FORMULA 1 - 2016

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Force India should be doing "a lot better", says Perez

Sergio Perez admits that his Force India team should be doing "a lot better" than it is currently, after a difficult start to its 2016 campaign.

In the two races, Perez has yet to score a point, while teammate Nico Hulkenberg’s seventh place in Australia means Force India sits seventh in the constructors' standings with six points.

Notably, the Silverstone-based team has been outscored by new entrant Haas in both races so far, while Toro Rosso gained the upper hand in Bahrain.

“We finished last year on a high. Although we shouldn’t be in this position, I believe we have been really unlucky from the start,” said Perez ahead of the Chinese GP.

“In Melbourne, having had a great qualifying being ninth with free tyre choice, things were really looking good, but then I had a problem with the start, that put me in a bad position.

“But still we managed to get into points with both cars before the red flag [where we lost out], so that means less points for the team,” he added.

“In Bahrain we were just unlucky, I agree that we are probably not at the level that we were expecting at the start of the year.

“I don’t think we are at the level, we are right now. We should be a lot better than where we are standing at the moment.”

Upgrades coming

Perez, however, remains upbeat about Force India's forthcoming upgrades, which he compared to last year's B-spec car that had transformed the squad's fortunes in 2015.

“We are really optimistic about the upgrade, we are focussing and putting lot of effort into that, so I hope that it can bring an extra step on us,” he said.

The Force India driver also played down Toro Rosso’s advancements this season: “I agree Toro Rosso have done a very good job.

“I wouldn’t say better than us or better than anyone, we have seen in the past it is not so important how you start.

“The seasons in F1 are far too long so we have plenty of way to go, we’ll see how we end up.”

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The missing document that nearly stopped Alonso's F1 return

The lack of a medical certificate from the Spanish motorsport federation confirming Fernando Alonso was fully fit caused the lengthy delay in him getting the all-clear from the FIA to drive in China.

Alonso had to wait more than seven hours on Thursday for the FIA to give him provisional approval to return to the cockpit following his Australian Grand Prix crash.

The Spaniard still has to face a further medical check after first free practice on Friday though.

The delay in the decision, which was made shortly after 6pm on China, prompted speculation that an issue had cropped up.

And it has emerged that key to the matter was a 'certification' from Spain's ASN confirming that he was fit.

FIA demands

A clause in the FIA's International Sporting Code about medical checks for injured drivers says: "In the case of incapacity for a period of 10 days or longer, this control takes place in an identical fashion during the first competition in which the driver wishes to compete, after he has obtained certification of his recovery and confirmation of his reintegration from his ASN."

In theory, after missing the Bahrain Grand Prix it would have meant Alonso needed a certificate from the Spanish authorities prior to the FIA medical test at the circuit, something which it is understood he did not have.

However, one issue that came up was whether or not Alonso was deemed to be incapacitated for 10 days, as his injury had only come to light after the Australian Grand Prix.

And while it would have been possible for Alonso to have sourced a document from the ASN on Thursday, in the end time pressures were coming up with the FIA having to produce an official entry list.

In light of the uncertainty about this clause, and the fact that the FIA's doctors were satisfied that he was 'provisionally' fit, the stewards deemed that Alonso would actually be exempt from the need for a Spanish ASN certificate.

Had they not given that exemption then Alonso would not have been allowed to compete.

Paperwork

Instead, Alonso only needed to fulfil another clause in Appendix L, which means a driver can compete if he passes an FIA medical ahead of the event.

That in the end is what happened, and confirmed what Alonso had said earlier in the day that medical checks are sometimes not the work of the moment.

"Sometimes it is a longer process that we would like or think from the outside because there are some things behind and some procedures and some paperwork or whatever," he said.

"It is not that you arrive there, you are okay and we all feel okay. Still before it is written it takes a little bit of time and I guess it is the thing that has been happening."

What the rules say

Article 3 of Chapter II of Appendix L of the FIA's International Sporting Code deals with the recovery of drivers – and was central to the Alonso affair on Thursday.

Here is what the rules state:

Reintegration

From the date of the accident or the discovery of an illness or disability as covered in Article 1.5 of the present regulations, no driver may take an active part in sporting events entered on the FIA international calendar until they have received authorisation from the ASN.

In the event of an accident resulting in incapacity for a period of 10 days or longer, and following receipt of a document attesting that the patient is healed or recovered, or of a hospital discharge form, the National Medical Commission or the doctor approved by the ASN shall demand that the patient visits them for the reintegration or that he should undergo a complete annual medical examination procedure.

All the illnesses or disabilities mentioned in Article 1.5 of these regulations must be submitted for an opinion to the National Medical Commission, or in its absence to a doctor approved by the ASN.

Particular measures for the FIA Championships in F1, WEC, WTCC and WRC

a: in the case of no incapacity or incapacity of less than 10 days, a medical control will take place at the next competition in which the driver concerned is due to participate; this will be carried out under the authority of the FIA Medical Delegate and the Chief Medical Officer;

b: in the case of incapacity for a period of 10 days or longer, this control takes place in an identical fashion during the first competition in which the driver wishes to compete, after he has obtained certification of his recovery and confirmation of his reintegration from his ASN.

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Kvyat admits Bahrain GP showing was "crucial"

Daniil Kvyat says his strong race pace at the Bahrain Grand Prix was 'crucial' for his frame of mind, after fears beforehand that his season was falling apart.

The Russian had been at a loss to explain a woeful performance in qualifying in Bahrain, which was so bad he said it was 'embarrassing.'

But a confidence-boosting run in the race as he battled back into the points helped lift his confidence and has left him more upbeat about his potential.

"I think it was crucial," he said about the Bahrain race showing. "You know that, if you come to F1, you are obviously a fast driver, but you always want to see the confirmation on the chronometer - and I did not have it since Barcelona, since Australia.

