Mexican F1 driver Sergio Perez of the Sauber F1 team is pictured during the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, China, 15 April 2012. After taking the first pole position in his career on Saturday (14 April 2012), Nico Rosberg of Mercedes won the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday (15 April 2012) for his first career Formula One victory. The 27-year-old German led for most of the 56-lap race and clocked the fastest time of one hour 36 minutes 26.929 seconds, 20.6 seconds clear of the runner-up Jenson Button. The battle for the second position was extremely tight with several drivers chasing close and frequently changing their rankings, but McLarens British driver Button, who started from the fifth grid, came out as the runner-up. In spite of the five-grid penalty, Buttons teammate and countryman Lewis Hanmilton managed to climb up and settled with the third position as he delivered a series of thrilling overtakings. It was the first victory for Mercedes after the team buying out Brawn GP to compete in F1 since 2010. But the celebrating atmosphere would be marred by veteran champion Michael Schumachers early exit following his first row start from the grid.
