Champion's drive

Jenson Button has won his second race of the 2010 Formula One season, coming from fifth on the grid in difficult, changeable weather conditions. As in Australia earlier this year, Button's victory was partly thanks to him keeping cool in the treacherous weather and being on the right kind of tires at the right time.

Button - who many believed could struggle in his new Mercedes-powered McLaren against the highly-fancied 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton - is now ten points clear of the pack in the overall driver's standings, having led the field all season long last year.

"This win is something very special, and it really means a lot to me," Button said in the post-race press conference. "All in all, I am very happy with the team's progress too. We made another big step in the right direction today."

The McLaren-Mercedes driver, faced with the nightmarish situation of drizzle beginning to fall moments before the race began, elected to struggle round on dry weather tires and wait to see if the rain set in. Meanwhile, the enormous majority of the field hit the panic button and dove straight into the pits for wet weather tires.

The rain soon abated. Button, Nico Rosberg and the Renault drivers Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov sauntered off into the distance, as the rest of the field eventually had to pit again - losing more time - to go back to dry tires.

In this early phase of the race in Shanghai, Button hunted down and overtook the early leader Nico Rosberg - whose Mercedes GP car was no match for the McLaren, especially in terms of straight-line speed. Once in front, he was never challenged.

Mercedes engines dominate

Button's teammate Lewis Hamilton also managed to climb the ranks and overtake Rosberg during the course of the race, but the young German - whose result puts him second in the title behind Button - felt had got the best result his car could deliver on the day.

"I'm extremely happy, this is a super result for us," Rosberg said after the race. "It was a crazy race in really difficult conditions. The key to success was the opening phase, when the team and I decided to stay on dry tires. I stayed out on track, just thinking: 'please, please don't rain any more!' Luckily the rain didn't get heavier, so I was able to keep up a good pace and lead the way in the early stages."

Rosberg is still seeking his maiden victory in Formula One.

"If you had offered me third position coming into this race, I would have taken it," Mercedes' motorsport director Norbert Haug said on German television, also pointing out that the two McLarens ahead purchase their engines from Mercedes. "I wouldn't have really expected Nico to be second overall after four races, it's fantastic. The championship is wide open, and we are certainly in the race."

Disappointment for Vettel

Pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel was one of many drivers to lose out in the opening chaos.

To make matters worse, Vettel lost out to his teammate Mark Webber into turn one, meaning that when both Red Bull cars simultaneously pitted at the first opportunity, not only did Vettel put on tires that turned out to be the wrong choice for the conditions, he had to queue behind Webber for the privilege of doing so, losing even more places.

"That really can't be helped," Vettel said after the race. "He (Webber) got the place off the start line. I need to work out why my start wasn't as good as his, but that's just the plight of the second-placed car. In that situation, you have to wait in the pits."

Vettel showed great speed during the race, and eventually clawed his way back up to sixth position. 12 months ago on a wet track in Shanghai, he provided his Red Bull team with their first ever F1 win.

"We could have lost a lot more today," he later reflected.

Vettel could have crashed at one stage as he battled into and out of the pit lane with eventual second place finisher Lewis Hamilton. The racing incident was investigated; both drivers received a reprimand but not a penalty.

Past his prime?

Michael Schumacher was the third German driver to finish in the points in Shanghai, coming home in tenth place. However, the multiple champion was almost a minute adrift of his teammate Nico Rosberg.

Once dubbed the "Regenmeister" (rain master) because of peerless performances in wet conditions in his heyday, the 41-year-old's lackluster display - especially in the latter stages - have increased speculation that he may never recapture his best form.

"To be honest, this whole weekend was a disappointment to me, and disappointing from me," Schumacher lamented. "I just have to write it off, try to learn for it, and concentrate on the next race in Barcelona in three weeks time."

Schumacher's Mercedes team - like many others around the grid - were planning to use the three week break before the Spanish Grand Prix to introduce a major package of performance upgrades for their car.

But with European air travel still in chaos because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland, the first item on the agenda for the teams right now is shipping their current cars back to Europe in time for the next race. Some outfits say they have been looking into alternative freight options using boats or trains, in case they can't fly the equipment back as usual.

Author: Mark Hallam
Editor: Andreas Illmer