Strong performance of Renault in China
Despite not producing a winner, the Chinese Grand Prix proved another successful outing for those powered by RenaultSport's RS27 engine.
Mercedes' Nico Rosberg was crowned the eventual winner ahead of McLaren duo Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
However, the following drivers all used an RS27-powered car, meaning half of the cars to finish in the points in China were developed with a RenaultSport engine.
Red Bull racers Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel finished in fourth and fifth respectively, while Romain Grosjean scored eight points for a sixth-place finish in the Lotus Renault.
Williams-Renault pair Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado finished in seventh and eighth respectively, while Fernando Alsono and Kamui Kobayashi also finished in the points.
The open nature of the 2012 Formula One season so far means that McLaren ace Lewis Hamilton tops the driver's standings despite not winning a race yet.
As such, it could be consistency, rather than race wins, that ultimately wins the title this year.
Current champion Vettel said that despite not securing a podium finish in China, he is confident that his season will come good and will be looking for an improved performance in Bahrain next week.
"I had no tyres left at the end of the race. Sitting in the car, I was reacting with brake balance, diff, everything to try and keep the tyres, but by the last few laps, I knew the only chance was trying to keep ahead of Kimi," he said of the race.
"I got some good points and it was a good recovery from 15th. Overall, I'm pretty happy with fifth given the poor first lap. I think the weekend was good for us, we learned a lot and hopefully we will take these lessons on board and go in the right direction for next week."
Posted by Craig Salter