CTD IN SHANGHAI // THE 2009 CHINESE GRAND PRIX [RACE REVIEW]

After two days of sunshine, an overcast sky greeted us Sunday morning as we prepared to leave for the 2009 Chinses Grand Prix. Heading North out of downtown toward the Shanghai International Circuit, what had been an hour car ride, turned quiclky into three due to traffic. However, as we neared the race track, the excitement started to build, no matter the forecast... [read more]

The crowd seemed thin, although 90,000 people were expected to fill the grandstands on race day. After making our way through the crowd, we found our seats in the B section, just beyond the start/finish straight.

Shortly after the Porsche and Aston Martin support races finished, the wind picked up, drawing the forecasted rainstorm storm ever closer.

With heavy rainfall now overhead, the race started behind the safety car. After eight laps, race control deemed the track safe and the green lights came on.

As soon as the race went green, the two RedBull's pulled ahead, with Vettel maintaining a solid lead over his teammate, Mark Webber.

After an engine failure took Felipe Massa out of the race, Raikkonen was Ferrari's last hope for a podium finish. Battling for position with the two McLaren's, Raikkonen struggled for much of the afternoon, only managing a ninth place finish overall.

Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello proved that Brawn GP's success in both Australia and Malaysia was not an accident, as they fought off Lewis Hamilton and teammate Heiki Kovalainen for third (Button) and fourth (Barrichello) respectively.

Although we had been avoiding the phony hat vendors and fake Rolex distributors all afternoon, we quickly looked for anyone selling a poncho for less then 150RMB, and found ourselves at the mercy of the aforementioned merchants...

Though he qualified seventh, Nico Rosberg had trouble all afternoon, finishing the race in 15th.

Reigning World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, seemed to struggle all afternoon, unable to stop the momentum of both Brawn GP drivers, and even finding himself battling for position with McLaren teammate, Heiki Kovalainen...

The Renault powered RedBull of Sebastien Vettel proved unstoppable, as the young German ran away with his second career win, finishing the race 10.9 seconds ahead of teammate Webber and a massive 44.9 seconds ahead of Brawn GP's Jenson Button.

A rather impressive pole to podium finish for Vettel, the second of his career and the second I have witnessed first hand...

Complete Results // 2009 Chinese Grand Prix:
1: Sebastian Vettel (RBR-Renault) - 1:57:43.485
2: Mark Webber (RBR-Renault) +10.9 seconds
3: Jenson Button (Brawn-Mercedes) +44.9 seconds
4: Rubens Barrichello (Brawn-Mercedes) +63.7 seconds
5: Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) +65.1 seconds
6: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) +71.8 seconds
7: Timo Glock (Toyota) +74.4 seconds
8: Sebastien Buemi (STR-Ferrari) +76.4 seconds
9: Fernando Alonso (Renault) +84.3 seconds
10: Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) +91.7 seconds
11: Sebastien Bourdais (STR-Ferrari) +94.1 seconds
12: Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) +95.8 seconds
13: Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) + 106.8 seconds
14: Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India-Mercedes) +1 Lap
15: Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota) +1 Lap
16: Nelsinho Piquet (Renault) +2 Laps
17: Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) Accident
Retired: Kazuki Nakajima (Williams-Toyota) Transmission
Retired: Felipe Massa (Ferrari) Electrical
Retired: Jarno Trulli (Toyota) Accident damage

Click here for a look at more photos from our visit to the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix!

Photo/Editorial: Justin Coffey