"It was good to have it on Sunday, because everything looked nice and comfortable - and we even had the opportunity to finish even higher, probably had we maximised our strategy.

"It was a good run, very pleasant to see. But now we need to have this kind of weekend all the time, starting from Saturday also."

Disbelief

Having failed to make the start in Australia after his car stopped on the grid, Kvyat said that he had been depressed about how things were going prior to the race in Bahrain.

"After Saturday, I was quite down cause I couldn't believe it was another year that similar things were happening," he said.

"To be honest I didn't want them to be happening any more. I feel like our potential is much bigger and we're just putting ourselves in an uncomfortable position again. But on Sunday, we really built a good baseline to start now in China."

Lessons learned

Kvyat said that managing tyre temperatures had been the issue in Bahrain qualifying, but said there were still some factors about what happened that were puzzling.

"We know more or less what was laying on top but there is something a lot deeper inside," he said. "Sometimes with these tyres it is impossible to understand because they sometimes work how they want.

"I don't think we will 100 percent know but we can take some small conclusions out of it and we can do everything to prevent it from there.

"But I don't see it coming any more because it was something completely out of line. We should be fine but we will be extra vigilant on this kind of thing in the future and it was a good lesson for me and also my engineers."

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Vettel sure Ferrari will "fight Mercedes hard" eventually

Sebastian Vettel is convinced Ferrari will be in a position to "fight Mercedes hard" this year despite a shaky start to the 2016 season.

Although the Italian squad appears to have taken a step forward in performance this year, both Vettel and teammate Kimi Raikkonen have retired one time each in the first two races of the season.

In Bahrain, Vettel did not even take the start after an engine problem on the formation lap.

But the four-time champion remains fully confident that Ferrari will be fighting for victory once it manages to sort out its problems.

"The performance is not yet what we wanted to be so you could say there are some negatives," said Vettel.

"But there's nothing that shakes me or makes me nervous for this season or the next couple of races because I know this team is very strong and I know that we can improve a lot so I know the potential is there.

"It's just a question of getting all the ingredients together, which will hopefully happen sooner rather than later, but I'm sure it will happen and I'm sure we will be in a strong position to fight Mercedes hard this year."

Bahrain retirement a freak accident

Vettel insisted the problem he suffered in Bahrain was caused by a set of bizarre circumstances, and he is optimistic it will not happen again.

"I think we understood. I'm not an engine specialist but as far as it was explained it was a rare combination of circumstances," he said.

"And that led to a big problem in the end. The consequence was huge which is a shame.

"It happens, we have to deal with it now. I don't think it's a big problem. Nothing changes for me.

"Obviously we have a new engine but there's a lot of races to go. It's a long season, we have to go step-by-step and see how it goes."

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Dinner For More Than 2 - 2016 Chinese Grand Prix - Sauber F1 Team

Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr about their off-time activities, the change back to the "old" qualifying system, their tyre choice for the Chinese Grand Prix and more.

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Lewis Hamilton bemused by 'ridiculous' 17-way driver bill

Lewis Hamilton has jokingly called the F1 driver meal "the most ridiculous thing" he has ever seen after the group attempted to split the bill 17 ways.

F1's drivers caused a social media stir on Wednesday evening when they shared photos of a rare group meal in Shanghai ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. The Italian restaurant, called The Kitchen, was picked by the world champion but he had a surprise when the receipt came to the table.

Perhaps stung by Bernie Ecclestone's recent accusation that drivers never pay when he takes them out for dinner, Hamilton's fellow competitors were in no mood to let someone else foot the bill.

"I chose the restaurant, I put the deposit down and then I paid on top of that and we shared the bill," Hamilton explained. "It was a bit ridiculous because everyone was like 'How are we going pay the bill?' and someone said to share it!

"So we had 17 drivers sharing the freaking bill, but it probably wasn't even that expensive. I did say, why don't one or two of us get it now and then next time someone else and then they were like 'No, no, no, I want to pay individually'.

"We all got a receipt. 17 receipts! 17 credit cards! It was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen, I've never seen anything like it before."

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed the meal, notably the friendly banter between Mercedes teammates and title rivals Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

"We are not very well organized," the Australian said. "But it was good. It was Italian, so we are in China eating Italian! But I am never going to turn down Italian. It was nice. Sure we discussed a little bit of racing but it was more just to catch up and hang out. At the track we talk on driver's parades and a little bit here and there, but a lot of people at the track do not want to associate too much because it race time and they want to be in their zone.

"So each to their own, but I felt that when you are away from the track, no one is in team kit, you are in your own clothes, your own space, and we just talked. I know that I am not the youngest guy in F1 anymore, but hearing some stories from the older guys I still felt quite young at the dinner. It was good, a few good stories were shared.

"I had Lewis, Jenson [button], Nico Rosberg and Hulkenberg, that was sort of our little group at the end of the table. It was good discussions, a bit of banter between Lewis and Nico. It was all harmless but at the same time you know that are taking a little shot at each other here and there. It was quite good, I enjoyed it."

When asked who had suggested splitting the bill, Hamilton said with a smile: "I'm pretty sure it was Nico!"

While some absentees had various reasons -- such as a Renault PR event for Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen or a Haas Automation obligation for Romain Grosjean -- the famously stoic Kimi Raikkonen seemed unmoved by missing the meal.

Asked about it in the press conference, the Finn replied: "Bwah... Maybe next time. I don't regret anything. I had my work to do and it goes way forward in front place rather than dinner. You have to ask the people who were there what happened. I was in Taiwan."

MIKA: I can't believe this!! Each driver there are millionaires surely someone wouldn't have cared to just foot the bill...? WOW!

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Felipe Massa saddened by plight of former F1 team Sauber

Felipe Massa says he is concerned about the future of his former Formula 1 team Sauber, given its current financial situation.

