Chinese Grand Prix 2011: Lewis Hamilton gets the better of Sebastian Vettel in Shanghai

That mistake allowed Vettel to overtake Button but, somewhat surprisingly, it was Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg who emerged in the race lead after the first round of stops.

It was the start of a period during the race when different tyre strategies evolved and, just like last week in Malaysia, it became difficult to establish just who would emerge in front.

Cars that had just stopped for fresh rubber began moving through the field with ease, then just as fast would suddenly start going backwards as the rubber wore off. It was just a case of waiting for the strategies to play out.

The choice was between a two- or a three- stop and as it turned out, the latter option was preferable. Once all the pit stops were over Vettel was leading from Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, with both men having stopped twice. But Hamilton and Button, on three-stop strategies, were fast closing with fresh rubber.

Hamilton surged past Massa with 11 laps remaining, then picked off Vettel to claim the race lead with a moved which “surprised” the German into the left-hander at Turn Seven. He never looked back.

Button, meanwhile, had made it past Rosberg – who had been told that his fuel levels were critical, although it is unclear how much this affected his pace – and it looked as if he would take the final podium place.

He had not counted on Webber roaring back after a desperately disappointing Saturday in which he qualified 18th on the grid.

The Australian, driving as if his career depended on it – and it does – had stormed through the field on a three-stop strategy, despite having no KERS energy boost device, and with one lap of the race remaining he powered past Button to claim a hugely unlikely podium.

Webber’s finishing time was just seven seconds behind race winner Hamilton. “Maybe the best thing to do is not even take part in qualifying and go from there,” he joked afterwards. “It was a good day for racing and a good day in terms of points for the team."

Vettel admitted his two-stop strategy had been the wrong one but insisted he did not view the day as a disappointment.

"The start was not the best we have had,” he said. “It wasn't a 100 per cent good start so I lost position. We treated the tyres better up to the first pit stop. I came to the box and afterwards came out first. It was a surprise when Jenson went into my garage.

“We came out in the lead and then I think we tried too hard staying on two stops. I saw Lewis coming closer and there was no point defending too hard - he found his way past. We did a couple of mistakes but still finished second so I'm very happy with that.

“We can learn a lot today. I'm the only one with two stops up here so that's something to look into tonight. I was asking questions and not getting any answers, we had a problem with Kers so it wasn't a trouble free race. Once we decided to go two-stop we had to be patient."

The day, though, belonged to Hamilton who, after eight years in China, became the first man to win twice. Bowing to the crowd as he stepped out of the car he flung himself in to the arms of his mechanics in an emotional celebration.

“The strategy definitely paid off for me,” he said. The pit stops were fantastic and the car felt great. I tried to make my tyres last and I tried to push. It is one of the best races I have experienced."

Speaking about the problem he had in the build-up, which had his mechanics sweating as he made it to the grid with just seconds to spare, Hamilton added: "I was a bit worried as the car just wouldn’t start but fortunately everything just came together very quickly. I tried to stay positive.

"There is a long road ahead of us but I’m absolutely over the moon. It feels like a long time since I’ve been sitting here.”

Britain's Paul di Resta said he was content with his weekend in China despite failing to follow up an impressive qualifying display with a points haul.

The Force India rookie has been one of the stars of the early weeks of the season, picking up points at his first two grands prix and lining up eighth in Shanghai - once again getting the better of experienced team-mate Adrian Sutil.

But the race proved a bridge too far for the 25-year-old, who finished in 11th place, just outside the points after a remarkable afternoon which saw position changes and drama throughout the field.

"It was always going to be quite a tough race, starting from where we were," Di Resta said. "We came very close to scoring points, but just missed out at the end when the tyres had gone."

Final positions after 56 Laps: 1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1hr 36mins 58.226secs, 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:37:03.424, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:37:05.781, 4 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:37:08.226, 5 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:37:11.674, 6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:37:14.066, 7 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:37:28.848, 8 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:37:29.252, 9 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 1:37:55.630, 10 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 1:38:01.499, 11 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:38:06.983, 12 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Renault 1:38:10.965, 13 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams 1:38:28.415, 14 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38:28.897, 15 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India at 1 lap, 16 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus F1 at 1 lap, 17 Sergio Perez Mex Sauber-Ferrari at 1 lap, 18 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams at 1 lap, 19 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus F1 at 1 lap, 20 Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin Racing at 2 laps, 21 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin Racing at 2 laps, 22 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) HRT-F1 at 2 laps, 23 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-F1 at 2 laps

Not Classified: 24 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso Retired

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Chinese Grand Prix 2011: Red Bull's Mark Webber makes no excuses for dismal performance in Shanghai

Allied to other technical glitches, the KERS drama cost Webber valuable track time during today's final free practice session, and come qualifying the team were forced to admit defeat and disconnect the system.

But Webber's problems were compounded when a timing miscalculation at the end of the first qualifying segment meant the Australian did not have time to get two laps on the harder option tyre.

"Today was pretty amazing really with all the hurdles that we had but that's what happens in motor racing," Webber explained.

"We had an electrical problem in the morning and some upshift problems, so we have had a pretty solid day in terms of the car putting up a bit of a fight. But the guys have worked like hell, they have done what they can.

"At the moment we're not getting the rub of the green but that's also down to preparations and decisions.

"You can't make a shopping list of excuses."

Webber revealed that the decision to stay on the harder tyre in the final minutes of first qualifying would have been sound but for a costly miscalculation.

And it is that error above all else that Webber insists is to blame for his lowly grid slot.

"We decided to go for another run on the harder prime tyre to have a few laps at it, but we did not get out quickly enough, so we only had one timed lap," he said.

"Added to that, the tyres weren't up to temperature. We all started to panic a bit at the end when we knew we weren't going to get two laps in. The tyre should have been good enough but on one lap it wasn't enough, and we snookered ourselves really."

Webber's early-season struggles have left him 28 points behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who leads the standings after two wins from two, and who is also on pole for tomorrow's race.

But the seasoned campaigner is refusing to become too disheartened.

"At this level you need everything perfect," he said. "We've had that in the past and we'll work hard to get that again in the future."

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Chinese Grand Prix: Mercedes stand behind off-the-pace Michael Schumacher

Let down: Michael Schumacher in the aftermath of his 10th-place finish in ChinaPhoto: EPA

After what the 41 year-old termed a "frustrating" weekend, culminating in his 10th place in Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, more than a few paddock-goers were enjoying some schadenfreude at the German's expense.

Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug moved to batten down the hatches, describing the seven-time champion as "an institution" and suggesting there might have been something wrong with his car. "Give us a chance to look at that and we can come up with a good explanation," Haug said. Time, though, is a currency in short supply as far as Schumacher is concerned.

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He has now been out-qualified and outperformed by his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who moved to second in the championship with his third place yesterday, in every race so far this season and the prevailing mood is turning from intrigue to pity.

Funnily enough, there was much to enjoy in Schumacher's performance yesterday. He showed he still enjoys a racer's instinct – his early duel with the much faster McLaren of Lewis Hamilton was particularly thrilling – and it looked for a time as if he would claim eighth place, an improvement on his starting position of ninth, only for Red Bull's Mark Webber and Ferrari's Felipe Massa to pass him late on.

But a bad decision to switch to intermediates early in the race cost him, and it was clear he struggled with the car's set-up all weekend.

"It is one of those races that you call frustrating," he said. "All weekend it didn't work out for myself. There were some good emotions. I had a nice battle with Lewis at some point, some nice kissing to each other. But there were too many bad emotions."

The final insult came when Hamilton was asked if his duel with Schumacher, a winner of 91 grands prix, had been a highlight for him. "Jenson says 'tell the truth'," Hamilton replied coolly. "The truth is it's just as exciting racing with any other driver." The aura has now slipped beyond doubt.

Meanwhile, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it would be wrong to read too much into yesterday's results. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber placed sixth and eighth respectively, having locked out the front row in qualifying, and the Australian admitted his team were "blown away" by the pace of the two McLaren cars and struggled in the wet.

Horner, though, said he was confident the speed was still there. "I think you can't read too much into today. Yesterday

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Chinese Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton and father 'lose contact' over split

No smiles: Lewis Hamilton admits difficulties in his relationship with his father. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, where he is accompanied by his mother Carmen, the McLaren driver said the decision to part ways with his father after 20 intense years together in motorsport was still raw.

“I don’t remember the last time I spoke with him but not for a couple of weeks,” Hamilton said. “I don’t think there’s any friction but it’s not all smiles and happiness. It’s a big change so it affects all of us. “We might exchange a message every now and then but we don’t have too much to discuss at the moment.”

Although it was originally claimed the split had been decided jointly, with Anthony wishing to concentrate on other interests, Hamilton has admitted the timing had been his call.

And although the 2008 world champion did not go so far as to say they have had a row, it appears the strain is taking its toll, with Anthony understood to be upset.

“Well, we’ve been racing together for many, many years so for him not to be coming to races any more, for sure, it’s a big transition,” he said.

“But he has more space and time to focus on his projects. I’m sure he will come to a race later in the season.”

Hamilton’s mother, who had been helping him house-hunt in Zurich last week and is joining him on safari in South Africa following some sponsorship commitments, said her son was in good spirits.

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Stephen Hendry in the dark over Chinese teenager Zhang Anda at World Championship

Seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry has not won a title since 2005. Zhang, 18, is an unknown quantity for the 41-year-old Scot, who said: "I know nothing about him. Absolutely nothing. I've never seen him play, never met him, so it's tales of the unexpected."

The pair will meet for the first time just minutes before they take to the table and Hendry said: "It can be a bit of a banana skin, because you don't know how he plays. Is he an aggressive player? I'm sure he is because all the players are these days. But is he slow? Is he fast? Is his long-potting a speciality?"

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Hendry is chasing his eighth world title but has not won a ranking title since 2005. However, he said: "My form's good in practice but that doesn't count for anything really," he said. "To win the world title, you need the confidence of tournament wins which I haven't had.

"All I can do here is take one match at a time and even when I was winning the World Championship I never found my best form in the first round, it was always in the final. You get better as the rounds go on.

"If I'm still here next week then who knows what might happen.

"The concentration levels have just dipped and I've been missing easy balls by getting down on a shot and not knowing what I'm going to play, and it's frustrating.

"You benefit from deep inner belief of having wins behind you, so you get to the table and you know you're not going to miss.

"And if you haven't got that confidence then you come to the table and you're doubting yourself and you get down on a shot and you're second guessing. But that doesn't happen when you're winning, you just go down on a shot and you're on autopilot."

Sheffield is set to be confirmed as the home of the Betfred.com World Championship until 2015. World Snooker have agreed a one-year extension to the deal announced during last year's Crucible tournament.

Sheffield Theatres chief executive Daniel Bates told the Sheffield Star: "Having snooker at the Crucible is worthwhile on many levels.

"The money is useful but it is more about the profile of the theatre.

"There will be an announcement during the tournament that the Crucible is to host the tournament for another five years, rather than the four announced last year."

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Chinese Grand Prix: F1's arms race reaches critical stage with Ferrari taking on McLaren

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso is excited by the steps his team are taking to further improve their car. Mercedes and Williams are also thought to be close to introducing their versions of the controversial device, which means the driver closes off a valve in the cockpit by using his body, an effect that in turn helps to 'stall' the rear wing, reducing drag and giving the car a massive straight-line speed advantage.

Jenson Button tried to play down that advantage on Thursday when he claimed that the only reason his MP4-25 machine is so fast on the straights is because it is lacking in downforce, the aerodynamic effect that keeps a car glued to the track.

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"Red Bull were 14km/h slower than us

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