2012 Chinese GP: Rosberg's first win – Mercedes celebrate after 57 years

At the 2012 Chinese GP at the Shanghai International Circuit, Nico Rosberg claimed his first Grand Prix win. He started from pole and crossed the line 20.626 seconds ahead of Jenson Button, with Lewis Hamilton completing a double podium for McLaren. For the Mercedes works team it was the first win since the 1955 Italian GP. The race was decided in the pits: Rosberg made two stops work, while Button's third stop went wrong.

Mercedes had the entire front row with Rosberg and Michael Schumacher. Hamilton had been second in qualifying but took a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change, so he started the race only from 7th on the grid. Rosberg led the two Silver Arrows into the first corner. Kamui Kobayashi in the Sauber lost several places in the opening corners despite starting from 3rd on the grid. Button, by contrast, made a strong start and moved forward.

At Red Bull, things got off to a poor start. Mark Webber made a weak getaway and was only 9th after the first lap. World champion Sebastian Vettel dropped from 11th on the grid to 14th and complained over the radio about a lack of top speed. Webber was the first to pit for medium tyres, triggering a wave of pit stops.

Schumacher's race was over after 12 laps. At his first stop his right front wheel was not properly secured, yet he was still sent out of the pits. It remained the only retirement of the race. According to grandprix.com, Mercedes were fined €5,000 for the unsafe release. Rosberg changed tyres a lap later. Sergio Pérez, who had yet to stop, then led briefly before Rosberg retook the lead from lap 17.

In the middle of the race, strategy took centre stage: Rosberg planned two stops, the McLaren drivers three. After Rosberg's second and final stop, Button took the lead from lap 35 but still had to pit once more. That last stop cost him his chance of victory. The left rear wheel stuck, and according to grandprix.com Button was stationary for around nine seconds instead of the usual three or so. The race data shows the loss clearly: Button's time in the pit lane was 26.6 seconds, while his other stops took only around 20.5 seconds.

From lap 40 Rosberg was back in front and never gave up the lead again. According to Wikipedia, he was 19.1 seconds clear of Felipe Massa at that stage. The Ferrari driver had not yet made his second stop. After his stop, Button rejoined in a tight pack behind drivers on much older tyres and had no chance left to attack Rosberg.

Behind, it was thrilling. According to grandprix.com, with around ten laps to go roughly a dozen drivers between second and twelfth were covered by ten seconds. Kimi Räikkönen ran second for a long time in the Lotus on a two-stop strategy. But the second half of the race on a single set of tyres proved too much. Vettel was the first to pass him, after which Räikkönen, on fading tyres, dropped to 14th within a few laps.

Vettel had also stopped only twice and could not hold off the drivers on fresher tyres. Button got past him five laps from the end. According to Wikipedia, Hamilton overtook him at the hairpin on lap 54. Shortly afterwards Webber also went by, having gone off track twice, once with a wild leap over the kerbs at Turn 13 (Autosport). Hamilton thus finished third, 26.012 seconds behind Rosberg, ahead of Webber and Vettel.

Winners:

• Nico Rosberg and Mercedes: Pole, a lights-to-flag win and a race without any mistakes in tyre strategy.
• Jean-Éric Vergne (Toro Rosso): He started from the pit lane after changes to his car and gained eight places – the most of the day, even if it was only enough for 16th.
• Williams: Bruno Senna went from 14th on the grid to 7th (up seven places), Pastor Maldonado from 13th to 8th. Both scored points.
• Romain Grosjean: Finishing 6th from 10th on the grid, the Lotus driver scored his first points of the season.
• Sebastian Vettel: He gained six places, going from 11th on the grid to 5th.

Losers:

• Michael Schumacher: He started from the front row and retired due to a pit crew error.
• Kimi Räikkönen: He dropped from 4th on the grid to 14th, down ten places, and left without points.
• Kamui Kobayashi: He started third and could only finish tenth. At least he set the fastest lap with a 1:39.960.
• Ferrari: Fernando Alonso went from 9th on the grid to 9th at the finish. He ran off the track while attempting to overtake Maldonado. Massa was only 13th.
• Sauber: Pérez had led at times but narrowly missed out on points in eleventh. Behind him, Paul di Resta (Force India) finished twelfth.

In the 2012 standings, Hamilton took the lead with 45 points, ahead of Button (43), Alonso (37), Webber (36) and Vettel (28). Rosberg's 25 points lifted him nine places to 6th. In the constructors' championship, McLaren extended their lead with 88 points over Red Bull (64) and Ferrari (37). Mercedes were fifth with 26 points.

After the opening races in Australia and Malaysia, the picture of the season was still open. Shanghai confirmed that: with Rosberg, the third race already produced a third different winner. For Mercedes the win was a historic moment. The manufacturer had returned as a works team only two years earlier and now won with its own team for the first time since 1955. For Rosberg, the long wait for a first win ended straight after his first pole position. You can find all the data from the race in our 2012 Chinese GP result.