Hamilton wins in China, Massa keeps title hopes alive
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton did everything to win win the title in Shanghai China on Sunday as he scored his 5th victory of the season in a pluperfect style that left championship rival Felipe Massa floundering in his wake.The Brazilian ran 3rd for much of the race, astern of Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen as they struggled vainly to keep the McLaren in sight. Then on lap 49 the Finn conceded 2nd place, so that Massa left China with 87 points to Hamilton’s 94 - and with his admittedly fading championship aspirations still alive.
Raikkonen stayed clear of a closing Fernando Alonso, who pushed hard all the way through for Renault, and Nick Heidfeld led BMW Sauber team mate Robert Kubica home as the Pole saw his own title hopes die. His 3 points leave him on 75, too far behind Hamilton.
The race started with a bang. Hamilton easily beat the Ferraris into the 1st corner and Alonso finally got the better of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen as they duelled over 4th. Further back, but Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais tipped Jarno Trulli’s Toyota into spin. The Frenchman was badly delayed the Italian made 1 pit stop at the end of the lap and another a lap later, to retire.
Adrian Sutil and Kovalainen were the only other non-finishers. The Force India stopped on the entry to the pits on lap 13, and Kovalainen, whose McLaren had been smoking on the grid, fell from 5th place to the tail of the field on lap 35 when its right front Bridgestone tyre failed. Later he parked the car in the garage with a mechanical problem.
A 1 stop strategy worked well for Timo Glock as he brought the second Toyota home 7th ahead of Nelson Piquet, who had a strong run in the other Renault. There were no points for Sebastian Vettel and Toro Rosso as they finished 9th, ahead of Red Bull’s David Coulthard and an aggressive Rubens Barrichello who was on good form for Honda. Kazuki Nakajima was another 1 stopper, finishing 12th ahead of Bourdais, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, Williams team mate Nico Rosberg, Honda’s Jenson Button and Giancarlo Fisichella in the 2nd Force India.The race didn't, in the end, clinch the title for Hamilton, but it did exorcise the ghost of Fuji and it leaves him needing only four points in Brazil. That means he could let the Ferraris and Alonso do what they like, as 5th place will do the job whatever Massa achieves.
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