Live F1: China Grand Prix, third race of the season

DANIEL Ricciardo left everyone with their jaws on the floor at the Chinese Grand Prix with a stunning triple whammy after a horror weekend before the race.

SHANGHAI, CHINA - APRIL 15: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB14 TAG Heuer on track during the Formula One Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on April 15, 2018 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

• Daniel Ricciardo claims sixth win
• Max penalised for bumbling error
• Ricciardo’s incredible triple-whammy
• Vettel surprised by Ferrari pace

Live F1: China Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo left his F1 peers in awe with a stunning sixth career win on Sunday.

DANIEL Ricciardo left everyone with their jaws on the floor at the Chinese Grand Prix after surging ahead of the pack with three stunning overtakes.

The Aussie F1 ace left Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas fuming after scraping ahead and into the lead for the final 10 laps.

It was a remarkable display from a man fighting engine struggles throughout qualifying and starting in sixth place.

Valtteri Bottas came in second and Kimi Raikkonen took third.

5.49pm

Ricciardo claims sixth F1 win

Daniel Ricciardo has won the Chinese Grand Prix from sixth on the grid after a horror qualifying weekend of Red Bull engine issues.

The Aussie took advantage of a genius pit stop move before a mid-race safety car to refit fresh tyres and blasted through the field to slot in first place before the final 10 laps.

Ricciardo, hand raised in the iconic “shaka” gesture, couldn’t believe what happened as he passed the finish line.

“Holy sh**,” he yelled over the radio.

DANNY RICCIARDO YOU LEGEND WHAT A DRIVE!!!

That has to be the best of his career surely? From engine failure, barely making it out in time to qualify, finish 6th on the grid to winning the #ChineseGP. What a bloody star! #F1

— JΛKE BUCKLEY 🇦🇺 (@TheMasterBucks) April 15, 2018

“Sometimes you have to lick the stamp and sent it,” Ricciardo told Martin Brundle after his signature post-win “shoey”.

“That was extraordinary,” Brundle exclaimed as Ricciardo made his move through the field. “Lewis won’t want to watch that again, that’s not even possible.”

“He’s a racing burglar. He’s always stealing races. Can he steal this one?”

5.30pm

Verstappen goes too hard

Max Verstappen briefly joined in on Daniel Ricciardo’s surge to the top with a sharp overtake to send Lewis Hamilton reeling. The 20-year-old star tried leapfrogging Sebastian Vettel to get into the top three but swiped him and sent them both spinning.

The Dutchman was slapped with a 10 second penalty.

What a (Insert naughty word) #f1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/XSENQlVh5q

— Augustine Sang 🇰🇪 (@Sang_254) April 15, 2018

5.24pm

Ricciardo stuns with triple whammy

Daniel Ricciardo blasted into first place from behind the pack after a stunning move to overtake Lewis Hamilton through the hairpin turn, the same corner he bested Raikkonen on earlier in the race.

Ricciardo overook Sebastian Vettel shortly after with a massive move on the German before the hairpin.

Max Verstappen followed suit and trumped Hamilton into third.

Ricciardo defied physics further as the final ten laps dawned with a ridiculous move over Valtteri Bottas through Turn Five, almost scraping the Finn before squeezing through to lead the race.

5pm

Ugly team spat unfolds

This isn't going to be a happy team meeting.

Toro Rosso will be having an awkward team meeting after the race after drivers Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley collided midway through the piece.

Hartley tried squeezing ahead of Gasly through an incredibly tight turn and smashed into the Frenchman’s side.

“What the f**k he closed the door!?” Gasly exclaimed.

The cars weren’t damaged enough to retire from the race, but the debris forced an unwanted safety car.

Red Bull made the most of the chaos with a sneaky double-pit with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen fitting fresh tyres for the final 20 laps.

Valtteri Bottas took control after the minor lull in action and overtook Sebastian Vettel through the hairpin immediately after the safety car exited.

Ricciardo blasted ahead of Raikkonen in the 38th lap with a dazzling overtake, braking extremely later after the straight and inching his way in front of the Finn into fifth behind Verstappen.

4:40pm

Ferrari thwarted in pit stop ploy

The Scuderia chose to pit race leader Sebastian Vettel much later than the rest of the top five and paid for it dearly after the German was undercut by Mercedes star Valtteri Bottas.

Vettel had a lead of over three seconds by the 21st lap but was forced back to third place after changing to medium tyres.

Kimi Raikkonen took the lead by the 23rd lap but also refused to pit.

Max Verstappen was forced back to fourth after Red Bull called him in for medium tyres. Teammate Daniel Ricciardo held his own in sixth.

4.14pm

Cocky Verstappen launches into Chinese GP

Max Verstappen shot out of the gates early in an astonishing start to overtake Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen by the end of the first lap.

The young Red Bull firebrand capitalised on a massive slip from Raikkonen which saw the Finn lose second place and shake up the pack through Turn One.

“See you ****ing later son,” Verstappen said over the radio.

“Alright, don’t get greedy now mate. That’s good, settle down,” his Red Bull team replied.

Sebastian Vettel scraped back ahead after the early chaos with Mercedes star Valtteri Bottas in tow. The German showed off the Scuderia’s supreme pace through the straight and widened the gap by over half a second.

By the seventh lap, the four-time champion had a 2.5 second lead over Bottas.

“That tells me Ferrari has all the pace it needs to control this race,” Martin Brundle said.

Daniel Ricciardo remained in sixth throughout the early chaos as teammate Verstappen made a move for the front. But with both Red Bulls running ultrasoft tyres, an early pit will be needed.

