Lewis Hamilton won F1 race number 1000. Both Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas again delivered a soild 1-2 for the very successful Mercedes Formula 1 team. It's the first time since 1992 that a team performed like that.
The majority of the field stopped twice during the 1000th race in Formula 1 history, with the top five finishers adopting identical two-stop medium-hard-medium strategies. Cooler temperatures than anticipated influenced tyre behaviour in the race.
Tactics were at the forefront of the race, with each of the top teams monitoring each other closely and reacting accordingly. Following a very warm Saturday, conditions on Sunday were cooler and more overcast, with air temperature peaking at 21 degrees and track temperature at 29 degrees.
At each of the stops, Red Bull and Max Verstappen were the first to pit. Prompting their rivals to do the same. The top five on the grid, who all started on the medium tyre, were also the top five at the finish in a different order than they started in off course.
Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly was the highest-placed driver to start on the soft tyre, starting and finishing in sixth place after using all three compounds (along with seven other drivers). He made a third stop with one lap to go to put on the soft tyre to attack the fastest lap time of Vettel that moment. His effort wasn't for nothing and he scored the point for fastest lap.
Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon scored a point with P10 after starting from the pit lane because fo his crash in FP3. He stopped once to switch from soft to the hard tyre. That was the same strategy as Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.
This is what the Formula 1 drivers said after crossing the finish after the 2019 Chinese F1 GP.
Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport
Lewis Hamilton
"It’s not been the most straightforward of weekends, but what a fantastic result for the team, everyone’s worked so hard for this. Coming here we didn’t know exactly where we would stand with Ferrari, as they’d been so quick in Bahrain. Valtteri has been quick all weekend and did a great job today.
To have a 1-2 together is really special for the 1,000th Grand Prix. The start was where I made the difference and after that it’s history. The strategy has really been on point over these first three races so we need to keep that up. Team LH China have been incredible all weekend, a big thank you to them. They welcomed me from the moment I arrived at the airport, at the hotel every morning and night every single day, and then at the track too. A big thank you to everyone who’s supported me. You can still see it’s very close between us all. I really have no idea how the next races will turn out but I’m super excited for them."
Valtteri Bottas
"For us as a team it’s really been a perfect start to the season; we could not have imagined to get three 1-2s in a row, so a big thank you to everyone for their hard work. We managed to maximise on every single opportunity which is great to see. For me personally today has been a bit disappointing as I was on pole, but then lost the race at the start. There’s a white line just outside the starting box and I had some wheelspin when I went over it and lost the position to Lewis.
It’s all about details in this sport, so unfortunately that detail decided the rest of the race. On the positive side, we did have a strong race pace here in Shanghai, much better than in Bahrain. I think that we’re in a good position, but we need to keep pushing. This track is very unique in its layout and Baku will hold very different challenges so it’s going to be interesting again in two weeks."
Scuderia Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel
“We are happy we got the podium, but overall we can’t be satisfied because we were too slow today. We were hoping to be in a much better place and be a match for Mercedes, but we were not. Also it was a shame we didn’t manage to finish third and fourth, In terms of calls from our pit wall today, the priority always lies within the team and Charles and I are both aware we are driving for the team.
We can do our own race but first of all we have to ensure Ferrari is in a position to fight with its rivals. I think we have a good car and we are still not able to unlock its potential completely. We are learning a lot about it and it’s important to do many laps to get a better feeling for it. We are getting an ever clearer picture of what we are lacking at the moment, so I think the next few weeks will be important for us, so that we can get on the right road for the coming months.”
Charles Leclerc
“Today’s race wasn’t one of my easiest, since it looks like we didn’t have a good enough pace to fight at the front with our competitors. My start was good, then I think both Seb and myself were struggling with the tyres. We swapped positions and I thought he would have pulled away but he didn’t and this didn’t help my tyres because I had a bit of overheating and I lost some time.
On my second set of tyres I hoped I’d be able to go all the way to the end, but unfortunately had to stop again and so lost a place. We will sit down all together in order to understand what could have been done better and I’m sure we will come back stronger at the next race.”
