Andersson Claims Shanghai Victory To Seize Championship Lead

Jonas Andersson stormed to victory in a dramatic Shanghai Grand Prix to snatch the championship lead from Rusty Wyatt, who barrel-rolled out of contention on lap 12 in a race punctuated by four yellow flag periods and eight retirements.

The defending three-time World Champion overcame pole-sitter Shaun Torrente on lap 11 after a spectacular collision whilst overtaking a backmarker, then held off the American through three restarts to claim his 17th career victory and move three points clear at the top of the standings.

Torrente’s Early Control

Torrente made a clean getaway from pole position in calm conditions on the Huangpu River, whilst Andersson produced a storming start to vault past Erik Stark and team-mate Grant Trask into second place. Stefan Arand, starting 19th after his engine change penalty, immediately began his charge through the field, moving up to 14th on the opening lap.

The Victory Team driver held a comfortable two-second advantage over Andersson through the early stages, with Wyatt moving past Stark into fourth by lap two. Andersson gradually closed the gap, trimming the deficit to just 0.622 seconds by lap 10 as the battle between the two three-time World Champions intensified.

Collision Costs Torrente The Lead

The decisive moment came on lap 11 when Torrente slid wide whilst overtaking a backmarker and collided with Andersson’s DAC. Both drivers managed to continue, but the Swede emerged ahead and immediately began to pull clear, opening up a 4.328-second advantage by lap 13.

Seconds later, the race was thrown into chaos when championship leader Wyatt barrel-rolled out of the left-hander on the back straight whilst attempting to pass Trask for third. The Canadian’s retirement threw the title race wide open, handing Andersson a golden opportunity to seize the points lead.

Arand’s Brilliant Recovery Drive

Whilst Andersson controlled the race at the front, the drive of the day came from Arand. The young Estonian, who had earned pole position on Friday before his engine failure, carved through the field relentlessly. By the first yellow flag, he had climbed to eighth, and continued his charge through the restarts to eventually claim a superb fourth place from 19th on the grid.

Multiple Yellow Flags

The race was stopped for a second time on lap 20 when Alexandre Bourgeot overturned, with Andersson maintaining his lead over Torrente at the restart. Marit Strømøy retired shortly after, followed by Alberto Comparato and Ben Jelf on lap 27.

A third yellow flag emerged on lap 30 when rookie Kyle Maskall barrel-rolled out of eighth place on his F1H2O debut. By the time the Osprey Rescue team had cleared the course, only two laps remained.

The drama continued on lap 35 when two-time World Champion Sami Seliö dramatically flipped out of fourth place, bringing out a fourth yellow flag. Three laps were added to the original 36, but the race finished under caution with Andersson securing victory ahead of Torrente.

Team Sweden’s Breakthrough Day

Trask produced an impressive performance on his Team Sweden debut, avoiding the carnage to claim third place and his best-ever F1H2O result. The 1-3 finish moved Team Sweden into third in the Teams’ Championship behind Victory Team and Sharjah Team.

Andersson praised his new team-mate: “Grant, a fantastic drive. The first time in the boat driving and to finish number three shows he may become a problem for me!”

The defending champion was delighted with his turnaround after qualifying struggles: “I am super happy. We messed up the qualifying yesterday. It was a long time since I started down in number four. It was difficult to understand that I didn’t have a good set-up. I changed something for today and it was a lot better. The start was perfect and I am so happy for the team because they are working a lot here, especially when we had problems. This is a win for the team!”

Final Classification

Stark brought his Team Abu Dhabi entry home in fifth, ahead of Alec Weckström in sixth. The Victory Team driver now sits third in the championship, just one point behind Wyatt.

Ferdinand Zandbergen claimed seventh for Red Devil-SMC F1 Team, one lap down, with Peter Morin eighth for China CTIC Team. Damon Cohen and Cédric Deguisne rounded out the points in ninth and tenth.

Only 12 of the 20 starters completed the distance, with Bartek Marszalek and Mansoor Al-Mansoori finishing two laps down in 11th and 12th.

Shanghai Grand Prix Results

Championship Standings

Andersson’s victory, combined with Wyatt’s retirement, sees the defending champion take a three-point lead in the standings. Weckström sits third, just one point behind Wyatt, setting up a fascinating championship battle heading to the next round.

The UIM F1H2O World Championship continues with the Grand Prix of Zhengzhou on 11-12 October.