| 13.30 | Welcome to F1-Live.com and coverage of the penultimate race of the season, the 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix. There is light rain at the circuit at the moment and the forecast suggests more rain on the way. The question is if it is wet enough to warrant a moving from the standard dry tyres to the intermediates. |
| 13.32 | Qualifying yesterday saw Lewis Hamilton claim the pole position, his sixth of the season as he aims to wrap up the drivers’ championship this afternoon. With a 12 point advantage over team-mate Fernando Alonso, he simply needs to finish ahead of the Spaniard while Alonso’s task is to score two points more that Hamilton. |
| 13.34 | Kimi Raikkonen dominated the practice and qualifying runs until the final seconds of Q3 yesterday. The Ferrari driver still has a mathematic chance of winning the title, but trailing Hamilton by 17 points he needs Hamilton not to finish while he scored maximum points in Shanghai. |
| 13.35 | The cars are going to the grid. Most seem to be on the intermeidate tyre at this point. |
| 13.36 | Felipe Massa starts third and his role today will be to try and help Raikkonen where he can. He will be looking to keep Alonso, who starts a disappointed fourth, behind leaving Raikkonen free to challenge Hamilton. For Alonso, he just needs to ensure he finishes ahead of Hamilton by two points to keep the championship alive heading to Brazil for the finale. |
| 13.38 | David Coulthard starts fifth for the Red Bull Renault team with team-mate Mark Webber in seventh. The team are targeting a strong points finish as they chase Williams in the constructors’ championship. Webber proved fast in the rain at Fuji, so he will be hoping for the same pace and a little more luck this Sunday. |
| 13.40 | Ralf Schumacher may be in his last but one race for Toyota, but he showed well in qualifying as he split the Red Bull duo. Qualifying has been a strong point for Toyota however this year while the races tend to see the TF107s slip back. We shall see today. Team-mate Jarno Trulli starts 12th. |
| 13.42 | BMW Sauber is having a low-key weekend so far. Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica line up eighth and ninth ahead of Jenson Button who starts with a heavy fuel load on board his Honda. Barrichello starts 16th in the second Honda. |
| 13.44 | Tonio Liuzzi starts 11th in his Toro Rosso after an impressive qualifying run yesterday. Team-mate Sebastian Vettel was 12th fastest in qualifying but was dropped back five positions by the stewards as they found him guilty of blocking. After the trials and tribulations of Fuji, Toro Rosso will be hoping for a smoother run today. |
| 13.46 | Qualifying for Renault was a fraught affair with Heikki Kovalainen struggling to 13th on the grid following Vettel’s penalty while Giancarlo Fisichella starts back in 18th. The only way is up for both on race day. |
| 13.48 | Anthony Davidson went well again in qualifying for Super Aguri Honda and starts 14th with team-mate Takuma Sato struggling to 20th. |
| 13.50 | Nico Rosberg and the Williams team also struggled in qualifying with Rosberg lining up 15th ahead of Barrichello, Vettel, Fisichella and Alex Wurz in the second Williams. Adrian Sutil and Sakon Yamamoto line up on the final row of the grid for Spyker Ferrari. |
| 13.52 | There’s a big crowd on hand. The light rain and high humidity makes the selection of tyres a tricky one. Some may opt for the dry tyres, but I expect most the intermediates. However, more rain is predicted to be on the way. |
| 13.53 | Hamilton’s pole position could have come at the cost of running a little less fuel than his rivals. We won’t really know until the first round of stops and the chances are there is not a great deal in it either way. Tyres are more likely to dictate when the cars stop should it rain harder or start to dry. |
| 13.55 | There are a lot of dark clouds overhead. The circuit is damp at the moment, but nothing like we saw last Sunday at Fuji Speedway as yet. |
| 13.57 | The drivers are all in the cars as the countdown continues. Nervous times on the grid as any final decisions are taken. |
| 13.59 | The engines fire up and the grid is being cleared. It will be a standard start, not the safety car start we saw in Japan. |
| 13.59 | Intermediate tyres for Hamilton, Massa, Alonso. All on intermediates I think. |
| 14.00 | Hamilton leads away from the dummy grid as the parade lap gets underway. |
| 14.01 | The drivers are trying to gets the brakes up to working temperature while keeping heat in the tyres. |
| 14.02 | Spots of rain but nothing major at the moment. |
| 14.02 | Hamilton lines up on his pole position with Raikkonen, Massa, Alonso and the others taking up position. |
| Lap 1 | The Chinese Grand Prix is underway! |
