Fernando Alonso flies as Mark Webber fails

FERRARI'S Fernando Alonso won a drama-packed Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai yesterday.

FERRARI'S Fernando Alonso won a drama-packed Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai yesterday, well ahead of the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

The Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel came home fourth after adopting a different tyre strategy, while his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber failed to finish.

Jenson Button, of McLaren, was fifth, and Felipe Massa sixth.

Daniel Ricciardo, of Toro Rosso, Force India's Paul di Resta, Romain Grosjean of Lotus and Nico Hulkenberg, of Sauber, rounded out the top 10.

Hamilton's lead from pole position lasted only into lap five, when Alonso activated his DRS on the home straight, sneaking on the Briton's outside, then Alonso's teammate Massa shot down Hamilton's inside.

Next, Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez slammed into the back of Adrian Sutil, of Force India.

Flames licked from the right side of Sutil's machine as engineers battled to save his race.

But both cars were out.

Vettel, who started ninth on the grid, was moving ominously up the field.

Likewise Webber, who started the race from the pits after a frustrating qualifying session.

That run to the front was curtailed, though, on lap 16 when Jean-Eric Vergne, of Toro Rosso, cut across him.

Webber suffered damage to the front of his car and was called into the pits.

Then shortly afterwards, the Australian inexplicably lost a right rear tyre. Several cars had to swerve as the tyre rolled across the track.

The Australian's bad weekend was over.

AFP