikkonen captured third off Button on lap-44 and the McLaren would end being fifth a lap later when Hamilton again overtook him. Button ended up pitting on lap-50 and came out in seventh, but moved in to sixth a lap later by overtaking Massa. Vettel was the final man to pit on lap-52 to eventually come out on the soft tyres in fourth place. He had four laps to chase down Hamilton and by the final lap, the Red Bull was very much up the exhaust of the Mercedes. But Vettel just ran out of the time and Hamilton clung on to a second third place in two races. Result:

1. Alonso (Ferrari), 2. Raikkonen (Lotus), 3. Hamilton (Mercedes), 4. Vettel (Red Bull), 5. Button (McLaren), 6. Massa (Ferrari), 7. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 8. Di Resta (Force India), 9. Grosjean (Lotus), 10. Hulkenberg (Sauber), 11. Perez (McLaren), 12. Vergne (Toro Rosso), 13. Bottas (Williams), 14. Maldonado (Williams), 15. Bianchi (Marussia), 16. Pic (Caterham), 17. Chilton (Marussia), 18. Van Der Garde (Caterham) DNF: Gutierrez (Sauber), Sutil (Force India), Webber (Red Bull), Rosberg (Mercedes)

Mercedes' Second Pole In Shanghai, Webber Demoted After Fuel Problem

After a slow start to the Chinese GP qualifying session, Lewis Hamilton has become the second British driver to earn a Pole position for Mercedes, Stirling Moss being the first. Hamilton was unbeaten in all three sessions and ended up deservedly Pole, which is Mercedes' second Pole position in two years in China.

But the race result is far from known as strategy came in to play a day before the lights go out tomorrow. A stunning Q3 sees Kimi Raikkonen start second with Fernando Alonso, out-qualifying Felipe Massa for the first time this season, also splitting the Mercedes'. Massa sits behind Nico Rosberg in fifth with Romain Grosjean sixth in the second Lotus. The performance of the day goes to Daniel Ricciardo who did fantastically well to get his Toro Rosso in to Q3 and the Australian will start seventh on the grid.

The final three to make it through to Q3 are the ones to watch at the start tomorrow. Places one to seven all qualified on the soft compound tyres and will have to start on them tomorrow. But many feel that the medium compound will be the best race tyre and a very slow, but timed, lap from Jenson Button means that he will start the race on the harder compound in eighth. Sebastian Vettel decided not to go for Pole and did an out-lap on both compounds. But because he didn't actually set a time, the Red Bull still has the choice of what tyre to start on. Nico Hulkenberg also decided not to set a time in Q3 and will therefore start tenth tomorrow, presumably on the harder compound.

Mark Webber suffered a fatal fuel blow in Q2. He had to pull over in a safe area because of a fuel problem in the middle of the session. At the time, he was sitting seventh and could have potentially squeezed in to Q3, although he wouldn't have been able to set a time. However, at the end of the session, Webber was 14th but as he was unable to provide a fuel sample and the stewards and excluded him from the session. This means that the Red Bull will now start at the back of the grid and faces an extremely tough race tomorrow.

Paul Di Resta looked like he had the speed to make it in to Q3, but both Force Indias ended up missing out with Di Resta 11th and Adrian Sutil 13th. Sergio Perez will sit in between the Force Indias as he continues a very troublesome season from McLaren. After quite a poor Q1, Pastor Maldonado has now been promoted to 14th with Jean-Eric Vergne, the final driver to make it in to Q2, now starting 15th in the other Toro Rosso.

Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Gutierrez continue to struggle in their debut seasons. Both drivers failed to make it out of Q1 but the Williams is now 16th with the Sauber 17th. Another performance of the day goes to Jules Bianchi in the Marussia. There was a stage where the Frenchman was potentially going to make it in to Q2, but he will have to settle for 18th and a place ahead of the Caterhams. Max Chilton also finishes ahead of the Caterhams in 19th with Charles Pic out-qualifying Giedo Van Der Garde for places 20 and 21 since Webber will now be staring at a Caterham exhaust at the start of the race.

Vettel Defies Team Orders To Win

The Malaysian Grand Prix may be remembered for team orders more than anything this year as Sebastian Vettel coasted home to victory after being told off by Christian Horner. The Red Bull team principle didn't want to see Vettel and Webber fighting it out for the victory and once Vettel had ignored team orders and got past Webber, the Australian held back to allow the World Champion the victory.

But Red Bull weren't the only team using team orders to make sure their drivers didn't race amongst themselves. Behind the Red Bull one-two were the Mercedes cars and with Lewis Hamilton being told to nurse the car home to save fuel, Nico Rosberg was told that he was allowed to try and take the podium off of Hamilton despite the German's pleas.