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen
“It was not an easy race but as a Team we did a really good job today. We planned a good strategy to undercut a Ferrari and stay ahead, so we definitely maximised the result to finish fourth ahead of Charles. I had a good battle with Seb when he came out of the pits on colder tyres which was good fun. That was my one shot and I tried but after that you could see that we didn’t quite have the pace to fight him to the end.
I was pushing really hard and we can be happy with the team result. We still need a bit more pace to fight Mercedes and Ferrari but we are in a good position and collecting solid points each race.”
Pierre Gasly
“I’m happy to score my first fastest lap in F1 today. We saw that we had quite a big margin behind us in the last few laps, so we decided to go for it and have an extra pit stop which worked. During the race I tried to keep the rhythm, take care of my tyres and improve my feeling with the car. I’m slowly getting more confident, I think we take one step every weekend but of course I would like to take three every time.
There is still work for me to do for the next race but the good thing is that I know what I need to improve and what I can do better. We are quite happy to finish in the points and take the extra point for fastest lap with us. Tonight I will make my way to the factory and spend tomorrow and the day after in the sim and we’ll work for the next race.”
Renault F1 Team
Daniel Ricciardo
“It’s good to get on the board, finish the race and have my first points with the team. We’ll take the positives from that. It might have looked a simple seventh, but it wasn’t easy.
It was a bit of a lonely race, I didn’t have so many battles but I was being pushed hard from the cars behind all the way to the end. It’s a strong result and the best we can ask for; at least for today. We want to push on from this over the next couple of races and keep working from here.”
Nico Hulkenberg
“It’s clearly a very disappointing race for us today. It was a difficult start to the race, I lost a position and it was tough following cars ahead. We pitted and came out in some traffic, but then I felt a loss of power. We tried our best to fix it out there as it looked like a software issue, but it wasn’t possible and we had to park up.
We’re looking into the issue, but it looks like an MGU-K related problem. We have things to work on ahead of the next race, but we will look at everything in detail and come back stronger.”
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
Sergio Pérez
“I’m very happy to score four points today. The start was fantastic: I saw a gap, went for it and it paid off. Our race pace was good: we were able to maintain the pace and manage the tyres well. It wasn’t an easy race, though, because I was under pressure from Kimi for most of the second stint, which made it more difficult to look after the tyres and keep up the pace.
It was the same with Daniel ahead of me – I think he was working hard to manage his tyres because every time I got close to him he found the pace to pull away again. This was never going to be our strongest track so it’s important to take opportunities such as today and keep scoring points. I think we have the potential to be stronger at the next race in Baku.”
Lance Stroll
“Today could have been better. We were in front of Albon before the first stop and then he undercut us by one lap and finished in the points, so it’s a bit of a shame. We could have been more proactive, because we didn’t have anyone immediately in front of us. I think it was Sergio or Raikkonen ahead at the time, about five seconds up the road, so we weren’t really fighting anyone in front and we had Albon three seconds behind.
It was just a classic undercut. It’s disappointing, because once that happened we were in his dirty air and it was tough to overtake. We tried an extra stop at the end and got past Magnussen to finish P12, but it could have been more. Our race pace was not bad but we just need to look at the strategy, because I think we may have been able to pick up a point today..”
Alfa Romeo Racing
Kimi Raikkonen
“The car felt good today. We started from further back on the grid and at least scored some points. In the end I lost the grip on the front tyres.
It’s a shame because I was looking after them during the race, but they just got too cold and I slowed down. We will continue working on making improvements and see what we can do in Baku.”
Antonio Giovinazzi
“It was a difficult weekend overall. We started the race from the back of the grid and went with a bit of a different strategy to try and gain some positions.
It didn’t work so well in the end and now I just look forward to starting fresh at the next GP in Azerbaijan. I have some good memories from Baku and it will be fun to race there again. We will see what we can achieve.”
Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda
Alexander Albon (10th - started from pit lane)
Alexander Albon
“Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to the team for their hard work yesterday. It was looking a bit dark after FP3, but the guys worked very hard last night to change the chassis, so they deserved a good race and I was happy to bring home a point to reward their effort. We had the pace all weekend and I was confident we had a good shot at getting into Q3, although unfortunately we didn’t get the chance due to the repairs.