| Lap 1 | A clean start |
| Lap 1 | Schumacher has spun at turn 3 |
| Lap 1 | Massa and Alonso battle hard |
| Lap 1 | Lots of mid-field action. |
| Lap 1 | Schumacher is last now after his spin |
| Lap 2 | Hamilton leads Raikkonen. Massa, Alonso. |
| Lap 2 | Barrichello and one of the Super Aguris go off. They rejoin. |
| Lap 2 | It has been a good start for Liuzzi as he started 11th and is now seventh ahead of Webber. |
| Lap 3 | There seems to be a little more rain. |
| Lap 3 | Barrichello and Davidson are now at the back after getting together. |
| Lap 3 | There is now a lot more spray. Getting a lot wetter. |
| Lap 3 | Rosberg pushing to find a way ahead of Fisichella and 16th position. |
| Lap 4 | Alonso all over the back of Massa. |
| Lap 4 | Hamilton is pulling out a little at the front. |
| Lap 5 | Vettel is making up ground and is now 11th after starting 17th. He is right with Kovalainen. |
| Lap 5 | Liuzzi is now sixth in the STR ahead of Heidfeld. Rosberg passes Wurz for 15th. |
| Lap 6 | Alonso has dropped back a little after pushing hard to find a way ahead of Massa. |
| Lap 7 | Hamilton pulls a second on Raikkonen on the last lap. |
| Lap 7 | Adrian Sutil pits from 21st position. |
| Lap 8 | Vettel makes the pass on Kovalainen for tenth position. |
| Lap 8 | A nice pass at the end of the back straight into turn 14 |
| Lap 8 | Yamamoto now pits his Spyker from 21st. |
| Lap 9 | There is now less spray so the rain is not hard at the moment. A day of showers. |
| Lap 9 | Trulli makes a very agressive pass on Kovalainen in turn 4. |
| Lap 9 | Kovalainen is struggling as Button is now all over him. |
| Lap 10 | They are now moving off line on the straights to cool the intermediate tyres. They do not want them to overheat as the circuit starts to dry. |
| Lap 11 | Hamilton now has a good six second gap with Raikkonen, Massa and Alonso all a couple of second apart. |
| Lap 12 | Ralf Schumacher has just passed Wurz for 15th. |
| Lap 12 | Davidson pits from 20th. He lost time early on after diving down the inside of Barrichello into turn 14 and making contact. |
| Lap 14 | Davidson has stopped on track just after his pit stop. |
| Lap 14 | There is now no spray. Who will gamble for slicks first? |
| Lap 15 | Rosberg passes Button into turn 14. A good battle for 13th. |
| Lap 16 | Hamilton pits from the lead. He had an eight second lead. |
| Lap 16 | Hamilton keeps his original intermediates. |
| Lap 16 | Hamilton exits ahead of Coulthard in fifth. |
| Lap 16 | Hamilton's inters are quite worn so it is a bit of a risk should it rain harder. |
| Lap 17 | Rosberg is shaping up to try and pass Kovalainen. |
| Lap 17 | Raikkonen picks up his pace as Kovalainen runs wide at turn three and Rosberg is through. |
| Lap 18 | Massa pits from second position - third in reality. |
| Lap 18 | Massa exits behind Liuzzu |
| Lap 18 | Schumacher passes Kovalainen around the outside into turn one. Kovalainen lost momentum lapping a Spyker. |
| Lap 19 | Alonso pits his McLaren. |
| Lap 19 | Alonso exist behind Massa so no change there. |
| Lap 19 | Sutil spins off track at turn one. Spyker are really struggling and some 4s a lap slower than anyone. |
| Lap 20 | Raikkonen pits his Ferrari. |
| Lap 20 | Hamilton regains the lead as Raikkonen rejoins. |
| Lap 20 | Coulthard and Liuzzi pit. |
| Lap 20 | There is now a dry line forming and that is not good for the intermediate tyre. |
| Lap 21 | Hamilton's lead is down from eight to four seconds after the first round of stops. |
| Lap 21 | Liuzzi has exited right in front of the battling Rosberg and Schumacher. |
| Lap 22 | Schumacher pushing hard to find a way ahead of Rosberg. A good battle as they follow Liuzzi. |
| Lap 23 | Hamilton is starting to pull out again ahead of Raikkonen. |
| Lap 23 | Ralf Schumacher makes a nice pass on Rosberg for 12th through turn 14 to get the inside line for 16, the final turn onto the main straight. |
| Lap 23 | Wurz pits from 16th. |
| Lap 24 | Webber pits from seventh position |
| Lap 24 | Webber has gambled and has gone for dry tyres. |
| Lap 24 | Ralf Schumacher pits his Toyota. He was 12th. |
| Lap 25 | All eyes now on Webber to see if he is faster. |
| Lap 25 | Ralf pitted after contact with Liuzzi. He turned in before fully ahead. |
| Lap 25 | Wurz is also on the gry tyre and is fast. |
| Lap 26 | Kubica pits from sixth position and takes slicks. |
| Lap 26 | Trulli, Rosberg, Fisichella and Barrichello all pitting. Time for dry tyres. |
| Lap 26 | Alonso having a go to pass Massa. |
| Lap 27 | Massa goes in too deep into 14 and Alonso is through. |
| Lap 27 | Massa pits and takes slicks. |
| Lap 27 | Vettel and Coulthard pit |
| Lap 27 | A spin for Ralf Schumacher. |
| Lap 28 | It is raining. A spyker has crashed off. |
| Lap 28 | Hamilton must have spun as Raikkonen is all over him! |
