Lewis Hamilton moved to the top of the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship with victory at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Mercedes’ driver made a great start to get ahead of Silver Arrows team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who had started on pole position, off the line.
And, he never looked threatened as he eased to a six-second win ahead of Bottas with Mercedes securing their third consecutive one-two finish at the start of this 2019 season.
Hamilton, who also won in Bahrain a fortnight ago, enjoyed a 75th grand prix win in what was F1’s 1,000th race and he now sits six points ahead of Bottas at the top of the embryonic standings, while Mercedes already boast a commanding 57-point lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
The 34-year-old five-time world champion said: “It’s not been the most straight-forward of weekends but what a fantastic result for the team. “The start was where I was able to make the difference.” Sebastian Vettel claimed his first podium place of 2019 as he finished in third place for Ferrari after frustrated team-mate Charles Leclerc was ordered to let the German pass him on lap 11.
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Leclerc eventually lost his fourth place to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, whose team-mate Pierre Gasly finished a season-best sixth and picked up an extra point for producing the fastest lap in Shanghai.
Former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was seventh in his Renault, while Sergio Perez and Kimi Raikkonen were eighth and ninth respectively.
British-born rookie Alex Albon produced one of the performances of the day as he claimed tenth place for Toro Rosso, despite starting the race from the pit-lane.
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