During the race, Vettel was called silly by Horner and that he will have to explain his actions after the race. Meanwhile, Ross Brawn was congratulating and thanking Rosberg for doing what he was told to which the German replied 'I won't forget this'.

Thankfully, it was a dry race despite the track being wet in parts for opening few laps. Ferrari were the team on everybody's lips for a possible one-two but Fernando Alonso crashed out in the second lap and Felipe Massa could only manage fifth. It was also a bad day in the pits as a cock-up for McLaren cost Jenson Button that fifth place and he ended up retiring as did the Force India pairing because of faulty wheel nuts, this was a shame as Paul Di Resta had been setting fastest laps in the midfield beforehand.

The race began with everyone on intermediate tyres because the first part of the track was still wet despite sectors two and three being dry enough for slick tyres. Webber had a great start and managed to get himself in behind Vettel with the Ferraris also in hot pursuit. Going in to the second corner, Alonso had overtaken Massa and had managed to get in front of Webber with Vettel firmly in his sights. But Alonso was too eager and slightly went in to the back of the Red Bull, causing the Ferrari severe front wing damage.

Button had manage to propel himself up to fifth with Massa dropping to sixth. As the leaders got to the final corner, Alonso decided not to pit and change the stricken front wing. Webber managed to overtake the Ferrari on the home straight just before that front wing ended up going underneath the chassis and causing Alonso to get beached in the gravel and be out of the race, when really he should have pitted.

The pace of Mercedes was clear for much of the race and Rosberg easily overtook Button on the third lap to take fourth. By lap six the track Vettel had decided the track was dry enough to change to slicks and he was the first to come in along with Massa. In contrast to Vettel, Webber was told to stay out and this proved to be the right call.

Webber and Hamilton waited two more laps before they pitted and Webber ended up coming out of ahead of his team mate. But the drama in the pits had only just begun; when Hamilton arrived he forgot who he was racing for and ended up going into the McLaren bay, only to be moved on to the Mercedes area. Just after that, Jean-Eric Vergne was unsafely released and the Toro Rosso collided with Charles Pic's Caterham, causing both cars to have front wing damage and needing extra time in the paddock.

Pastor Maldonado struggled with the Williams all afternoon and the Venezuelan went off the track on lap-14, losing half of his front wing as he hit the kerb, but he did manage to continue. Last week's winner, Kimi Raikkonen, looked to be in a different car this race and also struggled for a lot of it. The Finn did manage to overtake Sergio Perez on lap-16 after chasing him for around five laps to gain eighth.

Webber was the first to pit for the second round on lap-20. It was a lap later when Force India began having their problems in the pits as they struggled with Di Resta's left front tyre. Many had come in and gone out again by the time Di Resta finally came out 21st and 48-seconds behind. Sutil came in on lap-23 and unfortunately suffered from the same problem.

A lap later and Di Resta was called back in to be retired as the team wouldn't have been able to cope with another pit stop. Sutil was also brought in on lap-29 to end a promising weekend for Force India on the lowest possible note.

Lap-31 saw Hamilton pit first in round three. That was followed by Webber and Rosberg a lap later before Vettel came in another lap after that. But that proved to be a mistake for the German as he ended up coming out behind Hamilton.

Button had decided to stay out for a while longer than the rest but Webber had managed to overtake him on lap-35 to regain the lead. A lap later, Button had decided to pit but was released too early with his right front tyre not fixed on. Luckily, Button stopped mid-way down the pit lane and the crew were able to wheel him back in but it pushed him down to 14th from 5th.

Vettel managed to overtake Hamilton on lap-39. Raikkonen had managed to get himself up to eighth after overtaking Nico Hulkenberg after another epic battle, two laps later. The fourth set of pit stops began with Hamilton on lap-42. Vettel came in the next lap with Webber waiting until the following one. Vettel was the one to gain as Webber came out just inches ahead of his team mate and it was the start of a huge battle.

Despite the cries from Horner, Vettel managed to overtake Webber on lap-46. From there, it would seem that Webber was told to back off as within five laps, Vettel had moved six seconds clear, thus ending a thrilling inter-team battle.

Maldonado's race ended on lap-48 after getting beached, meaning that he has failed to complete either race this season. Raikkonen and Massa managed to overtake Perez on lap-49 to move sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. The Ferrari then managed to overtake the Lotus a lap later to take sixth.

