Cor' with the Score - 2013 Chinese GP Predictions

My old mate Cory Wood knows a thing or two about Formula One, and in a new section to my blog, he's going to be having a poke at the race results this weekend. Now, obviously, you have a better chance of being hit by Jupiter than you do predicting every driver position for all three Practice sessions, Qualifying and the Race. Ludicrous indeed. So, for sanity's sake he will be predicting the top 10 on Sunday. Take it away Cory:


"The 2013 Chinese Grand Prix is going to be a hard one to predict. Last year it was won by Nico Rosberg for Mercedes but in very cold conditions. Looking at the weather report it seems that we are in for a race with much warmer conditions therefore I can see the Lotus being very strong here. It is very easy on its tyres in warm conditions (like Australia) and with Kimi Raikkonen at the wheel anything is possible. The Red Bull pairing of Vettel and Webber will be strong as always and i can see the Mercs keeping pace early in each stint but dropping back towards the end with higher tyre degradation than that of the Red Bull or Lotus. Ferrari are also looking to bounce back after Alonso's disappointment in Malaysia so I expect him to be there abouts when it comes to handing out the trophies."


Race Prediction
1st - K.Raikkonen
2nd - S.Vettel
3rd - F.Alonso
4th - N.Rosberg
5th - L.Hamilton 
6th - F.Massa
7th - M.Webber
8th - R.Grosjean
9th - J.Button
10th - A.Sutil

I can't really disagree with Cory here, The Lotus proved itself as a warm-weather-wonder and with a sunny Shanghai on the way it could be the Iceman unmelted at the front once more. I think Hamilton could edge his way towards the podium here, China is a track he's been incredibly successful at in the past. Three weeks since the controversial Malaysian GP has been an agonising wait for me, I'm hoping China doesn't disappoint.