Red Bull's front row
A slight error resulted in him falling back several places. Petrov, combining his qualities as an attacker and of a highly competitive audacious single-seater, allowed himself the luxury of overtaking Michael Schumacher then Mark Webber in succession on the way to his first finish in Formula One.
In a general way, Renault has confirmed they are the fifth force in the pddock this season and its capacity for spoiling others' sport. Not content with his second place in Australia, Kubica hobnobbed with the front-runners for much of the race. “So although I'm happy to finish fifth, I still feel a bit frustrated to have missed a podium.” The two Red Bull drivers started on the front row, but that was the closest they ever were to making it onto the podium.
Once the race was under weigh, it was much more difficult for Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, who proved incapable of keeping pace with the race on Shanghai's wet circuit. “We weren't quick enough, simple as that,” the Australian said, regretfully. “We got a bit blown away.” And yet the weekend had got off to a perfect start for the German, who drove to his third pole position in four races. Respectively 6th and 8th at the finish, Vettel and Webber must be hoping for a glimpse of better times in three weeks at the Spanish Grand Prix. The track will certainly be drier there.
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