Chinese Grand Prix

SHANGHAI: Jenson Button profited from another canny tyre strategy to win the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, beating his teammate Lewis Hamilton in a 1-2 finish for McLaren.

Button, the reigning World champion, vaulted to the top of the Formula One championship by employing some cool-headed decision making amid the chaos of changing conditions which forced most drivers to pit at least four times. Button, by contrast, made only two stops.

Rain began to fall just before the race started, yet all cars started on dry-weather tyres. A dampening track soon forced a critical decision. Many of the leaders elected to change to wet-weather tyres after a couple of laps, while Button, and third-place finisher Nico Rosberg chose to stay out on dry-weather tyres.

Drivers who had changed to wet-weather ones soon found the treaded tyres were degrading quickly and after three or four more laps, returned to the pits to change back. That allowed Button, Rosberg and Renault's Robert Kubica to dash well clear in front.

Best win

“It was my best race victory,” Button said. “This one was pretty special because it was very tough conditions.

“It was a tricky race out there and again we called it right,” Button said. “It was not just about being quick, it's about reading the conditions.

“Sometimes you have to take those risks. That is what won us the race — being on the right tyre and the right time made all the difference.”

Hamilton was among those forced into a double pit early, but charged through the field from ninth after nine laps to second after 39. He looked capable of overtaking Button, who ran off the track with five laps to go as his tyres wore away, but Hamilton's tyres also soon became unmanageable.

“It was really the wrong call for us and it ruined the race a little bit,” Hamilton said of the decision to switch tyres twice early.

“It was definitely an exciting race. To climb my way back up to second was great.”

Rosberg led until lap 19 when he ran wide on his worn tyres and allowed Button through.

“It was a really good choice at the beginning,” Rosberg said. “I thought I would give it a go and stay out.”

Late in the race, when all the drivers' tyres were worn, Rosberg was challenged by Fernando Alonso, but the German held firm and kept the Ferrari driver in fourth.

Alonso penalised

Alonso led into the first corner of the race, but was soon penalised for jumping the start and given a drive-through penalty. That sanction, plus his four tyre changes meant the Spaniard made five trips to the pits. His compatriot, Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari, outdid that with six visits — one short of the F1 record, illustrating how hard it was for teams to read the track and the changing conditions.

Renault's Robert Kubica finished fifth and his teammate Vitaly Petrov earned his first F1 points by taking seventh.

Strategy error

Separating the Renault pair was pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull driver was shuffled back by his hasty change to wet tyres and then back to dry ones, and was never in contention.

His Red Bull teammate Mark Webber made the same strategy error and finished eighth, ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Mercedes' Michael Schumacher, who again struggled for much of the race, forced into defensive driving to hold off quicker rivals.

After four races this season, Button leads the drivers' standings on 60 points, ahead of Rosberg's 50. Hamilton and Alonso are level on 49 points in third.

McLaren also took over the lead in the constructors' standings, with 109, ahead of Ferrari with 90. Mercedes jumped to third with 78, ahead of Red Bull with 73.

The race also featured two pitlane incidents. The first saw Hamilton and Vettel race in the entry to the pits, and after their stops the pair drove wheel-to-wheel along the pitlane, prompting a stewards' investigation.

The second incident involved Alonso passing teammate Massa on the tight pit entry, leading Ferrari chief Stefano Domenicali to throw his hands into the air.

The next race will be the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on May 9.

The results:

1. Jenson Button (McLaren), 1:46:42.163 secs.,

2. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:46:43.693,

3. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 1:46:51.647,

4. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1:46:54.032,

5. Robert Kubica (Renault) 1:47:04.376,

6. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:47:15.473,

7. Vitaly Petrov (Renault) 1:47:29.763,

8. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:47:34.335,

9. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:47:39.959,

10. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) 1:47:43.912,

11. Adrian Sutil (Force India), 1:47:45.037,

12. Rubens Barrichello (Williams), 1:47:45.828,

13. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) 1:47:53.579,

14. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) 1:47:52.460,

15. Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) 1:48:01.537,

16. Bruno Senna (Hispania), 1:48:28.179,

17. Karun Chandhok (Hispania) 1:47:39.011.

Not classified: 18. Jarno Trulli (Lotus), 19. Lucas di Grassi (Virgin), 20. Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber), 21. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), 22. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), 23. Vitantonio Liuizzi (Force India), 24. Timo Glock (Virgin).

Drivers' championship standings:

1. Button 60 points,

2. Rosberg 50,

3. Alonso & Hamilton 49,

5. Vettel 45,

6. Massa 41,

7. Kubica 40,

8. Webber 28,

9. Sutil & Schumacher 10,

11. Liuzzi 8,

12. Petrov 6,

13. Barrichello 5,

14. Alguersuari 2,

15. Hulkenberg 1.

Constructors' championship standings:

1. McLaren 109,

2. Ferrari 90,

3. Mercedes 78,

4. Red Bull 73,

5. Renault 46,

6. Force India 18,

7. Williams 6,

8. Toro Rosso 2

. — Agencies