Daniel Ricciardo was retired on lap-54 for Toro Rosso. Also on that lap, Massa had tracked down Romain Grosjean to take fifth place. The final retirement came a lap later for a very disappointed Button. Rosberg would have taken third off of Hamilton if he would have been allowed to race, but unfortunately this was not the case and the German was definitely unhappy. Race result:

1. Vettel (Red Bull), 2. Webber (Red Bull), 3. Hamilton (Mercedes), 4. Rosberg (Mercedes), 5. Massa (Ferrari), 6. Grosjean (Lotus), 7. Raikkonen (Lotus), 8. Hulkenberg (Sauber), 9. Perez (McLaren), 10. Vergne (Toro Rosso), 11. Bottas (Williams), 12. Gutierrez (Sauber), 13. Bianchi (Marussia), 14. Pic (Caterham), 15. Van Der Garde (Caterham), 16. Chilton (Marussia) DNF: Alonso (Ferrari), Di Resta (Force India), Sutil (Force India), Maldonado (Williams), Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Button (McLaren)

F1 Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying Result

1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
5. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
7. Jenson Button (McLaren)
8. Adrian Sutil (Force India)
9. Sergio Perez (McLaren)
10. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) (Given three place grid penalty for impeding Rosberg)

11. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
12. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
13. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
14. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)
15. Paul Di Resta (Force India)
16. Pastor Maldonado (Williams)
17. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)

18. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
19. Jules Bianchi (Marussia)
20. Charles Pic (Caterham)
21. Max Chilton (Marussia)
22. Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham)

Two Stops Wins It For Kimi

1978 was the last time Lotus won the first race of the season and that year they went on to win both the Drivers and the Constructors Championships. In 2013, Kimi Raikkonen has got off to the best start in his bid to lift the Drivers crown this year. His two pit stop strategy proved to be the better one in the dry Australian race and the Finn ended up easing to victory with Fernando Alonso being a bit behind in second.

The pace that everyone thought the Red Bulls had was largely non-existent during the race. Sebastian Vettel did lead until the first pit stops from Pole but ended up finishing third whereas an awful start from Mark Webber virtually cost him a decent a place and ended up finishing sixth.

Lewis Hamilton's first race for Mercedes saw him finish fifth behind the rejuvenated Felipe Massa. But Hamilton will surely take some solace that his former team mate, Jenson Button, could only manage ninth with Sergio Perez just missing out on the points. Paul Di Resta managed to finish eighth but the performance of the race was Adrian Sutil who ended up leading for a lot of it but the supersoft tyres cost him a potential podium or even fourth place and he ended up slipping down to seventh.

Before the race had started, Nico Hulkenberg had to pull out due to a problem with the fuelling area on the car. Despite not getting the 107% time, Charles Pic did start at the back of the grid in the Caterham. From the start, Vettel got away cleanly and both Ferraris were just as good as last year at getting off the line, Massa moved up to second with Alonso third. Webber had fallen down to seventh with Hamilton, Raikkonen and Rosberg also all overtaking the slow Red Bull. The only 'incident' saw Daniel Ricciardo go off track and rejoin 21st.

By the second lap, Vettel had already gained a two second lead and Raikkonen overtook Hamilton to go fourth. With the top ten all on the supersoft tyres, Button came in on lap four, Webber lap six and Vettel lap seven to go on to the medium tyres. Massa pitted on lap nine and ended up coming out ahead of Vettel. Raikkonen pitted on lap ten and just came out behind Alonso and Pastor Maldonado, but the Williams ended up going off track, probably distracted from the action coming out of the pits, and allowed Raikkonen through.

By lap-14, Sutil had the lead of the race due to not having pitted and having started on the medium tyre. At the beginning, the Force India was slowing the pack down but he was soon setting the pace and even ended up getting a second and a half ahead. Alonso pitted again on lap-21 as everyone but Raikkonen was on a three stop race. Sutil and Vettel pitted on lap-22 and the Force India stayed ahead of the Red Bull but Alonso ended up ahead of both of them.

Vettel finally managed to overtake Sutil a lap later. A poor pit judgement by Ferrari saw Massa pit on lap-24 but it cost him dearly as he ended up coming out behind all three. Massa may have felt that he could have done a two stop and whilst both Alonso and Vettel were behind Sutil, Ferrari seemed to be okay with that. But as soon as Sutil was behind the two, Ferrari pulled Massa in straight away and it potentially cost him a shot at the podium.

Maldonado's race lasted 25-laps when he hit the wet yellow line on the home straight, this caused the Williams to spin and then ultimately get beached in the gravel track. Two laps later, Nico Rosberg had to pull over and retire from the race due to electronic problems which was a common theme for Mercedes last season, it also means that Rosberg has now failed to finish five of his last seven races.