The Swiss outfit has not paid its staff on time for the last two months because of cash-flow problems, with boss Monisha Kaltenborn working to find more backers for the team.

Marcus Ericsson's Swedish sponsors stepped in with an early payment to ensure staff were paid for the month of March.

When asked if he was worried about Sauber, Massa said: "Yeah sure. Nobody likes to see that.

"Nobody likes to hear things like that about Sauber, even Lotus last year."

Massa, who made his F1 debut with Sauber in 2002 and completed three seasons with the team before moving to Ferrari, said more needed to be done to level the playing field.

"When you look to the other sports, maybe basketball, you see most of the teams they have money," he added.

"When you see baseball and American football, most have money to take people from other teams, to invest.

"F1 it is not the case. There is a lot to do in F1 to improve.

"It would be nice to see teams with money with little difference between teams.

"If you see that, you will see different cars winning because it will be closer.

"To improve, you have to change some rules and it's not easy to change any rules in F1."

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CHINESE GRAND PRIX: CRUISE FOR ROSBERG AS TITLE RIVALS TRIP UP

Nico Rosberg cruised to one of his most comprehensive victories in Formula 1 as he claimed his third win of the season, to extend his lead in the world championship standings, as his main rivals for the title tripped up in a dramatic race at Shanghai International Circuit.

The Mercedes driver won by over half a minute, from pole position Rosberg was beaten into turn one by Daniel Ricciardo, but the Red Bull driver’s lead lasted only a few laps as he suffered a puncture and thus allowed Rosberg to claim the lead, where he stayed until the chequered flag waved to end the grand prix.

For much of the race the German must have wondered where everyone was as he carved a massive lead quite comfortable, even after a safety car period brought about to clean up debris that littered the track after a frantic first few lap of the race, which did not impact the winner but did so his title rivals.

Rosberg was clearly impressed with the kit at his disposal on the day as he told his team on the slow down lap, “That was the most incredible balance I have ever had in a race car. Really spectacular.”

Later he reflected on the podium, “The start was not quite good enough with Daniel but then I had a really quick car today, really great, attacked straight away and was able to pull a big gap after that.”

“We are going to have a party now in the garage – everyone deserves that – and then straight back home to my family. I can’t wait to see them,” added the world championship leader with a big grin.

Biggest losers in the first turn melee were the Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, who collided as Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat made an opportunist attack on the inside of the first turn complex and because three into one does not go, Vettel tagged Raikkonen’s front wing while Kvyat scuttled past. Ferrari were instantly on the back foot for the rest of the race.

Raikkonen had to pit and he spent the afternoon recovering, with fifth his reward for the toil. Vettel’s front wing was damaged but he soldiered on, the safety car period played in his favour, allowing the team to change the wing during his stop and at the end of the bright, sunny afternoon he salvaged second place for the Reds in front of Ferrari big boss Sergio Marchionne.

Vettel summed up, “It is difficult to judge how it was from Daniil Kvyat’s point of view. Kimi locked up and I went wide to overtake him, Daniil was trying to do the same thing. He was coming with a lot of speed into that gap. I was very surprised and Kimi was coming across. In the end I was lucky because I could continue and he could continue.”

“It was a very entertaining race,” added the Ferrari driver.

Kvyat, who was scolded by Vettel immediately after the race, was unfazed and very happy to be on the podium after delivering s strong showing in the Red Bull. The former champions discovered impressive pace on the twisty bits of the Shanghai circuit. Teammate Ricciardo recovered well from his early misfortune to finish fourth.

Kvyat said, “I had a really good start, you see the gap and go for it. It’s a risky move, but I am on the podium, Seb’s on the podium.”

Felipe Massa was in the thick of several battles, but by keeping out of trouble the Brazilian veteran scored sixth place for Williams, with teammate Valtteri Bottas claiming the final point with tenth.

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton was again dished out a might dollop of hard luck, after starting from the back of the grid the Mercedes driver was involved in the aftermath of the Ferrari versus Kvyat turn one altercation.

Hamilton’s car tagged the Sauber of Nasr, which resulted in the front wing coming off and an early pitstop. The safety car period was a dash of good fortune but thereafter, perhaps with damage on the car coupled to (what turned out to be) bad calls on the revised tyre strategy, Hamilton salvaged seventh.

He reflected afterwards, “A difficult one. I got a good start and I tried to avoid whatever was happening in front of me but I got tangled in it. Every time I did a stop I was having to come through again. At the end there was nothing left in the tyres but that’s racing. Onwards and upwards.”

“This track is quite good as you can overtake but the car was pretty damaged, I think the suspension was damaged and the car was flexing like crazy. It was like a four-poster bed today,” he added.

He just managed to keep at bay the Toro Rosso duo of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz who ended eighth and ninth respectively.

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ARRIVABENE: OF COURSE MARCHIONNE WAS NOT HAPPY

Maurizio Arrivabene admitted to media after the Chinese Grand Prix that Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne was not happy witnessing his two drivers nearly eliminating one another from the race in a first corner incident.

The Maranello outfit were upbeat all weekend, in Shanghai, confident that they could upset Mercedes dominance, with Nico Rosberg on pole but Lewis Hamilton last on the grid the opportunity was there for them to seize.

But it all went wrong as the field hurtled through Turn 1, Sebastian Vettel swerving into Kimi Raikkonen alongside him which damaged his own wing end-plates while totally snapping off the Finn’s front wing – all this while Marchionne watched from the Ferrari pit garage.

But it was not all gloom for the Italian team and their tifosi, as Vettel and Raikkonen recovered well to finish the race in second and fifth respectively.

Afterwards Arrivabene told media, “[Marchionne] knows motor racing, so of course he was not happy. As I was not happy. He saw the race but in certain circumstances, what can you do? You can say, many, many things.”