LAP 1/56: A clean getaway for Vettel but Raikkonen has slipped back to fourth behind Bottas and Verstappen #ChineseGP 🇨🇳 #F1 pic.twitter.com/rxQKETdroC

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 15, 2018

3.55pm

Ferrari has Mercedes rocked

Ferrari’s unprecedented pace in qualifying sees its two drivers start at the front of the grid for the second race in a row.

F1 legend Damon Hill said Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton was going into the Chinese Grand Prix on the back foot despite qualifying fourth. Hill said the 2017 champion was seemingly rocked by rival Sebastian Vettel’s outstanding time of 1:31:095.

“Mercedes are genuinely shocked by the pace of the Ferrari,” Hill said on Sky Sports before the race.

“Lewis seems a bit out of sorts. I don’t know if it’s because the car isn’t delivering for him but he’s also been outshone by Valtteri, who has put in some steady performances this weekend.

“Lewis has a couple of things to worry about. Vettel has one finger on a fifth world championship, he’s been out-qualified by his team-mate and his car isn’t as quick as it used to be.

“This is not good for Lewis. He will fight back and he’ll find a way through but he’s going to have to adjust to the new paradigm.”

1.50pm

Ricciardo losing faith in engine

Daniel Ricciardo is losing faith in Renault’s reliability after the Australian nearly missed out on Chinese Grand Prix qualifying due to an engine failure in final practice.

“I’ll never give up hope but for sure the window of optimism reduces over time,” the 28-year-old Red Bull driver said on Saturday.

Ricciardo was forced retire from the previous race in Bahrain with an energy store problem in the power unit.

The French manufacturer has had a hard time coming to terms with the 1.6 litre V6 turbo-hybrid power units introduced at the start of 2014 and, five years in, still lags Mercedes and Ferrari.

Either Ricciardo or teammate Max Verstappen failed to finish in 13 of the 20 races last year, winning three.

Red Bull went into the season hoping to fight Mercedes and Ferrari for the title and a lack of reliability could prove costly with each driver limited to just three power units and only two energy stores.

The former champions, who won four consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ titles with Renault between 2010 and 2013, have been vocal in their criticism of Renault in the current turbo-hybrid era.

Sparks fly from Ricciardo’s Red Bull.

They are also evaluating a switch to Honda, now partnering Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso after three dismal years with McLaren, for next year.

The Japanese manufacturer has shown much improved reliability, even if the engines are still down on power compared to Renault.

Ricciardo is out of contract at the end of this year and weighing his options.

“We’ll assess it after a few more races, we’ll see how we’re travelling,” he said when asked how much of a role a different engine would play in his considerations.

Ricciardo halted during Saturday’s practice with his car belching smoke and fire.

With only two hours between practice and the start of qualifying, his mechanics worked a miracle to get him out in the dying minutes of the opening phase.

He will line up sixth on Sunday, alongside Verstappen who also complained of his engine’s lack of power during qualifying, and is hopeful of fighting Mercedes for the podium.

“Ferrari has had really good pace all weekend and I can’t say honestly now that we’re going to have their pace tomorrow but Mercedes definitely look within reach,” said Ricciardo.

“To my mind there’s still a spot up on the podium for grabs so we’ll try and aim for that.”

— AAP

1.30pm

Vettel praises ‘unbelievable’ pace

Things are looking up for Vettel and Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel has hailed Ferrari’s “unbelievable” pace after sealing a sublime pole position at the Chinese GP and admits he is surprised by the gap to Mercedes.

Vettel edged out teammate Kimi Raikkonen by just 0.087s on Saturday, with the two Ferrari drivers more than half a second clear of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton.

After following up victory at 2018’s first two races with another pole, Vettel’s feat at Ferrari has been labelled a “turning point” by Sky F1’s Damon Hill as Mercedes, double world champions for the last four years, failed to find an answer.

“The car was unbelievable and it just got better,” said a jubilant Vettel, who set a track record with his final Q3 lap.

“I was very happy with the settings I had from the beginning.

“We are surprised (by the gap to Mercedes). The first three races have been a bit different, the tracks are quite different to each other but to have that much of a gap I think is a surprise.”

It is Ferrari’s first China pole in 14 years, while Vettel and Raikkonen also ensured F1’s most historic and successful team sealed back-to-back front-row lockouts for the first time since 2006.

What’s more, it ended Mercedes’ impressive pole streak, dating back to 2011, in Shanghai.

“It has been a Mercedes track for the last six years so it’s good to break their run,” Vettel added to Sky F1.

“It’s good news. It shows that we have some potential in the car and then if we can unleash it and it’s coming together, it feels good.

“If you find the sweet spot, where ever you are in the field it helps you to enhance your performance. That’s probably what happened today, I don’t know if the others struggled with their tyres today but for us it was pretty straightforward.”

There was a comparatively glum driver in the sister Ferrari, as Raikkonen was once again beaten to pole by his teammate.

Much like Bahrain, Raikkonen appeared to have a pace advantage over Vettel — even taking provisional pole in Q3 — but admitted second place was “far from ideal” after failing to improve in the final sector on his last lap.

The Finn was, however, happy with Ferrari’s day overall and felt their performance wasn’t track-specific.

“We’re learning more about the car and getting more from it,” he said.

“If the car works somewhere, it should work everywhere and I think we’ve been pretty consistent.

“We’re pretty happy with things.”

— Matt Morlidge, skysports