The
Formula One world championship is alive and kicking after a quiet afternoon in Shanghai turned into one of drama with
Lewis Hamilton's first retirement of the season.
The Briton appeared to be on course for the title for the first half of the Chinese Grand Prix, even when he was passed by
Kimi Raikkonen, but a tyre problem - compounded by
McLaren's decision to leave Hamilton on track with it to optimise the Briton's strategic options - threw the door wide open for both Raikkonen and
Fernando Alonso to carry their hopes to Interlagos.
As forecast, rain arrived over Shanghai International Circuit in the build-up to the 56-lap event, forcing everyone to consider their tyre choice, but was never as bad as that which drowned Fuji a week ago. As a result, intermediates were the preferred option, with further showers predicted to spice up the afternoon.
And, for much of the opening 30 laps, the grand prix needed spicing up after resembling a slightly damp procession. Hamilton and Raikkonen made solid getaways from their front row positions, the Briton having enough in hand to move across and cover his Finnish rival on the long drag to turn one. Behind them, however, Alonso got a better run on
Felipe Massa, picking the outside line around the switchback opening corner to edge ahead of the
Ferrari, before Massa regained the advantage with the inside line at turn six.
Ralf Schumacher, meanwhile, did his bit to inject a little drama to the opening lap, spinning in the first corner and dropping himself to the very back of the pack, while both Tonio Liuzzi and
Sebastian Vettel hinted at things to come by making up early ground, the Italian slotting in to seventh and his German team-mate making up the five places that he had lost after qualifying on Saturday.