It was a difficult race because we initially had planned a two-stop strategy, but the degradation was higher than most people expected. Since we knew from FP2 we were good on our tyres, we decided to go for it and survive on the hard compound. I was a bit nervous at the end when Grosjean was almost catching me, but I’m really happy to have pulled that off!”
Daniil Kvyat
“It was an unfortunate race today because after lap one the race was pretty much over. The pace we showed with a damaged car was very strong, so it’s disappointing not to be able to transform that into a good result as there was potential to finish inside the points today.
I have seen the first lap incident with the two McLaren's and I disagree with penalty. I think it was a typical lap one sandwich and these things can happen as we’re so close together.”
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
Romain Grosjean
“I was a bit worried, to be fair, before the start as our race pace hasn’t been amazing all weekend. The car’s amazing over one lap, but as soon as we go two laps on the tires, we’re not there anymore. We need to understand exactly what happened.
I think without the blue flags at the end we’d have scored a point. Alex (Albon) did a great job defending well and not making any mistakes. Congratulations to him. It’s so annoying to give it all, push hard, and just not get the chance to score points.”
Kevin Magnussen
“I didn’t have the pace today, so we need to work on the race pace. Qualifying’s been good all year, so-far, we just need to sort out the race pace – it’s the most important one to be good at.
There’s some work to do. I don’t really understand it at the moment, we all need to understand it. It’s not easy. It’s frustrating that we see we’ve got a good car, that can qualify well, then we can’t convert that into race pace.”
McLaren F1 Team
Carlos Sainz
“Another frustrating day. Impossible to avoid the Toro Rosso so another thing out of our control that ruined the race, and this time, unfortunately, involving our both cars.”
“A real shame because our race pace was good and I managed degradation well, so I think we had a chance to fight for the points. We definitely had a better race car than a quali car. I prefer to keep thinking about the positives and be patient, because things in the end will turn around. I’m quite happy with the car, very happy with the team, my engineers, my mechanics, and things will turn around eventually.”
Lando Norris
“My start was pretty good, getting off the line well and making up places before I had to back out in Turn Three when I was close to Kimi. I was on the outside in Turn Six and was hit which sent me into the air. That damaged the car, I lost a lot of places and had to box. That pretty much ruined our race.
“I didn’t have great pace afterwards due to floor damage but Carlos’ pace looked very good. The top-three teams aside, he looked to be the best of everyone else. So there was potential in the car today but the contact ruined it. On to the next one.”
ROKiT Williams Racing
George Russell
“The pace was slightly better than expected, we were battling in the opening couple of laps and we managed to stay with the pack. Once things settled down, the gaps started to open, and it was a fairly lonely race for me.
We were struggling with the tyres in the middle stint of the race, and the lap times were dropping off, so it was the right choice to pit for a second time. At the end of the day this is where we are at the moment, we must keep pushing and keep working.”
Robert Kubica
“There was not a lot to say today to be honest. The most exciting moment of the race for me was when I spun on the formation lap. I tried to put heat into the tyres and I lost the car going slow in turn six. I then had a good start and I went to the inside line but honestly, I didn’t want to risk anything.
I was close to one of the Racing Point’s and I was on the inside and I didn’t know if he would tighten the line, so I left enough space and lost two places there. It is difficult to risk something when you know the pace will be what it will be.”
✅ Check out Pictures 2019 Chinese F1 GP
✅ Check out Race Results 2019 Chinese F1 Grand Prix
✅ Check out 2019 F1 Championship Standings
✅ Check out 2019 F1 Calendar
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Lewis Hamilton won F1 race number 1000. Both Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas again delivered a soild 1-2 for the very successful Mercedes Formula 1 team. It's the first time since 1992 that a team performed like that.
The majority of the field stopped twice during the 1000th race in Formula 1 history, with the top five finishers adopting identical two-stop medium-hard-medium strategies. Cooler temperatures than anticipated influenced tyre behaviour in the race.
