Fernando Alonso was fastest man on track as he finished in first place at F1 Chinese Grand Prix.
In a race where there were multiple lead changes throughout 56 laps, the Spaniard won through supreme control and class as he outmatched his opponents in all facets of racing. The next two closest to him were Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, respectively.
Ferrari’s F138 is proving to be one of the most well-balanced vehicles and has led Alonso back to the race for his third driver’s championship.
“It was a fantastic race for us from the start to the end with no problems on the car,” said Alonso.
“It feels great. After the retirement in Malaysia we had some pressure to finish the race but in the two races we have finished this year, we have scored one second place and a victory, so definitely the start of this campaign is looking good. We are very optimistic.”
At one point, Alonso was instructed to slow down as not to push the vehicle too much with ten laps remaining. But he assured his team that he was not pushing it at all.
“It’s impossible not to push when you are racing but it is true that we perhaps had some pace in the pocket,” admitted the Spaniard on the podium.
With the result, defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull still leads the standings with 52 points, Raikkonen has 49 and Alonso closes the gap with 43. Hamilton rises with 40 points and Alonso’s Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa is 5th with 30.
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