There was a slight threat of rain on lap-30 but it came and went without any need for intermediates or even wets. Alonso overtook Hamilton on the next lap to take second before Hamilton pitted. Raikkonen pitted for the second and last time on lap-34, he came out behind Massa in fifth. Four laps later, Vettel pitted as did Alonso on lap-39, this left Sutil back in front with Raikkonen now up to second.

Daniel Ricciardo became the last retirement on lap-41 due to a broken exhaust. Raikkonen managed to overtake Sutil on lap-43 to take the lead of the race for the first time. The fresher tyres of Alonso saw the Ferrari overtake Sutil on lap-46 and the Spaniard had 12-laps to try and track down the Lotus. Sutil had to pit on lap-47 to fulfil the two compound rule, he came out in fifth. But with 11-laps remaining, the supersofts quickly degraded and cost Sutil a couple of places on lap-51 as Hamilton and Webber both overtook the stricken Force India. For a time, Alonso did look to be closing the gap on Raikkonen but the Finn had the last word with a quickest lap on the penultimate to drive home his advantage and ease to take the first race of the season. Result:

1.Raikkonen (Lotus), 2.Alonso (Ferrari), 3.Vettel (Red Bull), 4.Massa (Ferrari), 5.Hamilton (McLaren), 6.Webber (Red Bull), 7.Sutil (Force India), 8.Di Resta (Force India), 9.Button (McLaren), 10.Grosjean (Lotus), 11.Perez (McLaren), 12.Vergne (Toro Rosso), 13.Gutierrez (Sauber), 14.Bottas (Williams), 15.Bianchi (Marussia) 16.Pic (Caterham), 17.Chilton (Marussia), 18.Van Der Garde (Caterham) DNF: Maldonado (Williams), Rosberg (Mercedes), Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) DNS: Hulkenberg (Sauber)  

New Season, No Changes In Qualifynig

The 2013 Formula One season has already had a dramatic beginning before a race has even started. Awful weather conditions yesterday meant that Q2 and Q3 had to be postponed until today with the race in five hours time.

In the wet, it was all about Nico Rosberg. But as the track dried out, the line-up kind of went true to practice with the Red Bulls once again at the front of the pack. Sebastian Vettel clearly hasn't had enough of rewriting history and today sees him qualify on the front row for the 50th time and on Pole for the 37th time. Friday practice saw a Red Bull one-two and that's exactly how qualifying ended up.

In qualifying was completed yesterday, there would have been little doubt that Rosberg would have got Pole and easily out-qualified Lewis Hamilton. But as the supersoft tyres came out midway through the final qualifying session, Hamilton began to find his rhythm and managed to qualify third, way ahead of the McLarens who made crucial technical errors.

The Ferraris sit fourth and fifth with Felipe Massa looking somewhat toward his best which helped him out qualify Fernando Alonso, who looked to be competing for Pole in Q2, for the third consecutive race. Rosberg could only manage sixth in the dry with Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean seventh and eighth for the Lotus. Paul Di Resta will start the race ninth in a great performance for Force India, perhaps an early indication for the midfield battle this year.

McLaren suffered in Q2 by trying out the supersoft tyres far too early and it cost Sergio Perez a chance to make it in to Q3. Button soon realised the mistake and changed back to the intermediates which did enable him to progress. But again McLaren were too quick to start on the slick tyres and Button missed on on competing with the rest and will start tenth, which perhaps the first sign of a tough season ahead for McLaren. Perez will start way down in 15th, but he started 22nd for Sauber last year and finished eighth so he's not out of it yet.

Apart from the McLarens, Valtteri Bottas, the only debutante to make it past Q1, and Jean Eric-Vergne also tried the slick tyres and both quickly made friends with the gravel off the track. Bottas will start 16th with Vergne still managing to out-qualify Daniel Ricciardo in 13th and 14th respectively for the Toro Rossos. The other two drivers to miss out on Q3 were Nico Hulkenberg in his first qualifying session in a Sauber and Adrian Sutil on his return to Force India who will start 11th and 12th respectively.

The action in Q1 yesterday was mainly cars spinning all over the place and front wings parting from the rest of the chassis'. Amongst the victims were Massa, Hamilton, Maldonado, the Saubers and the Caterhams. Pastor Maldonado was the one of the now two unknown names to fall in Q1 and will begin 17th with Esteban Gutierrez beginning his first F1 race in 18th for Sauber.

Unsurprisingly, Marussia and Caterham will be on the back two rows. The Marussias look to have improved immensely, easily out-qualifying the stricken Caterhams. Jules Bianchi out-qualified Britain's Max Chilton in 19th and 20th with Giedo Van Der Garde beating Charles Pic at the back. Pic has failed to get in to the 107% time but he should still be allowed to race later.