Rookie driver Lewis Hamilton missed an opportunity to clinch the Formula One drivers' title as Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen won the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday in Shanghai.

McLaren and Hamilton teammate Fernando Alonso placed second, with Felipe Massa of Ferrari third.

Finland's Kimi Raikkonen celebrates his Chinese Grand Prix victory Sunday at Shanghai International Circuit.
(Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press)

The F1 drivers' championship will come down to the final race of the season on Oct. 21 in Brazil, with three drivers still in the running.

Hamilton, 20, remains the leaders with 107 points, followed by Alonso (103) and Raikkonen (100). First place earns a driver 10 points, with second through eight posting 8-6-5-4-3-2-1.

Hamilton, the pole sitter, started off strong during early wet conditions but struggled with tire traction problems. His race ended on the 31st lap after he ran off the track and into a gravel trap while entering the pits.

"Just unfortunate," Hamilton said. "We still have got one more race to go. We're still ahead."

McLaren officials blamed themselves for keeping Hamilton on the track with deteriorating tires.

"I think with hindsight we left him out a lap too long and I think his tires were pretty worn," team CEO Martin Whitmarsh told ITV. "The weather was pretty changeable at that time and we wanted to make sure that we weren't taking any risks and that we had to cover Kimi."

The British rookie needed only to finish ahead of Alonso to become the first rookie and youngest F1 champion ever.

Alonso admitted it would take another Hamilton collapse in Brazil for him to earn his third straight world title.

"It will be very, very difficult, the championship," Alonso said. "I know it will not be easy to take four points from Lewis. For the championship, I still need something dramatic for to win. With a normal race it will be impossible."

Raikkonen would need both Hamilton and Alonso to falter in the final race, but still savoured his victory on Sunday.

"We just have to win the race and see what happens to the others," Raikkonen said. "We saw today anything can happen. We are just in a better position than we came here but still it will be difficult."

Rain began prior to the race and lasted until the eighth lap. As the dry line emerged, Hamilton was able to build more than a five-second lead over Raikkonen, with Massa and Alonso in third and fourth place, respectively.

After the front-runners exchanged pit stops, Raikkonen had reduced Hamilton's lead to four seconds. Hamilton had difficulty controlling his car when rain began to fall again, allowing Raikkonen to gain ground.

By the 28th lap, the two drivers were wheel-to-wheel as Hamilton fended off two passing attempts before Raikkonen grabbed the lead on his third try.

Hamilton's day ended three laps later.

With Hamilton gone, Raikkonen built an eight-second lead by the 35th lap and maintained his edge over Alonso the rest of the way.

 

With files from the Associated Press