“There is nothing you can do, not the team nor with the car. When things happen like this you have to accept it, but of course he was not happy. By the way if he was happy, I would be asking to myself: is this a real president or what?”

The team principal was clearly frustrated as he was forced to watch Mercedes and Rosberg notch up their third consecutive win, “We touch all the different stairs of the podium – and now I have had enough. It is better to touch the highest position of the podium.”

“Is it bad luck? Of course it is frustrating when things happen and you know you have a good car. But most probably we need to continue to persist and sooner or later – I hope sooner – the top step of the podium will come.”

“The car is good actually and today we demonstrated that the car was quite strong, and the strategy was perfect I have to say. So we turn the page and look forward to the future, being a bit more positive. But we are not there. We need to be there,” added Arrivabene.

Vettel summed up the incident, “What happened at the first lap, in the end, is a racing incident. From my side I didn’t really know where to go, I was sandwiched between Kimi and Daniil.”

“Obviously I am terribly sorry for what has happened, I mean touching the car with the same colors is not right. It was a shame, because it destroyed both of our races, Kimi’s and mine. At the end of the day we’ve been lucky because we were still able to continue,” added the German.

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MARCHIONNE: WE ARE A BIT EMBARRASSED

The pressure on Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene by president Sergio Marchionne began even before the season started when big boss declared that the team had to deliver from the opening race of the season.

But now three races into the championship they have yet to win a race, and to add insult to injury Marchionne watched in China as his two drivers nearly took one another out of the race in a first corner incident.

“Obviously it’s unfortunate, but the drivers were exceptional in recovering what they had lost and this shows that the car is there. Now we have to move on,” said Marchionne on RAI TV after the race in Shanghai.

The Ferrari president added, “Even Maurizio thinks like me. On the one hand we are a bit embarrassed, but at the same time happy for the performance. We are growing and we are trying to tame our car. We hope not to repeat this at future races.

“Unfortunately those were the circumstances we landed in, but his recovery was outstanding,” added Marchionne who was making a rare trip to a grand prix no doubt expecting his team to at least battle for the win, which in the end they did not and instead finished a distant second to race winner Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes.

Later Vettel was contrite despite earlier casting Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat as the villain and scolding the young Russian before the podium ceremony

“What happened at the first lap, in the end, is a racing incident. From my side I didn’t really know where to go, I was sandwiched between Kimi and Daniil,” explained.

“Obviously I am terribly sorry for what has happened, I mean touching the car with the same colors is not right. It was a shame, because it destroyed both of our races, Kimi’s and mine. At the end of the day we’ve been lucky because we were still able to continue,” added the German.

Marchionne acknowledged the apology, “I would have done the same thing and also apologised if I was in his place. He made an innocent mistake and was caught out by a much more inexperienced driver.”

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VETTEL SCOLDS SMILING KVYAT AFTER SHANGHAI INCIDENT

After finishing second in the Chinese Grand Prix Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel had choice words with third placed Daniil Kvyat, accusing the Red Bull driver of charging into Turn 1 like a torpedo and causing an accident.

But Russian was unfazed as he smiled throughout the bollocking by the quadruple world champion, who was on a rant as the incident resulted in him crashing into the Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen who came out the worse of the trio.

Immediately after the clash Vettel was on the radio saying, “I had the Red Bull coming up on the inside like a madman. I hit Kimi.”

“It was a suicidal move,” he added a few laps later.

It was not over… as here is the transcript of the conversation between the two drivers after the race, shortly before the podium ceremony in Shanghai:

Kvyat: What happened at the start? (Friendly)

Vettel: You asking what happened at the start! What happened is you crashed into us and all three of us go out. (Angry)

Kvyat: Well… (Bemused)

Veetl: No well. You came like a torpedo. (Angrier)

Kvyat: I was racing. (Laughing)

Vettel: If I keep going the same line we crash. There was a cra on the left also.

Kvyat: Then don’t keep going! I didn’t see all the three cars go off. I only see two guys.

Vettel: You need to expect if you attack like that, you damage the car. You were lucky that time.

Kvyat: I am on the podium, and you are on the podium so its okay. (Smiling)

MIKA: Thats racing Seb...

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I drove one of the best races of my life - Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo feels his performance at the Chinese Grand Prix was “one of the best races” of his life, after finishing in fourth place.

The Australian started from second in the grid and took the lead into Turn 1, before a puncture on lap three dropped him down the field and meant he had to make an unscheduled trip to the pits.

The safety car also caused him to fall further behind, but a feisty recovery saw him rise all the way up to fourth by the chequered flag.

"I think there were some incidents on the first lap and I remember on my second lap there was a little bit of debris here and there," he said.

"But it didn’t seem like there was one big bit which I caught so it was still unexpected when I was coming through Turn 11 and 12 and was feeling the rear start to slide so I just came on the radio straight away to let them know the tyres were gone.

"The puncture became noticeable when I got on the straight as I could feel the car start to wobble and then my tyre went. Then the safety car put us even further back so that was like a double whammy, which felt like getting punched in the stomach by a heavy weight.

"But in the end the second part of the race I drove probably one of the best races of my life. The package is really promising for sure.

"I felt like I would have sprayed champagne today and part of me is smiling because I am optimistic that will happen this year so that’s a really good feeling and I’ll keep fighting."

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Raikkonen: Fifth in China not a disaster after first lap contact

Kimi Raikkonen says fifth place in the Chinese Grand Prix is “not ideal” but “not a disaster” after contact on the opening lap with his Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

The two drivers collided at the first corner, with Raikkonen being spun by Vettel into the side of Daniil Kvyat’s Red Bull. He lost his front wing and had to pit at the end of the lap for a new one.

The Finn dropped down the field but put in a strong recovery drive, carving his way up the field to claim fifth place at the chequered flag.

"I have no idea of what happened at the start, I suddenly got hit and spun," he admitted. "I had a puncture in the left front tyre and a front wing damage, but I managed to get back to the pits.

"Once I went back on track I found myself more or less in last position, the car felt a bit tricky, but I tried to do my best to charge through the field. At the beginning I struggled a bit, but then I managed to recover some places.

"Obviously the fifth position is not ideal and not what we were looking for, but after what happened it’s not a disaster.

"Seb [Vettel] came to apologize to me afterwards and it’s obvious he didn’t run into me on purpose. Unfortunately this does not change things for the race but it’s only the third round of a long season."

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Nico Rosberg not getting carried away by championship lead

Nico Rosberg couldn't have imagined a better start to a season with three wins in three races - history now suggest he is heading for his first championship victory - but the German isn't getting caught up in his lead which now stands at 36 points, admitting there are still a lot of points on offer.

The Mercedes driver has somewhat dominated the season, winning each of the three races in a commanding fashion. Meanwhile Hamilton has struggled with bad luck, reliability and opening lap crashes, leaving him just three points ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo in third.

But for Rosberg, it was another "almost perfect weekend" as he extended his championship lead despite a small slip at the start of the race.

"It was an almost perfect weekend," said Rosberg. "Only the start could have been better - but luckily I was able to pass Daniel later on the straight and from then on I could build up a gap.

"I must say, I've never had a better balance in my car than I had today. It was really perfect, so a big thanks to everyone who helped me achieve that."

With a race win in hand, Rosberg insists he isn't losing focus on the task ahead as F1 embarks on its longest ever season.

"I'm a very happy man today and, after three races I can be really pleased about how my season has gone so far."

He added: "But it's a very long year ahead and there's a lot of points still on the table, so I'm not losing my focus. Now I look forward to Russia, where I started my good run of qualifying results last year. Hopefully I can get on a nice run like that again."

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Romain Grosjean: 'Idiotic Ericsson should open his eyes'

Haas driver Romain Grosjean has slammed Sauber's Macus Ericsson after the pair made contact at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix, bringing an end to the Frenchman's fairytale start to the season.

Grosjean, who had started 14th on his 30th birthday, had to pit for a new front-wing as a result of the clash and said he never felt comfortable with the car after that.

"It was the worst possible birthday," he told Canal+. "That idiotic Ericsson hit me in Turn 1 and broke my front-wing.

"He saw nothing, he understood nothing, I just think he should open his eyes."

Grosjean went on to finish a lowly 19th and couldn't explain why his car handled so badly throughout the race after praising it in both Australia and Bahrain where he went on to finish sixth and fifth respectively.

"It was a horrific race," he added. "The start was terrible. From there we had the safety car and I thought, ‘OK, we still have a chance to do something.’ But the balance in the car was nowhere near good. I don’t know what happened.

"Somehow, it’s positive that we had such a difficult race, because we can analyse what we did wrong, what we did right and what we could have done differently.

"From there, we can come back stronger. It’s a difficult one after the two first races. Not the birthday I was hoping for.”

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Button: It was a fun race

McLaren driver Jenson Button has remained upbeat after he missed out on points at the Chinese Grand Prix despite being the in top 10 for most of the race.

Finishing in a disappointing P13 behind teammate Fernando Alonso, Button explained that although it was not good enough there were still some positives to take out of the GP, especially when they were battling for position with the quicker cars of the grid.

"I think I was running well into the top ten, I think we were seventh, something like that, battling out there overtaking people and them overtaking us, it was good," the 2009 World Champion admitted.

"I thought we were in a good position but we were on the medium tyre and stood still compared to everyone else, where our pace on the option was pretty good in the first stint. It was fun racing it with the quick cars for a while!"

However, as the race progressed it was clear that they didn’t have the pace to remain the top 10 as the faster F1 cars overtook the McLaren duo with ease during the second half of the GP.

Button added that he hopes it was an error in strategy rather than a lack of power from the car that caused them to drop down the grid during the Chinese Grand Prix.

"After the safety car we put on the medium and I'm not sure it was the right [choice], we'll have to look at the data," he said.

"Everyone else was on the soft tyre and it was just really, really difficult in terms of pace.

"We'll have to see if that was the right tyre to have on the car or not. If it wasn't then we had a chance of battling into the points, but if it was the right choice then we're still away from the points.

"Hopefully we made the wrong strategy call putting on the medium because if we didn't we're not quick enough to be in the points at the moment, because nothing else went wrong so I'm hoping that was the wrong choice and we made a mistake there.

"Maybe our pace just isn't good enough, or make it was the wrong choice of tyre, we'll have to have a look."

[MIKA27]

Alonso pleased with double McLaren finish

Racing for the first time since his horrific crash at the Australian Grand Prix, McLaren driver Fernando Alonso was thankful that the both cars were able to finish a race without any incidents.

Two weeks ago at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Alonso’s teammate Jenson Button suffered an engine failure and was forced to retire while stand-in McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne claimed the first point for the team in 2016.

Despite not picking up any points again, the two-time World Champion explained that he was happy to be in the car again after being ruled out of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“Today wasn’t easy,” he said. “We didn’t quite have the pace to record a good result and finish in the points.

“We chose a two-stop strategy and tried to benefit from that, but the early Safety Car didn’t help us, and our race didn’t really work out as planned after that. That’s the way it is, but it’s a shame.

“We need to look in detail at the areas in which we need to improve – we ran among a lot of different cars this afternoon, so we should have some useful reference points from which to gauge our respective strengths and weaknesses.

“On a positive note, today’s race was the first proper long run I’ve completed in this year’s car – I didn’t ever finish a 50-lap stint during testing, and I retired early in Melbourne because of the accident.”

Alonso finished the GP in P12 and was followed closely by Button in P13.

He added: “There’s a long way to go, but we’ll keep improving. I’m already looking forward to the next race.”

