Nico Rosberg was emphatically voted Driver of the Weekend for the Chinese Grand Prix after scoring his first F1 pole position and win.
The Mercedes driver gathered a comfortable majority of votes over Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
The scope of Rosberg’s victory is reflected by the proportion of votes with third in the poll Button getting over ten times fewer votes than the Mercedes driver.
Driver of the Chinese Grand Prix Weekend poll – top three
1. Nico Rosberg – 69.1%
2. Lewis Hamilton – 10.0%
3. Jenson Button – 6.4%
Nico Rosberg
Qualifying: 1st
Race: 1st
Rosberg waited 110 Grandd Prix to get his first ever pole position in F1. He secured it on Saturday in Shanghai with a superb lap.
When the lights went out on Sunday, he maintained the lead from his team mate Michael Schumacher and never looked back to get his first ever and very deserved F1 victory.
I can’t even contemplate voting for anyone other than Nico.
His qualifying lap was simply mesmerising to watch. Absolutely perfect, and a strong hit back after his previous mistakes in Q3.
And of course he won the race. His strategy was right and off the top of my head, I can’t think of one mistake he made the whole weekend.
I’m sure others drove a good race too but I can’t see them in Rosberg’s shadows.
Silverkeg
I can’t vote for anyone other than Nico. Mesmerising in qualifying, on top form in the race, and credit to the Mercedes engineers for sorting the tyre woes for the weekend.
Matt
Rosberg, without a doubt. He drove a solid race and didn’t buckle under pressure.
He drove almost flawlessly during the race and continued to set competitive times right to the very end which is a tribute to his ability to look after the tyres this weekend. His qualifying lap was very smooth so all in all he was the driver of the weekend for me.
AndrewTanner
Can’t be anyone else but Rosberg. There were other drivers who had a good weekend, but no one but Rosberg deserves to win this poll. Rosberg put in a superb qualifying lap and was almost faultless in the race.
Slr
Lewis Hamilton
Qualifying: 2nd
Race: 3rd
Hamilton qualified behind Rosberg but penalty for gearbox change saw him starting seventh.
He moved up at the start and spent the majority of the race in the traffic cautiously fighting with other drivers. He managed to finish the race third for the third time in a row which gave him the championship lead.
I voted Hamilton for the first time this season. Good qualifying performance to stick it in second. Wasn’t his fault he got the penalty, but didn’t let it stop him from getting another podium.
He was always in more traffic than Button, so didn’t really have much of a chance to pass him. When he did get clear air behind Button he started slowly closing, but then had to pit and was behind more traffic. Fantastic performance that had me on the edge of my seat.
James
Jenson Button
Qualifying: 5th
Race: 2nd
He had problems with grip in practice and qualifying sessions but made up a few positions at the start. He looked strong to challenge for the win, but a ill-fated pit stop eventually destroyed his chances.
Button. Because if it weren’t for the pit problems he could have attacked Nico (and make sure he would have passed him eventually). Well deserved win by Rosberg anyway
OmarR-Pepper
2012 Driver of the Weekend results so far
First | Second | Third | |
Australia | Jenson Button (43.6%) | Fernando Alonso (21.1%) | Sergio Perez (8.2%) |
Malaysia | Sergio Perez (61.4%) | Fernando Alonso (28.1%) | Bruno Senna (3.7%) |
China | Nico Rosberg (69.1%) | Lewis Hamilton (10.0%) | Jenson Button (6.4%) |
Rosberg was the third different driver voted Driver of the Weekend in three polls so far.
Jenson Button is in the top three for the second time this year, while Lewis Hamilton – for the first time.
The Driver of the Chinese Weekend poll brought the greatest gap between the first and second place since 2011 German Grand Prix when Lewis Hamilton got over 76% of votes.
2012 Chinese Grand Prix
- F1 fans’ videos from the Chinese and Bahrain races
- First win makes Rosberg the Chinese GP Driver of the Weekend
- Rosberg’s China win rated fifth-best race of last five years
- Rosberg becomes F1’s third second-generation race winner
- Vote for your Chinese Grand Prix driver of the weekend
Image © Daimler/Hoch Zwei
David-A (@david-a)
27th April 2012, 14:47
I assume you mean “over 10 times fewer”.
Estesark (@estesark)
27th April 2012, 15:48
Even better (less ambiguous) would be to write “…Button getting less than one tenth of the votes of the Mercedes driver”.
Ewa Zaborska (@lilla-my)
29th April 2012, 7:59
Yes, of course, it was supposed to be 10. Thanks :)))
Sam B (@sb360)
27th April 2012, 16:02
You have also gained a “D” in this line
nackavich (@nackavich)
27th April 2012, 16:21
How could he not have gotten driver of the weekend?
That pole lap was SUPREME, it looked like a Vettel lap from last year with the EBD, especially when you look at it side by side in compariso with Schumacher’s. The way he hit the apex’s, how well that car seemed to handle, he really had that car hooked up and gt it to perform brilliantly. Plus he controlled the race throughout, although Schumacher didn’t last long. All-in all a pretty satisfying first pole and win for him.
Wesley (@)
28th April 2012, 1:35
Ahhh…..Britney’s moment.He deserves it.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
28th April 2012, 6:56
Who else? Well done Nico.
davey (@djdaveyp87)
28th April 2012, 15:18
The only thing that would have made that race more entertaining would be the band playing “hit me baby one more time” instead of the German national anthem.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
28th April 2012, 23:19
Thoroughly deserved. I got a mention too, thanks @lilla-my !
I like these articles, they remind me of how I felt just after the race, this sport moves so quick it’s difficult to look back sometimes!