Nico Rosberg converted Mercedes' first pole in almost 60 years to Mercedes' first win in over 60 years, by winning his first career Grand Prix.
Mercedes made the most of the tricky Pirelli compounds and broke free of its "tire-eating" stigma.
"When we last won," team boss Ross Brawn grinned on British Sky television, "I was one year old!"
McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton became Rosberg’s main threat when the German’s German teammate Michael Schumacher retired on lap 12, experiencing problems with a wheel after his first pit stop.
"I noticed in Turn 3 that something was wrong with the front right tyre," Schumacher told the BBC. "Already by Turn 6 there was quite a bit of smoke and damage and I thought it was better to stop before I did some serious damage to the car.
"I don't have any hard feelings. I feel a bit sorry for one of my boys that I guess he feels responsible, but it's part of the game," the seven-time world champion added as quoted by Autosport.com.
Button seemed to be the only able to give Rosberg a run for his money, but problems during his first and final pit stop forced him settle for second. By taking third, his teammate grabbed the lead of the championship.
Kimi Raikkonen utilized an ambitious tire strategy to occupy second spot at one point, but it all fell apart near the end of the race.
Two-time world champion Sebastian Vettel recovered from a poor qualifying session. Having started 11th, he climbed back to fifth, but behind his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber nonetheless. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) also did well, completing his first race since coming back to F1, in sixth place.
The two Williams also finished in the points, Bruno Senna in seventh, just ahead of Pastor Maldonado in eighth.
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), back on earth after his Malaysian win, took away ninth spot's points from a quick Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) – who posted the race's fastest lap.
Race results – Chinese Grand Prix
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 56 laps 1h36min26.929s
2 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 20.626s
3 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 26.012s
4 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 27.924s
5 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 30.483s
6 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 31.491s
7 - Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 34.597s
8 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 35.643s
9 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 37.256s
10 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 38.720s
11 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 41.066s
12 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 42.273s
13 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 42.779s
14 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 50.573s
15 - Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 51.213s
16 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 51.756s
17 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1min03.156s
18 - Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
19 - Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap
20 - Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap
21 - Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1 lap
22 - Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 2 laps
23 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 3 laps
Fastest lap by Kamui Kobayashi 1min39.960s
Retirement
Lap 12 - Michael Schumacher
Drivers’ standings
1.Hamilton 45; 2.Button 43; 3.Alonso 37; 4.Webber 36; 5.Vettel 28; 6.Rosberg 25; 7.Perez 22; 8.Raikkonen 16; 9.Senna 14; 10.Kobayashi 9; 11.Grosjean 8; 12.Di Resta 7; 13.Vergne, Maldonado 4; 15.Ricciardo, Hulkenberg 2; 17.Schumacher 1.
Constructors’ standings
1.McLaren-Mercedes 88; 2.Red Bull-Renault 64; 3.Ferrari 37; 4.Sauber-Ferrari 31; 5.Mercedes 26; 6.Lotus-Renault 24; 7.Williams-Renault 19; 8.Force India-Mercedes 9; 9.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6.
Mercedes made the most of the tricky Pirelli compounds and broke free of its "tire-eating" stigma.
"When we last won," team boss Ross Brawn grinned on British Sky television, "I was one year old!"
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| A delighted Nico Rosberg shares his joy with Mercedes mechanics (Photo: Mercedes-AMG-F1.com) |
McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton became Rosberg’s main threat when the German’s German teammate Michael Schumacher retired on lap 12, experiencing problems with a wheel after his first pit stop.
"I noticed in Turn 3 that something was wrong with the front right tyre," Schumacher told the BBC. "Already by Turn 6 there was quite a bit of smoke and damage and I thought it was better to stop before I did some serious damage to the car.
"I don't have any hard feelings. I feel a bit sorry for one of my boys that I guess he feels responsible, but it's part of the game," the seven-time world champion added as quoted by Autosport.com.
Button seemed to be the only able to give Rosberg a run for his money, but problems during his first and final pit stop forced him settle for second. By taking third, his teammate grabbed the lead of the championship.
Kimi Raikkonen utilized an ambitious tire strategy to occupy second spot at one point, but it all fell apart near the end of the race.
Two-time world champion Sebastian Vettel recovered from a poor qualifying session. Having started 11th, he climbed back to fifth, but behind his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber nonetheless. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) also did well, completing his first race since coming back to F1, in sixth place.
The two Williams also finished in the points, Bruno Senna in seventh, just ahead of Pastor Maldonado in eighth.
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), back on earth after his Malaysian win, took away ninth spot's points from a quick Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) – who posted the race's fastest lap.
Race results – Chinese Grand Prix
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 56 laps 1h36min26.929s
2 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 20.626s
3 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 26.012s
4 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 27.924s
5 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 30.483s
6 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 31.491s
7 - Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 34.597s
8 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 35.643s
9 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 37.256s
10 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 38.720s
11 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 41.066s
12 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 42.273s
13 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 42.779s
14 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 50.573s
15 - Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 51.213s
16 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 51.756s
17 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1min03.156s
18 - Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
19 - Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap
20 - Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap
21 - Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1 lap
22 - Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 2 laps
23 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 3 laps
Fastest lap by Kamui Kobayashi 1min39.960s
Retirement
Lap 12 - Michael Schumacher
Drivers’ standings
1.Hamilton 45; 2.Button 43; 3.Alonso 37; 4.Webber 36; 5.Vettel 28; 6.Rosberg 25; 7.Perez 22; 8.Raikkonen 16; 9.Senna 14; 10.Kobayashi 9; 11.Grosjean 8; 12.Di Resta 7; 13.Vergne, Maldonado 4; 15.Ricciardo, Hulkenberg 2; 17.Schumacher 1.
Constructors’ standings
1.McLaren-Mercedes 88; 2.Red Bull-Renault 64; 3.Ferrari 37; 4.Sauber-Ferrari 31; 5.Mercedes 26; 6.Lotus-Renault 24; 7.Williams-Renault 19; 8.Force India-Mercedes 9; 9.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6.