An outlandish and laughable report in a Spanish newspaper claims that Renault were dealt an unofficial penalty in Shanghai to punish team boss Flavio Briatore for his outspoken stance on the FIA split-diffuser decision.

The Chinese Grand Prix started under the safety car due to heavy rain and stayed out for a full eight laps as the deluge continued.

Fernando Alonso, who used a light fuel load to qualify on the front row, used the opportunity to fuel longer into the race, but the Spaniard was left in limbo at the back of the field when the safety car pulled in on the same lap to get the race started.

The Spanish newspaper 20 Minutos has speculated that the decision to bring the safety car in on the same lap as Alonso’s pit stop was an attempt by race director Charlie Whiting to disrupt the Spaniard’s race.

The newspaper goes on to speculate that the Renault team were being punished for team principal Flavio Briatore’s outspoken stance on the FIA ”double-deck” diffuser decision, which his team lost.

Renault have denied the rumours and Alonso confirms that he and the team were just unlucky [see separate story HERE].

“I think it’s one of those days when you take decisions at the wrong moment and everything seems to turn against you,” said the double world champion.

“We thought that the safety car would be out for the next 10 or 15 laps so we came in to get fuel and at the same time the safety car came in so we found ourselves starting the race last.

“We were on the first row on the grid and all of a sudden we were last so this was the end of our race.”

Indeed, it is very unlikely that Whiting singled out Alonso for specific punishment on the track.

A random penalty of this nature without prior notice would be without precedent. It would not be within the rules, as team penalties must go through the correct channels.

A less paranoid explanation for the Spaniard’s difficulties yesterday would be a simple strategic error from the team, who decided to short-fuel the Spanish ace. Renault have fuelled Alonso light before to jump him up the grid in qualifying, even if then his race suffers.

By Hugh Podmore

Red Bull Racing is reported to be in the midst of an internal row following the use of the British national anthem for the team on the podium in China.

The team races under an Austrian licence and is owned by Austrian Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz, and the choice of the British anthem angered motorsport advisor Helmut Marko.

“I am disappointed because we have a Austrian licence but no Austrian anthem was played,” Marko was quoted by Eurosport as saying. “Probably the Chinese do not have it.”

But the team evolved from Jaguar Racing, its previous incarnation, and Stewart Racing before that, both quintessentially British teams. The team is based in Milton Keynes and will have retained a large number of mostly British mechanics, whose reward was to hear their anthem played on the podium.

The present management structure comprises Christian Horner, Adrian Newey and Geoff Willis, all British-born. The dispute is likely to continue.

By Hugh Podmore

Brawn GP can expect a close fight with Red Bull Racing throughout the season if Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix is anything to go by.

The Brackley-based outfit currently lead the championship following back-to-back wins in Australia and Malaysia, but the team conceded that they were no match for the Red Bull drivers in Shanghai today, after they dominated the race in the wet.

Despite running considerably more fuel than the Red Bull cars, neither Jenson Button or Rubens Barrichello had the pace to keep up with them as Sebastian Vettel crossed the finish line some forty seconds ahead of Button in third place.

“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,” reflected Button. “The conditions were pretty crazy with rivers of water all over the circuit which changed every time you encountered them.”

“The last turn particularly was like a lake and you just couldn’t brake for the corner. I struggled with the car aquaplaning and the tyres shuddering as we couldn’t get the temperatures high enough to make them work properly.”

“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.”

With only half points awarded to Jenson Button at the abandoned Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang, Sebastian Vettel now sits just eleven points behind the Briton in the drivers championship.

Worringly for Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing have yet to attach a split-diffuser to their car which could yeild a significant advantage in laptime.

Team principal Ross Brawn alluded to a closely fought season with the Milton-Keynes based outfit, and hopes that their dominance in China will prove to be a one-off in the rain.

“Another dramatic race today to continue what is turning out to be a very exciting 2009 Formula One season,” he said. “Jenson and Rubens did an excellent job to bring the cars home in the difficult conditions which combined with a solid team performance over the whole weekend enabled us to score as many points as possible.”

“We had a good strategy with both drivers fuelled long for their first stints which allowed us to bridge the gap to the leaders.”

“However on similar fuel, Vettel and Webber were then able to pull away. Congratulations to Red Bull for their one-two performance today. We know from Australia what a fantastic feeling that achievement is and I’m sure they will enjoy every minute of it.”

By Chris Hayes

A dream weekend for Red Bull Racing as Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber recorded a maiden one-two finish for the Milton Keynes squad. Vettel was in dominant form, unchallenged for most of the race, whereas Mark Webber was pushed hard by Jenson Button, before finally securing Second in the closing laps by passing the Brit.

Sebastian Vettel - 1st: “It’s unbelievable – I’m so, so happy. Ten laps from the end I tried to control the gap between me and the car behind and adapt my pace. I was trying to have everything under control, but it was difficult. At some points I was trying to bring the car home, but that meant I lost focus, so then I just tried to take it corner by corner, not looking too far ahead. On the last two laps I backed off a bit, as I didn’t want to risk aquaplaning on the water at the side of the track. And then… well it’s just fantastic. Winning my second race, one with Toro Rosso and one with Red Bull, makes me extremely happy and I hope we can continue working in this direction! I’m extremely proud and happy. I’m so happy to have won the race, it was an enormous and great job by the whole of Red Bull. I want to say a massive thank you to them all, everyone has worked so hard, so thanks to the team and also to Red Bull. Greetings to Austria!”

Mark Webber - 2nd:“It’s such an incredible day for the team – you have no idea what the guys went through last night. We were absolutely shitting ourselves that the cars wouldn’t finish the race because everytime we ran yesterday, they stopped. So, it’s incredible to get the cars home and to get maximum points. This comes after the near misses in Australia for Sebastian and for myself in Malaysia. It’s a great day for the team in Milton Keynes, well done and thank you to them, and also to everyone in Austria. It was a challenging race at times! It was hard to follow the cars in the beginning due to the spray, but then further into the race, it started to settle a bit. After the second safety car stint, I had a good scrap with Jenson. On my official lap at the front, I couldn’t believe how clear it was - I thought ‘Oh my God, it’s beautiful!’ I then pushed like hell to make up as much time as possible – it was fantastic. When Jenson re-passed me, I was very keen to try win the race, so I passed him around Turn seven as I knew he wouldn’t know I would be there, it was one of the best moves of my career. I’m happy today!”

Christian Horner:“A great result for the team and Red Bull. It’s testimony to all the effort and hard work that Red Bull and Mr Mateschitz has committed to Formula One. I want to thank Red Bull and everyone in Milton Keynes, who have worked so hard for this. It’s just an unbelievable result. We’ve got a great car, a great team, great drivers, a single diffuser and we have a double one to come, so we’re looking good. The whole team and company can be very proud of this moment.”

Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer, Track Support:“What a result, we have a magic pair of drivers. Sebastian and Mark are very strong, very cool, and it’s a pleasure to work with them. On behalf of all the Renault team, I would like to say that we are very proud to work with them both and be part of this Red Bull F1 adventure. I was also like to thank all the guys back at the factories in Milton Keynes, Viry and Mecachrome.”

By Ewan Marshall on Sunday, April 19, 2009