[MIKA27]

Massa finished sixth and Bottas 10th in today’s Chinese GP

Felipe Massa: "It was a good race. I spent the whole race fighting with other cars and we got our strategy right."

Felipe Massa gained three places on the opening lap and managed his strategy and tyres well. He fought hard throughout and was able to hold off the Mercedes of Hamilton to finish sixth.

Valtteri Bottas lost out at the start after avoiding a collision between two Ferraris. He ran as high as second despite the safety car disrupting his strategy, but came under attack by drivers on fresher tyres late on and crossed the line 10th.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: It was a difficult race to read with the safety car and people on very different strategies. To come out of that with the car that started 10th finishing sixth means we did a good job with the strategy. We tried to minimise the stops and that was definitely right if you look at what happened with Felipe. He drove a great race and it was good to see him hold off Hamilton. To keep a faster car behind for that length of time, and to actually pull away because he managed his tyres well, was pleasing to see. Valtteri had to go wide at Turn 1 on the first lap, which put him right down the pecking order in 10th, so it was a game of catch up from there on in. His race was going pretty well until the safety car.

He was a little bit off colour at the end on the mediums, so we need to have a look because that’s completely not like him. He’s usually very good at saving the tyres and getting the most out of them, so we’ll look at what happened and come back stronger for the next race. It was a good reaction from the team, on the back of Bahrain, to come and have a sensible weekend. We made some very good decisions on car set-up, which perhaps gave us a little more pace in the midfield. We still need more pace because this is not where we want to be, another two or three tenths would make a big difference.

Felipe Massa: "It was a good race. I spent the whole race fighting with other cars and we got our strategy right. I was worried about my strategy when the safety car came out, because I had no idea if it would work or not, but actually after the safety car the pace was really good straight away, so I managed to build a good gap to the other guys. We managed the tyres perfectly today. I am really, really happy with my performance, it was a very enjoyable race."

Valtteri Bottas: "It was a disappointing race. I was blocked at the start because of the crash between the Ferraris and lost many positions. The beginning of the race was looking alright, the pace was pretty good on the soft tyres, but once I went on to the medium tyre the pace was not there and I was struggling with overall grip. We need to check and see if everything was alright with the car, but it was difficult out there today in the last stint."

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Toto Wolff still sees Ferrari as a big threat despite Mercedes winning streak

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is expecting the real threat from Ferrari to emerge in the coming rounds after three dominant victories in the opening three races for his team.

Nico Rosberg won again in China while Ferrari struggled to second and fifth place after its two drivers made contact in the first corner. Despite Mercedes building up a 53-point advantage in the constructors' so far, Wolff says Ferrari has yet to show its true hand.

"They are definitely a threat," he said. "They came a little bit conservative on the engine this weekend than in Bahrain and it's just a matter of time. They tripped over each other at the start which heavily compromised their race, Vettel's car was damaged twice in the race. If you consider where they were at the end of lap one and they ended second and fourth, this must be a satisfying result for them. There very much a competitor."

Lewis Hamilton suffered damage in the first corner and went on to finish seventh, but in a clean race Wolff believes Hamilton could have challenged for fourth from his back of the grid starting position.

"We thought that Ferrari starting on the super-soft was helping us and that's why we put Lewis on the soft and a best case would have been a podium, probably P4 was realistic if you'd have managed to get through the race without any damage."

Wolff said Hamilton lost a lot of downforce when his front wing came off and damaged the floor of his car.

"The front wing became undone and the following straight got stuck under the floor and damaged the floor and the leading edge and we lost huge amount of downforce through a couple of corners which made the car very light at the front which gave him the feeling that the car was even more damaged.

"We haven't see anything on visual inspection when the car stopped at pit-stops so no data looked alright but we were so much down on aero that the car must have felt very difficult to drive and as a consequence the tyres wouldn't last either and this is what compromised the whole race. We then tried to figure out a strategy that could help him make it back up to p4 or p5 max but he lacked downforce in those crucial corners where you need to position the car for the following straight and you could see that there was no way he could pass those cars."

[MIKA27]

Verstappen recovers to ****** 'unbelievable' eighth

Scuderia Toro Rosso pilot Max Verstappen recovered to ****** an 'unbelievable' eighth place finish in the Chinese Grand Prix.

Verstappen had a good start, but lost out in the first corner as he had to take avoiding action after the two Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen clashed. The Dutchman then lost further time when he pitted under the early safety car, as he had to wait for team-mate Carlos Sainz.

However in the closing stages he managed to get back passed Sainz and the Williams of Valtteri Bottas to ensure he took four championship points.

“A race full of action! At the start, I had a good first reaction but then I wasn't able to keep my position unfortunately. From then on it was very tricky, and the Safety Car didn't help as I lost even more ground with our double pit-stop, which meant I was at the back of the pack…” he recalled.

“But I stayed calm, overtook the rivals one by one and in the end, to cross the line in eighth position is something that if someone had told me at the beginning of the race I wouldn't have believed!

“I also think the team did a great job strategy wise, we were able to charge through the field and score some more points.”

Meanwhile, Sainz also passed Bottas late on and brought his car home in ninth: “I enjoyed it out there today – we had fights with Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, which are the battles we want to be having,” he added.

“A P9 in the end aren't that many points, but it's good to finish with both cars in the top 10 and keep adding to our tally.

“Maybe we could've finished a bit higher up, but we lost a lot of time behind Force India in the pit-lane during the first pit-stop… Overall, it was good fun out there, we were able to do a lot of overtakes and our pace was decent.

“I'm now looking forward to the next race!”

[MIKA27]

MCLAREN: ULTIMATELY WE DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH RACE PACE

Despite showing flashes of pace throughout the weekend, both drivers able to push hard inside the top 10, we finished the Chinese Grand Prix just out of the points – in 12th (Fernando Alonso) and 13th (Jenson Button).