| Lap 28 | Webber pits again. |
| Lap 28 | Those on dry tyres need inters at the moment. |
| Lap 28 | Hamilton runs wide through 16 but holds off Raikkonen. Rosberg is off track in the Williams. |
| Lap 29 | Heidfeld pits his BMW |
| Lap 29 | Hamilton is struggling as Raikkonen makes the pass. |
| Lap 29 | Hamilton ran wide mid-lap and Raikkonen was through. |
| Lap 30 | Schumacher is out of the race following his spin. |
| Lap 30 | It was Sutil who crashed out at the final turn a few laps ago. A dreadful race from him. |
| Lap 30 | The rain has stopped and now those on dry tyres are the ones going well as Trulli passes Hamilton. Trulli is on the dry tyres. |
| Lap 31 | Hamilton's inters must be shot as Alonso is closing in fast at seven seconds a lap. |
| Lap 31 | Hamilton is slow and needs to pit. |
| Lap 31 | Hamilton pits and runs into the gravel. |
| Lap 32 | He has blown it. He is stuck in the little gravel trap. |
| Lap 32 | Game over for Hamilton as he is stuck in the gravel. The team should have called him in a few laps ago as he had no grip left at all. |
| Lap 32 | Liuzzi and Webber pit. |
| Lap 32 | An amazing situation as Hamilton climbs from the car. Raikkonen leads Alonso and the championship is on again. |
| Lap 33 | Raikkonen and Alonso pit and Kubica now leads. |
| Lap 33 | Alonso is out of the pit and right in front of Massa. |
| Lap 33 | Heidfeld pits his BMW Sauber |
| Lap 33 | So Kubica now leads the race for BMW Sauber. |
| Lap 34 | So all change as Kubica leads on the dry hard tyre. |
| Lap 35 | Kubica pulls off track! |
| Lap 35 | A mechanical problem for Kubica who was leading by three seconds from Raikkonen. |
| Lap 35 | So Raikkonen now leads Alonso, Massa, Vettel, Button and Liuzzi. |
| Lap 36 | Going back to Hamilton, he seems ed to turn left for the pit lane and the back stepped out. He then went into the gravel which is only a little wider than thae car and could not get going again. |
| Lap 36 | Button is ahead of Vettel now and is fourth. |
| Lap 36 | Button made the pass on Vettel at the end of the back straight. |
| Lap 37 | A good battle between Liuzzi, Wurz and Fisichella. |
| Lap 38 | Wurz pits from seventh position. |
| Lap 39 | Button (4th) is ten seconds behind Massa and closing as Fisichella passes Liuzzi for sixth position. |
| Lap 39 | Raikkonen runs wide but continues. |
| Lap 39 | Raikkonen is on the soft tyre, Alonso the hard tyre. |
| Lap 40 | Kovalainen runs off track but continues. He is struggling today. |
| Lap 40 | Raikkonen and Alonso are lapping at roghly the same pace at the moment. |
| Lap 41 | If Alonso finishes second, the gap to Hamilton will be just four points heading to Brazil. |
| Lap 42 | Button is now six second behind Massa and clear of Vettel. A number of unexpected people in the ppints at the moment. |
| Lap 42 | Button pits from fourth. This is his second stop. |
| Lap 43 | Vettel and Fisichella will have to stop I would expect. |
| Lap 43 | Webber was the first man to opt for slick tyres. He runs tenth right behind team-mate Coulthard. |
| Lap 44 | A typically quiet race from Heidfeld who is now trying to find a way ahead of Liuzzi. |
| Lap 44 | Button now runs in sixth position after his stop. |
| Lap 45 | Big gaps at the front. Raikkonen is in control and Alonso not Massa have an answer. |
| Lap 46 | Fisichella pits from fifth position. |
| Lap 46 | Raikkonen is about to lap Trulli who has had a bit of a non-event of the race in Toyota. |
| Lap 47 | Liuzzi weaving to keep Heidfeld back into turn 14. A bit overly defensive that. |
| Lap 47 | Heidfeld getting a tow on the back straight. |
| Lap 48 | Liuzzi is clinging on to sixth position. |
| Lap 49 | The question is if Vettel has to pit for a second time. |
| Lap 49 | A mistake from Webber who has lost speed and allowed Kovalainen through. |
| Lap 51 | Raikkonen is now firmly in contril and is ten second ahead of Alonso. |
| Lap 52 | Vattel remains on track and is on target for a fourth position after starting 17th. |
| Lap 52 | Assuming there are no major changes, Hamilton will have 107, Alonso 103 and Raikkonen 100 points heading to the finale in Brazil. |
| Lap 53 | Button looks set for fifth position which is a great result after an awful season. |
| Lap 53 | Liuzzi is still holding off Heidfeld for sixth position while Coulthard is in the final points paying position in eighth. |
| Lap 54 | Kovalainen is shadowing Coulthard looking to take away the final point. |
| Lap 55 | The Coulthard Kovalainen battle is the closest on track at the moment. |
| Lap 56 | Kimi Raikkonen wins the Chinese Grand Prix. |
| Lap 56 | Alonso is second ahead of Massa. |
| Lap 56 | Vettel crossed the line fourth. A great run. |
| Lap 56 | Button is fifth ahead if Liuzzi, Heidfeld, Coulthard and Kovalainen. |
