Motorsport Week takes a look back at some of the stats and facts from the third round of the 2018 Formula 1 season in China.
Daniel Ricciardo’s victory was the sixth of his career – and maintained his record of all his victories coming from a gird position of fourth or lower. Ricciardo’s win was Red Bull’s first at the Chinese Grand Prix since 2009, when Sebastian Vettel led Mark Webber in a 1-2 in wet conditions to notch up the squad’s maiden victory.
Ricciardo’s win, and Sebastian Vettel’s pole, put an end to Mercedes’ dominance in Shanghai. Mercedes had topped qualifying each year since 2012 and not been beaten in the hybrid era, and its defeat was its third on the bounce, its longest streak since it emerged as a title-winning force in 2014.
Lewis Hamilton had a difficult weekend – but set a new F1 record as he finished in the points for a 28th successive race. Over on the other side of the garage, Valtteri Bottas celebrated his 100th F1 start – and did so with a podium finish.
Bottas’ debut came at the race where compatriot Kimi Raikkonen took victory for Lotus – and it remains his most recent victory. The Finn has finished on the podium on 23 occasions since last climbing onto the top step.
Ferrari missed out on victory, but its pole position and front-row lockout ended a couple of lengthy droughts. Vettel’s pole was its first in China since 2004, while Raikkonen’s second spot ensured Ferrari locked out the front row of the grid at two successive events for the first time since mid-2006.
It's all sixes and sevens for Renault and Nico Hulkenberg. He started from seventh place for the sixth race in a row, and finished the Grand Prix in sixth place, equalling Renault’s best result since its F1 comeback in 2016, the sixth time he has achieved the result across the last 12 months. Only once, though, has he finished seventh in yellow – in Australia.
Fernando Alonso has now scored points for six successive events – his longest streak since 2014 – and his haul of 22 points has already exceeded his season totals from 2015 and 2017.
