Bahrain preview: Toyota F1

Panasonic Toyota Racing returns to action swiftly after the Chinese Grand Prix with a trip to the Middle East for the Bahrain Grand Prix on the Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir.

Sebastian Vettel wins Chinese Grand Prix

Maybe Jenson Button is not going to have it all his own way this season after all. The Formula One World Championship leader finished off the top step of the podium for the first time this year after being shown the way home by Sebastian Vettel, the impressive young Red Bull driver, as treacherous wet conditions turned the Chinese Grand Prix into a thriller.

Fine Vettel celebrates grand prix win

• Red Bull one-two gives team first formula one win• Lewis Hamilton's McLaren finishes sixth in the wetSebastian Vettel led from the off in wet conditions in Shanghai to help Red Bull to their first formula one victory, ahead of team-mate Mark Webber. Current leader of the standings, Jenson Button, had to settle for third, while Lewis Hamilton came home in sixth for McLaren.The result leaves Button with 21 championship points, six ahead of fellow Brawn driver Rubens Barichello, who finished fourth. Vettel's win sees him join Timo Glock on 10 points. Meanwhile there was more misery for Ferrari, who remain without a point after Kimi Raikkonen finished 10th and Felipe Massa retired.With the weather forcing the gird to start behind the safety car, the race came down to a tactical battle between Red Bull and this season's pace-setters Brawn. Although both Barichello and Button had been quicker in qualifying once fuel load was taken into account, Vettel in particular tore around the circuit as the teams played cat and mouse through successive pit stops.Button briefly led, but Vettel soon regained the front when the British driver went in for refuelling, and never looked like relinquishing the lead as he and Webber built a commanding advantage over the rest of the field.Lewis Hamilton fought his way up after starting down in ninth, but span on more than one occassion to allow McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen to eventually take fifth. The point-scorers were completed by Timo Glock's Toyota and the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi.Button conceded Brawn GP were simply outpaced. His hopes were dealt a blow when clouds gathered for the first time this weekend before rain fell steadily a few hours before the race. Consequently, organisers decided to start the grand prix behind the safety car. That left Webber and Button vying for second."They seemed to be very strong from the word go," said Button. "It was a very difficult race today and I am so pleased that we got both cars to the end of 56 laps and scored as many points as possible."The conditions were pretty crazy with rivers of water all over the circuit which changed every time you encountered them. Mark Webber and I had a good fight for a few laps but I just couldn't stay with him. However to finish the race today is an achievement in itself and to be on the podium is fantastic. We couldn't have beaten the Red Bulls and congratulations to Sebastian and Mark on a great result."Brawn GP had been unable to do any testing in the wet prior to the start of the season and the struggle with the car's tyres in the conditions today is a cause for concern for Button. "I don't know if anyone else struggled but Rubens and myself struggled quite a bit," he added."I don't know what reason for that is. Obviously the car is working in a different way, but we will solve those problems I hope in the future because we can't have these guys that far in front. We just couldn't challenge these two guys [Vettel and Webber] today, who were immensely quick. But it is great to score six points and that's important so that we can keep the consistency."Lewis Hamilton meanwhile was left to rue what he saw as one of his worst ever drives in the wet. The 24-year-old traditionally thrives in wet conditions but struggled in Shanghai, coming off the circuit five times on his way to sixth at the chequered flag."I love racing in the wet and I would say that was one of my worst wet performances," he said. "I generally have good wet races but this was incredibly tough. I didn't have any downforce on this car and it was a real struggle but I am glad I got some points for the team.""All weekend I have been pushing that car beyond its limits but today just proved that I wasn't able to avoid the oversteer moments. It was a little bit fun at the beginning when I had some grip but as always I don't know if it is my driving style or my car, but I seem to destroy my tyres early on."Final race order1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1hr 57mins 43.485secs2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:57:54.4553 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:58:28.4604 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:58:47.1895 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:58:48.5876 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:58:55.3517 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:58:57.9618 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:58:59.9249 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:59:07.79410 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:59:15.23511 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:59:17.64112 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:59:19.31913 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:59:30.33814 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India +1 lap15 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams +1 lap16 Nelson Piquet Jr. (Bra) Renault +2 laps17 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India +6 lapsNot Classified: 18 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams +13 laps19 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari +36 laps20 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota +38 lapsChampionship standingsJenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 21ptsRubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 15Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 10Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 10Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 9.5Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 8.5Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 4Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 4Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 4Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 4Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 3.5Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 3Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1Formula oneRed BullBrawnMcLarenJenson ButtonLewis HamiltonMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Spanish GP debrief: Toro Rosso, Toyota

Sebastien Bourdais - (STR4-02) Retired I became aware everything was slowing down in front and I didn't even have the time to brake before I was flying over the back of my team-mate's car and I thought I was going to roll over. I'm not sure how it happenedalthough I saw that Trulli had spun and came back on the track. It's very frustrating.

Monaco GP preview: Toyota

History: The Monaco Grand Prix was first run in 1929 and hosted the Formula 1 World Championship in its inaugural 1950 season. It returned to the calendar in 1955 and has remained a fixture ever since.

Vettel springs Shanghai surprise

• Jenson Button only finishes in fifth• Lewis Hamilton will start in ninth position in ShanghaiA stunning late lap from Sebastian Vettel secured Red Bull Racing their first ever pole position ahead of tomorrow's Chinese grand prix in Shanghai.The German sat out most of the final two stages of qualifying due to concerns over the reliability of the car but nevertheless stormed to the top of the order with a time of one minute 36.184 seconds.Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso also enjoyed an superb qualifying session for Renault to line up alongside Vettel on the front row, while Mark Webber completed a fine day for Red Bull by claiming third."I am very, very happy," said Vettel. "It is unbelievable that we made it to pole position in the end. This morning we had a problem with the car. The mechanics did a very good job and fixed the car. Basically it is all down to them. We have the best position for tomorrow but no points yet. There is a long way to go and we have to keep digging.""This morning was not ideal but it seems the less I run in free practice then the better I am in qualifying. I am happy with the team, all the mechanics are working really hard, they were working all through the night and have done a great job."Fernando Alonso secured second in his modified Renault, which donned a revised diffuser and was running without the KERS energy-boost system for the first time this season.Webber's third place, meanwhile, capped a fine day for the Red Bull squad."There is no question this team has taken a big step forward since last year in terms of performance," said the Australian."Now we need to realise that beginning this Sunday afternoon. It is a big credit for the team with what they have done from Brazil [the final race of last year] to now."Brawn GP's Jenson Button will have to make his bid for a third successive victory from fifth on the grid after managing a time of 1:36.532secs while world champion Lewis Hamilton will start in ninth in his revamped McLaren.Button was out-qualified for the first time this season by team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who secured fourth place, while Toyota's Jarno Trulli will start sixth."Of course we would rather be on the front row of the grid but we will give it our best shot in the race tomorrow and see what happens," said ButtonQualifying positions in full1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 36.184secs2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:36.3813 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:36.4664 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:36.4935 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:36.5326 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:36.8357 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:37.3978 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:38.0899 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:38.59510 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.32111 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:35.97512 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:36.03213 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:36.03314 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:36.06615 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:36.19316 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:36.90617 Nelson Piquet Jr. (Bra) Renault 1:36.90818 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:36.96619 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:37.66920 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:37.672Formula oneJenson ButtonLewis Hamiltonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds