Barichello Takes First Chinese GP

The inaugural Chinese Grand Prix was certainly a successful one for race winner, Rubens Barichello. The Ferrari driver has now won two consecutive races for the first time in his career. Barichello finished the Grand Prix 11 places in front of his teammate, world champion, Michael Schumacher. Schumacher’s misfortune sums up an afternoon that could have demonstrated that Bridgestone tyres are just as fallible as Michelin’s.

“We knew that at the beginning we would have some trouble with the front tyres graining, but Bridgestone did a superb job and the tyres held up fantastically well,” Rubens Barichello told ITV.com. While Barichello’s Bridgestones took him to victory, Schumacher’s played a part in his downfall. After an earlier incident saw the world champion spin his Ferrari a further problem meant he was out of points contention. “Finally came the puncture on the left-rear tyre which cost me a lot of time as I had to drive a large part of the track at very slow speed, coming into the pit much too early, which meant the team decided to change my strategy, ” said Michael Schumacher.

The final results showed something of a Michelin dominated leader board with British driver Jenson Button, taking second place and with third place going to the McLaren Mercedes of Kimi Raikkonen. Meanwhile Alonso, Montoya, Sato and both Sauber cars made it into the top eight.