Tactics were at the forefront of the race, with each of the top teams monitoring each other closely and reacting accordingly. Following a very warm Saturday, conditions on Sunday were cooler and more overcast, with air temperature peaking at 21 degrees and track temperature at 29 degrees.
At each of the stops, Red Bull and Max Verstappen were the first to pit. Prompting their rivals to do the same. The top five on the grid, who all started on the medium tyre, were also the top five at the finish in a different order than they started in off course.
Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly was the highest-placed driver to start on the soft tyre, starting and finishing in sixth place after using all three compounds (along with seven other drivers). He made a third stop with one lap to go to put on the soft tyre to attack the fastest lap time of Vettel that moment. His effort wasn't for nothing and he scored the point for fastest lap.
Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon scored a point with P10 after starting from the pit lane because fo his crash in FP3. He stopped once to switch from soft to the hard tyre. That was the same strategy as Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.
This is what the Formula 1 drivers said after crossing the finish after the 2019 Chinese F1 GP.
Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport
Lewis Hamilton (1st - started on P2)
Lewis Hamilton
"It’s not been the most straightforward of weekends, but what a fantastic result for the team, everyone’s worked so hard for this. Coming here we didn’t know exactly where we would stand with Ferrari, as they’d been so quick in Bahrain. Valtteri has been quick all weekend and did a great job today.
To have a 1-2 together is really special for the 1,000th Grand Prix. The start was where I made the difference and after that it’s history. The strategy has really been on point over these first three races so we need to keep that up. Team LH China have been incredible all weekend, a big thank you to them. They welcomed me from the moment I arrived at the airport, at the hotel every morning and night every single day, and then at the track too. A big thank you to everyone who’s supported me. You can still see it’s very close between us all. I really have no idea how the next races will turn out but I’m super excited for them."
Valtteri Bottas (2nd - started on P1)
Valtteri Bottas
"For us as a team it’s really been a perfect start to the season; we could not have imagined to get three 1-2s in a row, so a big thank you to everyone for their hard work. We managed to maximise on every single opportunity which is great to see. For me personally today has been a bit disappointing as I was on pole, but then lost the race at the start. There’s a white line just outside the starting box and I had some wheelspin when I went over it and lost the position to Lewis.
It’s all about details in this sport, so unfortunately that detail decided the rest of the race. On the positive side, we did have a strong race pace here in Shanghai, much better than in Bahrain. I think that we’re in a good position, but we need to keep pushing. This track is very unique in its layout and Baku will hold very different challenges so it’s going to be interesting again in two weeks."
Sebastian Vettel (3rd - started on P3)
Sebastian Vettel
“We are happy we got the podium, but overall we can’t be satisfied because we were too slow today. We were hoping to be in a much better place and be a match for Mercedes, but we were not. Also it was a shame we didn’t manage to finish third and fourth, In terms of calls from our pit wall today, the priority always lies within the team and Charles and I are both aware we are driving for the team.
We can do our own race but first of all we have to ensure Ferrari is in a position to fight with its rivals. I think we have a good car and we are still not able to unlock its potential completely. We are learning a lot about it and it’s important to do many laps to get a better feeling for it. We are getting an ever clearer picture of what we are lacking at the moment, so I think the next few weeks will be important for us, so that we can get on the right road for the coming months.”
Charles Leclerc (5th - started on P4)
Charles Leclerc
“Today’s race wasn’t one of my easiest, since it looks like we didn’t have a good enough pace to fight at the front with our competitors. My start was good, then I think both Seb and myself were struggling with the tyres. We swapped positions and I thought he would have pulled away but he didn’t and this didn’t help my tyres because I had a bit of overheating and I lost some time.
On my second set of tyres I hoped I’d be able to go all the way to the end, but unfortunately had to stop again and so lost a place. We will sit down all together in order to understand what could have been done better and I’m sure we will come back stronger at the next race.”
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen (4th - started on P5)
Max Verstappen
“It was not an easy race but as a Team we did a really good job today. We planned a good strategy to undercut a Ferrari and stay ahead, so we definitely maximised the result to finish fourth ahead of Charles. I had a good battle with Seb when he came out of the pits on colder tyres which was good fun. That was my one shot and I tried but after that you could see that we didn’t quite have the pace to fight him to the end.