As the race progressed, it became apparent that the MP4-31 could not quite match the pace of the top 10 runners. Despite the team executing five flawless pit-stops, and running alternative strategies (Fernando did a two-stopper; Jenson a three-), the drivers crossed the finish line just a few seconds apart, strongly suggesting that they had delivered their respective maxima this afternoon.

Despite the immediate disappointment, there are positives to take away from the race weekend: both cars ran flawlessly throughout every session, Fernando completed his first race distance of the season, and the team has learned a great deal more about the strengths and weaknesses of MP4-31.

Fernando Alonso: “Today wasn’t easy. We didn’t quite have the pace to record a good result and finish in the points. We chose a two-stop strategy and tried to benefit from that, but the early Safety Car didn’t help us, and our race didn’t really work out as planned after that. That’s the way it is, but it’s a shame.

“We need to look in detail at the areas in which we need to improve – we ran among a lot of different cars this afternoon, so we should have some useful reference points from which to gauge our respective strengths and weaknesses.

“On a positive note, today’s race was the first proper long run I’ve completed in this year’s car – I didn’t ever finish a 50-lap stint during testing, and I retired early in Melbourne because of the accident.

“There’s a long way to go, but we’ll keep improving. I’m already looking forward to the next race.”

Jenson Button: “My start was good: I made up a lot of places and was able to take the battle to the other cars. Our pace on the Option tyre during the first stint was also pretty good – it was fun racing the quicker cars.

“When the Safety Car came out, there was mayhem in the pit-lane because Nico [Hulkenberg] was trying to slow everyone down to help his team-mate. After that stop, we seemed to be sitting in a strong position, but we were running the Medium compound, and we just seemed to stand still compared with the others.

“We tried to do a two-stopper – which didn’t work out – so then we decided to fit the Option for the final stint. Given our position just outside the points, we thought we might as well give it a go.

“Perhaps fitting the Option at the end was the wrong choice – I could have stayed out until the end on the Medium, but I decided to have some fun by fitting softer [ie, faster] rubber – but it just couldn’t make its performance last to the end. Still, as I say, it was worth having a crack at it.”

Eric Boullier, Racing director, McLaren-Honda: “Ultimately, we didn’t have quite enough race pace to score points today, especially with such scant attrition ahead of us.

“Having said that, both Fernando and Jenson maximised their race strategies, the fact that they finished more-or-less nose to tail after 56 hard-driven laps underlining that Fernando had efficiently mined the most out of a two-stop approach while Jenson had pugnaciously realised the maximum available out of his necessarily more dynamic three-stopper.

“Moreover, although we still need to find more straightline speed, the power units in both our cars performed with commendable reliability throughout all three days of today’s grand prix, yesterday’s qualifying hour, and all the practice sessions that preceded them. So our friends at Honda should be lauded for that achievement. Equally, we’re encouraged by the power unit developments they have in the pipeline, and as a result we’re confident that our overall performance will continue to improve apace.

“Operationally, we made no mistakes all weekend, and our pit-crew performed with their customary aplomb. Well done, guys.

“Last but not least, it’s encouraging to note that, when we fitted Options to Jenson’s car for his fourth and final stint, he immediately began to fly, clocking the then-fastest lap of the race on lap 46, a spirited circumnavigation of the Shanghai International Circuit that was thereafter eclipsed by just two other drivers.”

Yusuke Hasedawa, Honda R&D Co Ltd head of F1 project & executive chief engineer: “Throughout the eventful weekend of changing weather conditions and qualifying red flags, the drivers and the team have performed at their best, and it was a positive weekend to bring two cars home.

“We are obviously disappointed that we could not score points, but I think the race result is a good indication of where we currently are. The entire team did solid work today which will hopefully lead to better results in the future races.”

[MIKA27]

TORO ROSSO: THE CAR IS COMPETITIVE

Toro Rosso report from the Chinese Grand Prix, Round 3 of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship, at Shanghai International circuit

Max Verstappen: “A race full of action! At the start, I had a good first reaction but then I wasn’t able to keep my position unfortunately. From then on it was very tricky, and the Safety Car didn’t help as I lost even more ground with our double pit-stop, which meant I was at the back of the pack… But I stayed calm, overtook the rivals one by one and in the end, to cross the line in eighth position is something that if someone had told me at the beginning of the race I wouldn’t have believed! I also think the team did a great job strategy wise, we were able to charge through the field and score some more points.”

Carlos Sainz: “What an eventful and exciting race! There was plenty of action and I enjoyed it out there today – we had fights with Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, which are the battles we want to be having. A P9 in the end aren’t that many points, but it’s good to finish with both cars in the top 10 and keep adding to our tally. Maybe we could’ve finished a bit higher up, but we lost a lot of time behind Force India in the pit-lane during the first pit-stop… Overall, it was good fun out there today, we were able to do a lot of overtakes and our pace was decent. I’m now looking forward to our next race in Russia in two weeks’ time!”

Franz Tost (Team Principal): “The Chinese Grand Prix was a very exciting race from start to finish. Both Max and Carlos did a really good start, but unfortunately Max lost some places in the first corner as he had to back off because of the crash between the two Ferraris. Carlos was in a good position until the Safety Car came out when he was then heavily stopped by Hulkenberg, who slowed down massively in the pit-lane and this caused us to lose a lot of places. Nevertheless, both drivers were able to catch-up and crossed the line in P8 and P9 – a very satisfying result. Both cars scored points, we showed that the car is competitive and that the team and drivers did a good job. I’d like to thank everyone for this and we are now looking forward to the race in Sochi where we also expect quite a good performance from our side.

“Today we saw that the midfield is very close together – it’s a fight between Williams, Force India, Haas, ourselves and McLaren, who is also closing-up. This means that we have to be fully concentrated for the next races. Finally, I’d like to congratulate Daniil Kvyat for finishing on the podium. It’s also great to see that four Red Bull cars are within the first nine top-finishers in today’s race.”

