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Barrichello charges to Chinese Grand Prix win

Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello took his second consecutive Formula 1 victory with an historic win in the first ever Chinese Grand Prix as he overcame a two-stopping Jenson Button in the BAR to finish one second ahead. The result hands the Brazilian second place in the drivers' championship to world champion Michael Schumacher, with Button now confirmed in third spot

Barrichello had been under pressure from eventual third placed finisher Kimi Raikkonen for most of the race but was then forced to keep an eye out for Button in the closing stages, who chose to take one less stop than the two cars ahead of him. It was a tactic that leap-frogged the BAR ace ahead of Raikkonen's McLaren, but was not quite good enough to hand him the win. Raikkonen put in a massive charge at the end of the race but could do nothing to wrest second from Button.

Renault's Fernando Alonso finished fourth, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and Takuma Sato. World champion Schumacher overcame a collision with Christian Klien and a puncture to finish 12th.

Starting from pole Barrichello got away cleanly at the start with Raikkonen right behind him, while behind there was some intense battling.

Fernando Alonso made his usual brilliant getaway to grab third, while Jenson Button did not get away well and, after first losing then regaining fourth, he lost that position under braking for the first hairpin from a hard charging Felipe Massa - who also had a brief look at Alonso at the final hairpin on the first lap.

Barrichello began to ease away in the early stages as team-mate Schumacher began his tough fight from the back of the grid. The world champion opted to start from the pit-lane and, with an ultra heavy fuel load, he could not make much of an impression early on.

Button made a brave move for fourth down the inside of Massa on the long banker right hander onto the back straight on lap three as the Sauber began to struggle with its front tyres.

Massa started to lose a lot of time and, after briefly holding up a train of cars behind him on lap five, team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella took fifth as it all went wrong for the Brazilian. Ralf Schumacher grabbed sixth at the last hairpin while David Coulthard made light contact with the Sauber at the tight first corner on lap six as it began to slip down the field.

By this stage the Bridgestone tyres appeared to be trailing off and at the front Raikkonen began closing on the lead Ferrari. Behind this duo, Jenson Button made light work of Alonso under braking for the final hairpin on lap seven as he set about chasing the two cars ahead of him - setting the fastest lap of the race in the process.

Barrichello's Bridgestones appeared to come back to him just ahead of the first round of pit-stops at the end of lap 12. The Brazilian and Raikkonen came into together and kept position, while Button made a major push as he stayed out for two more laps. But despite making up time on the track, his stop and getaway was slow and he was left with the prospect of cutting down the leaders' advantage once again.

By this stage Michael Schumacher was inside the top 10 despite having made contact with Christian Klien on lap 12 and a brief spin a few laps later. That did not stop him making a pretty major charge - obviously with his fuel load making him lighter than the cars rights in front of him. A new fastest lap on lap 18 was about two seconds quicker than anyone else up to that point.

Schumacher passed brother Ralf on lap 20 for fifth on the run down to the final hairpin before making his first pit stop and dropping to 15th, right behind Renault's Jacques Villeneuve.

At the front Barrichello and Raikkonen continued circulating together as both began to pull away from Button, who was nine seconds off the lead by the end of lap 21. The BAR driver was also well clear of Alonso, who was starting to be put under pressure by fifth placed Ralf Schumacher who consistently began to close in on the Renault.

Raikkonen pitted at the end of lap 27 but lost valuable time behind a Minardi, although he made some seconds up with a very short stop of 6.1 seconds. He resumed behind Button, while two laps later Barrichello also made his stop and resumed with an increased advantage.

That left Button briefly in the lead, about eight seconds ahead of Barrichello with Raikkonen less than one second further adrift. As the lead car showed no signs of stopping it became clear that Button was on a different strategy to the two leading cars and that the fight for the win was going to be ultra close.

The Briton eventually came in at the end of lap 35 - resuming in third place behind Barrichello and Raikkonen. On the same lap Michael Schumacher's nightmare weekend in Shanghai continued as he suffered a left rear puncture and had to come into the pits.

And suddenly the race looked like it might go to Button. Raikkonen stopped a lap later and dropped to third, while further down the order Ralf Schumacher retired at the end of lap 37 following a bizarre spin on the entry to the pit-lane after a collision with Coulthard at the hairpin. There was then complete confusion in the Williams pits as he came in and the team was not ready for him. He eventually parked his car outside the McLaren garage - which had to get ready for an unscheduled stop for Coulthard who suffered a puncture as a result of the collision on lap 39.

Barrichello knew he had push hard if he was to get enough of an advantage ahead of his final stop - and by the time he came in at the end of lap 42 he had a 28 second advantage over Button. His stop of 6.2 seconds was enough to keep him in front to the chequered flag. He eventually finished one second ahead.

Button just did not have the pace when it mattered - although he was clearly delighted to have pipped Raikkonen for second. That did not stop his Finnish rival putting in a huge charge at the end of the race and he closed to within 0.4 seconds of the BAR car at the chequered flag.

Alonso finished a lonely fourth, ahead of Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya and Takuma Sato, who was brilliant coming from the back of the field. The same could not be said for Michael Schumacher, who after the collision with Klien and the puncture eventually came home 12th.

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