Was Rosberg beatable in the race of 'what ifs'?
Every frontrunner bar Nico Rosberg had an 'if only...' tale from the Chinese Grand Prix, but did any of them ever really have an answer to the championship leader? BEN ANDERSON analyses an epic race
The Chinese Grand Prix was ultimately a race of 'what ifs' for Formula 1.
What if Lewis Hamilton's engine problem hadn't forced him to start from the back?
What if Daniel Ricciardo's left-rear tyre hadn't shredded while he led the race?
And what if Ferrari's two drivers hadn't collided at the first turn?
As is so often the case in motor racing the first corner defined everything that followed, and the chaos produced at Turn 1 at Shanghai created a brilliant, see-saw spectacle of ups and downs and thrills and spills.
Well, for everyone on the grid apart from Nico Rosberg. The championship leader comfortably collected his third victory of 2016 (his sixth from his last six starts) to further stamp his mark on the early stages of this title battle.
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