[MIKA27]

SAUBER: WE NEED TO FIND MORE PERFORMANCE IN THE CAR

The Sauber F1 Team finished the third race of the 2016 FIA Formula One Championship, the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in P16 (Marcus Ericsson) and P20 (Felipe Nasr) . A very interesting and eventful race, where all 22 cars were able to cross the finish line.

Marcus Ericsson: “I think it was a decent race, I made a good start, and had a good first lap. When the safety car came out, we went for a bit of a gamble and decided to try to do the rest of the race on just two stints of medium tyres. But it felt like we didn’t really have the pace we hoped for on the mediums. We have to analyse everything and see if we could have done something different strategy-wise. In our situation you sometimes need to try to take a chance and it could have worked out. Apart from that, I think it was a strong race, with no mistakes from my side. I felt like the driving was good, but we still need to find some more performance in the car.”

Felipe Nasr: “It was a difficult race for me this weekend, especially as it was compromised after the start at turn 1. I got hit, which resulted in my front right tyre having a puncture and in a nose change. That cost me a lot of time in the race, because I couldn’t recover the lap I lost in the safety car period. So this meant, I had a lot to catch up in the race. Anyway, I still feel that we have a lot to do in the car to bring back the pace, because I am still struggling with the same issues that I’ve been having in the last couple of events. I have confidence in the team that we can get the performance back.”

[MIKA27]

RENAULT: IT HAS BEEN A TOUGH RACE FOR THE TEAM

Renault Sport Formula One Team was unable to move up the order in an action-packed 2016 Formula 1 Pirelli Chinese Grand Prix where both drivers finished the race, but finishing positions of seventeen for Kevin Magnussen and twenty-second for Jolyon Palmer illustrated that the team wasn’t able to harness its performance potential at the Shanghai International Circuit today.

Kevin started from P17 on the grid on new super soft compound Pirelli tyres, changing to new soft tyres on laps 4 and 20, before moving on to new medium tyres on lap 35.

Jolyon started from P19 on the grid on new soft compound Pirelli tyres, changing to new super soft tyres on lap 15, back to new soft tyres on lap 24 and finally changing to new medium tyres on lap 38.

Kevin Magnussen: “It was a pretty steady race for me really. I had a decent start and then I didn’t actually have much action; just passing people on strategy so no one was really fighting hard. This isn’t a weekend that we will be very happy about but it’s definitely one that we can learn from. There’s a lot we still don’t really understand so once we do, we’ll be a stronger team. We knew it was going to be a tough start, we’re not panicking.”

Jolyon Palmer: “The start was good today, as was the first lap – we made up a lot of positions. From then on though, it was a tough day. The balance of the car was all over the place, tyre degradation was bigger than usual and the pace wasn’t as good as previous races. We need to look in the data really, and I’m definitely happy to move on to the next race.”

Fred Vasseur, Racing Director: “It has been a tough race for the team and we suffered a lot with tyre degradation. Kevin was disadvantaged by the fact that he had such limited running in the dry which meant limited time to refine set-up. This made it difficult to manage the tyres in the race. Jolyon started on the soft tyre, and we opted not to bring him in during the safety car period. Unfortunately, he had real difficulties warming these tyres up afterwards which cost him a number of places and moving him to a four-stop strategy would have cost too much time in the pits. We will investigate why we lost so much tyre temperature and performance after the safety car period. We must now look forward to the next Grand Prix and continue to learn, work hard and improve.”

[MIKA27]

FORCE INDIA: DISAPPOINTING TO COME AWAY EMPTY-HANDED

Despite a very strong start to the race, Sahara Force India missed out on points in today’s Chinese Grand Prix as Sergio Perez crossed the line in P11 and Nico Hulkenberg in P15.

Sergio Perez: “Today things didn’t go our way and the timing of the safety car didn’t help me. The start of the race was really good and things looked very promising. I was up in third place when the safety car came out and we had no option but to pit, which dropped me back into the pack. I had to fight hard because the cars around me were on different tyres and there were some quick cars recovering as well. All of this took a lot of the life from my tyres. There were some entertaining battles during the race and we put up a good fight, but the points finish slipped away in the final part of the race. I think we chose the right strategy and made good choices, but the race didn’t go our way. It’s also clear that we need to keep doing our homework to come back stronger for the next few races.”

Nico Hülkenberg: “It was a frustrating race in the end, even though the start and the first few laps were great. As the lights went out, I rocketed from P13 up to fifth place, picking up one place after the other. The safety car threw all this good work out the window because I had to stack in the pits behind Checo and dropped right down the order. The dirty air affected us, we had some faster cars coming through and this destroyed my tyres. In fact, tyre degradation was the main story of the day and we appeared to suffer more than some others, which is why I went backwards in the second half of the race. The time penalty was an added blow, but in the end it didn’t make a huge difference to my result: the rules say you shouldn’t slow down coming in, but in the heat of racing it’s hard to gauge if that is giving you an advantage. Ultimately, we didn’t have the pace to get back into the points: it’s something we have to work on and do better in the coming races.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer: “It’s disappointing to come away from today’s race empty-handed, especially when you consider that we were so well placed in the early laps – up in third and fourth places. The safety car was unfortunate from our perspective as it cost us our track position and left us fighting through traffic to try and recover. We stuck to the planned three-stop race for Sergio and for a while it looked as though we might come away with points. However, he suffered with high degradation on the medium tyres toward the end and dropped out of contention with a handful of laps remaining. With Nico, we threw the dice and switched him to a four-stop strategy, but having lost so much track position from the safety car and subsequent time penalty, his race was heavily compromised. I think this weekend has shown us that we have inherent pace in the car, but we need to work hard to make sure we can deliver that pace consistently over a race distance.”