I was pushing really hard and we can be happy with the team result. We still need a bit more pace to fight Mercedes and Ferrari but we are in a good position and collecting solid points each race.”
Pierre Gasly (6th - started on P6)
Pierre Gasly
“I’m happy to score my first fastest lap in F1 today. We saw that we had quite a big margin behind us in the last few laps, so we decided to go for it and have an extra pit stop which worked. During the race I tried to keep the rhythm, take care of my tyres and improve my feeling with the car. I’m slowly getting more confident, I think we take one step every weekend but of course I would like to take three every time.
There is still work for me to do for the next race but the good thing is that I know what I need to improve and what I can do better. We are quite happy to finish in the points and take the extra point for fastest lap with us. Tonight I will make my way to the factory and spend tomorrow and the day after in the sim and we’ll work for the next race.”
Renault F1 Team
Daniel Ricciardo (7th - started on P7)
Daniel Ricciardo
“It’s good to get on the board, finish the race and have my first points with the team. We’ll take the positives from that. It might have looked a simple seventh, but it wasn’t easy.
It was a bit of a lonely race, I didn’t have so many battles but I was being pushed hard from the cars behind all the way to the end. It’s a strong result and the best we can ask for; at least for today. We want to push on from this over the next couple of races and keep working from here.”
Nico Hulkenberg (DNF - started on P8)
Nico Hulkenberg
“It’s clearly a very disappointing race for us today. It was a difficult start to the race, I lost a position and it was tough following cars ahead. We pitted and came out in some traffic, but then I felt a loss of power. We tried our best to fix it out there as it looked like a software issue, but it wasn’t possible and we had to park up.
We’re looking into the issue, but it looks like an MGU-K related problem. We have things to work on ahead of the next race, but we will look at everything in detail and come back stronger.”
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
Sergio Pérez (8th - started on P12)
Sergio Pérez
“I’m very happy to score four points today. The start was fantastic: I saw a gap, went for it and it paid off. Our race pace was good: we were able to maintain the pace and manage the tyres well. It wasn’t an easy race, though, because I was under pressure from Kimi for most of the second stint, which made it more difficult to look after the tyres and keep up the pace.
It was the same with Daniel ahead of me – I think he was working hard to manage his tyres because every time I got close to him he found the pace to pull away again. This was never going to be our strongest track so it’s important to take opportunities such as today and keep scoring points. I think we have the potential to be stronger at the next race in Baku.”
Lance Stroll (12h - started on P16)
Lance Stroll
“Today could have been better. We were in front of Albon before the first stop and then he undercut us by one lap and finished in the points, so it’s a bit of a shame. We could have been more proactive, because we didn’t have anyone immediately in front of us. I think it was Sergio or Raikkonen ahead at the time, about five seconds up the road, so we weren’t really fighting anyone in front and we had Albon three seconds behind.
It was just a classic undercut. It’s disappointing, because once that happened we were in his dirty air and it was tough to overtake. We tried an extra stop at the end and got past Magnussen to finish P12, but it could have been more. Our race pace was not bad but we just need to look at the strategy, because I think we may have been able to pick up a point today..”
Kimi Raikkonen (9th - started on P13)
Kimi Raikkonen
“The car felt good today. We started from further back on the grid and at least scored some points. In the end I lost the grip on the front tyres.
It’s a shame because I was looking after them during the race, but they just got too cold and I slowed down. We will continue working on making improvements and see what we can do in Baku.”
Antonio Giovinazzi (15th - started on P19)
Antonio Giovinazzi
“It was a difficult weekend overall. We started the race from the back of the grid and went with a bit of a different strategy to try and gain some positions.
It didn’t work so well in the end and now I just look forward to starting fresh at the next GP in Azerbaijan. I have some good memories from Baku and it will be fun to race there again. We will see what we can achieve.”
