Ricciardo wins in China after astonishing drive through the field

Daniel Ricciardo went from 6th to 1st within 10 laps to give Red Bull their first race win after an overtaking frenzy! Verstappen made contact with Vettel which ruined the German's race. Bottas and Raikkonen have completed the podium in Shanghai. 

The Red Bull boys took advantage of a safety car by pitting for fresher tyres on lap 32. The fresher tyres enabled Ricciardo to charge through the field as he went on to win the Grand Prix. 

The Australian overtook Raikkonen, Verstappen, Hamilton, Vettel and Bottas all within 10 laps after the safety car. Raikkonen was pressuring for 2nd place right until the chequered flag but Bottas managed to hold on. 

Verstappen won a battle against Hamilton in a repeat fight after events last week. Vettel finished in 8th after leading for the majority of the race. His race was ended when Verstappen tried to overtake in the hairpin of turn 14 but the move ended in contact causing both the drivers to spin. 

It was a fairly tame first half of the race. Vettel was comfortably in the lead until Mercedes successfully attempted the undercut. 

On lap 21, Bottas came out of the pits in front of Vettel changing the complexion of the race. It was looking like a long and intense battle was ahead between Ferrari and Mercedes. Whilst this battle was happening, Bottas was chasing after the slowing race leader Raikkonen whose tyres were wearing thin. 

Bottas glided past Kimi on lap 27 in turns 1 and 2. Vettel soon followed through and the Bottas/Vettel fight looked like it would determine the race. This was until the Toro Rosso team-mates collided on turn 14. Gasly attempted to go up the inside, a door which was never open. Both drivers spun simultaneously. 

Red Bull reacted quickly to the announcement of the safety car and double pitted. 

This move gave Ricciardo and Verstappen fresh tyres over the rivals ahead of them. 

Verstappen attempted to pass Vettel in turn 14 after the restart, a move that he will regret. Verstappen hit Vettel causing both drivers to stop in the middle of the turn. Both drivers were pointing in reverse. 

Vettel's race was ruined and as a result of the incident, Verstappen received a 10 second time penalty. Ricciardo was then the next man to attempt a move through the field. 

Ricciardo pushed his way through the field with 5 sublime passes within 10 laps. Bottas made it harder for Ricciardo, but the Australian found a gap up the inside giving him the lead on the 45 lap. 

Ricciardo went on to comfortably take the chequered flag whilst Kimi and Valtteri continued to battle. Vettel found himself down in 7th which turned into 8th when Alonso drove past on the penultimate lap.

Another fantastic race, giving the standards in Bahrain a run for their money!

Results 

INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF RACE): Best #ChineseGP ever? #F1 pic.twitter.com/swi6LQExwh

— Formula 1 (@F1) 15 april 2018