The Roar
The Roar

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Lewis Hamilton strikes back in Malaysia

Lewis Hamilton celebrates another race win. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Expert
13th April, 2015
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Last year, Chinese Grand Prix officials waved the chequered flag a lap early, and this year the stewards made a dog’s breakfast of clearing a stricken car from the main straight. Unfortunately it denied fans what could have been a thrilling finish.

Although the leading drivers were each separated by a cushion of a few seconds, a late safety car eradicated any advantage, and had the Toro Rosso been cleared in time we might have seen a challenge for the lead between the duelling Mercedes drivers or even a scrap for second with a confident Sebastian Vettel keen for a piece of the action.

In the end the barbs emerged post-race. Nico Rosberg’s claim that Lewis Hamilton compromised his position by driving unnecessarily slow and forcing him back to within striking distance of third-place Vettel reignited their longstanding rivalry – at least in the media.

Bolstered by Vettel’s comments that driving within striking distance of the car ahead accelerated the tyre degradation, Rosberg accused Hamilton of thinking only of himself instead of the team.

A much stronger case can be made in Hamilton’s defence, including the fact that once the team requested that he pick up the pace he did exactly that.

Furthermore, it was illustrated that Ferrari’s package is gentler on tyres and should, for example, a safety car appear during the second stint being on fresh rubber would be advantageous.

The only question that remains unresolved is Rosberg’s suggestion that the scenario whereby the leader deliberately slows down the driver in second place was thoroughly discussed before the race.

Why the post-race interviewers didn’t probe him on this is truly baffling, nevertheless the team have certainly indicated that the issue is not a major concern and it is likely that this latest spat will disappear among the polluted Chinese atmosphere.

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Max Verstappen continues to impress with some courageous overtakes. Unlike Malaysia, where he was accused of “turning a late breaking moment into an overtaking attempt”, Max proved he is a more complete racer who can throw his car into corners, keep it balanced and put the power down on the exit without losing traction.

When they are not blaming Renault for all their problems, Red Bull may well be wondering if Verstappen could replace Daniil Kvyat at the senior team next year. Not only would they prefer to extract the most talented driver from Toro Rosso before a possible sale to Renault, but Kvyat did Daniel Ricciardo (and the team) no favours by holding the Australian up when he clearly had a faster package and was on a different tyre strategy.

At the rear of the field Manor Marrusia completed their first race distance with both cars, meanwhile Mclaren would rather Jenson Button had not run up the backside of Pastor Maldonado.

With the exception of Williams, who are losing sight of the front runners, most teams have a brimming list of positives to work through on the flight to Bahrain. If this weekend is even half as entertaining as last year’s race it’ll be an absolute cracker.

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