Alexander Albon (10th - started from pit lane)
Alexander Albon
“Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to the team for their hard work yesterday. It was looking a bit dark after FP3, but the guys worked very hard last night to change the chassis, so they deserved a good race and I was happy to bring home a point to reward their effort. We had the pace all weekend and I was confident we had a good shot at getting into Q3, although unfortunately we didn’t get the chance due to the repairs.
It was a difficult race because we initially had planned a two-stop strategy, but the degradation was higher than most people expected. Since we knew from FP2 we were good on our tyres, we decided to go for it and survive on the hard compound. I was a bit nervous at the end when Grosjean was almost catching me, but I’m really happy to have pulled that off!”
Daniil Kvyat (DNF - started on P11)
Daniil Kvyat
“It was an unfortunate race today because after lap one the race was pretty much over. The pace we showed with a damaged car was very strong, so it’s disappointing not to be able to transform that into a good result as there was potential to finish inside the points today.
I have seen the first lap incident with the two McLaren's and I disagree with penalty. I think it was a typical lap one sandwich and these things can happen as we’re so close together.”
Romain Grosjean (11th - started on P10)
Romain Grosjean
“I was a bit worried, to be fair, before the start as our race pace hasn’t been amazing all weekend. The car’s amazing over one lap, but as soon as we go two laps on the tires, we’re not there anymore. We need to understand exactly what happened.
I think without the blue flags at the end we’d have scored a point. Alex (Albon) did a great job defending well and not making any mistakes. Congratulations to him. It’s so annoying to give it all, push hard, and just not get the chance to score points.”
Kevin Magnussen (13th - started on P9)
Kevin Magnussen
“I didn’t have the pace today, so we need to work on the race pace. Qualifying’s been good all year, so-far, we just need to sort out the race pace – it’s the most important one to be good at.
There’s some work to do. I don’t really understand it at the moment, we all need to understand it. It’s not easy. It’s frustrating that we see we’ve got a good car, that can qualify well, then we can’t convert that into race pace.”
Carlos Sainz (14th - started on P14)
Carlos Sainz
“Another frustrating day. Impossible to avoid the Toro Rosso so another thing out of our control that ruined the race, and this time, unfortunately, involving our both cars.”
“A real shame because our race pace was good and I managed degradation well, so I think we had a chance to fight for the points. We definitely had a better race car than a quali car. I prefer to keep thinking about the positives and be patient, because things in the end will turn around. I’m quite happy with the car, very happy with the team, my engineers, my mechanics, and things will turn around eventually.”
Lando Norris (6th - started on P9)
Lando Norris
“My start was pretty good, getting off the line well and making up places before I had to back out in Turn Three when I was close to Kimi. I was on the outside in Turn Six and was hit which sent me into the air. That damaged the car, I lost a lot of places and had to box. That pretty much ruined our race.
“I didn’t have great pace afterwards due to floor damage but Carlos’ pace looked very good. The top-three teams aside, he looked to be the best of everyone else. So there was potential in the car today but the contact ruined it. On to the next one.”
ROKiT Williams Racing
George Russel (15th - started on P19)
George Russell
“The pace was slightly better than expected, we were battling in the opening couple of laps and we managed to stay with the pack. Once things settled down, the gaps started to open, and it was a fairly lonely race for me.
We were struggling with the tyres in the middle stint of the race, and the lap times were dropping off, so it was the right choice to pit for a second time. At the end of the day this is where we are at the moment, we must keep pushing and keep working.”
Robert Kubica (16th - started on P20)
Robert Kubica
“There was not a lot to say today to be honest. The most exciting moment of the race for me was when I spun on the formation lap. I tried to put heat into the tyres and I lost the car going slow in turn six. I then had a good start and I went to the inside line but honestly, I didn’t want to risk anything.
I was close to one of the Racing Point’s and I was on the inside and I didn’t know if he would tighten the line, so I left enough space and lost two places there. It is difficult to risk something when you know the pace will be what it will be.”
✅ Check out Pictures 2019 Chinese F1 GP
✅ Check out Race Results 2019 Chinese F1 Grand Prix
✅ Check out 2019 F1 Championship Standings
✅ Check out 2019 F1 Calendar
Please share this on social media:
✅ Check out more posts with related topics: