Hamilton wins landmark Chinese Grand Prix to go top

Mercedes became the first team to start the season with three straight one-twos since 1992 after Lewis Hamilton led Valtteri Bottas home.

Published : Apr 14, 2019 13:27 IST

Lewis Hamilton leads Valtteri Bottas during the Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit in China.
Lewis Hamilton leads Valtteri Bottas during the Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit in China.
lightbox-info

Lewis Hamilton leads Valtteri Bottas during the Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit in China.

Lewis Hamilton claimed his sixth victory at the Chinese Grand Prix to move ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the Formula One drivers' standings.

Reigning champion Hamilton got the jump on pole-sitter Bottas, who beat Sebastian Vettel to second, into turn one and never looked in danger of missing out on a second straight triumph after his success in Bahrain.

It was the Silver Arrows' third straight one-two finish, making them the first team to start a season in such fashion since Williams pair Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese in 1992.

With the frontrunners on two-stop strategies in Shanghai, Mercedes executed back-to-back pit stops for its two drivers in fluid fashion to effectively seal their places at the head of the race.

Vettel lost track position to Charles Leclerc, who saw a potential first F1 win slip through his fingers in Bahrain, into turn one but benefited from team orders en route to taking the final step on the podium.

Max Verstappen did well to keep the pressure on Ferrari, with Red Bull twice getting him into the pits ahead of the Scuderia duo, and the Dutchman managed to snatch fourth.

Leclerc claimed to be struggling with a gearbox issue in the latter stages and, despite being informed everything was fine over team radio, he was unable to catch Verstappen.

Pierre Gasly denied Vettel an additional point by posting the fastest lap at the climax of the race, providing a boost after a difficult start to his Red Bull career.

FERRARIS DON'T RACE

"We need to go faster, otherwise we'll let Sebastian past," Leclerc was told over team radio by Ferrari, before being ordered to let Vettel past at the end of lap 10.

Leclerc did so despite twice sounding reluctant when communicating with his team, and he was quick to point out that he was beginning to lose time behind the other Ferrari.

But the team had made its mind up and by pitting Vettel first it sacrificed Leclerc, who came out behind Verstappen and struggled to test the Red Bull driver later.

It was a disappointing display from Ferrari, having dominated during practice this week.

REN-WOE

It lost Daniel Ricciardo in Australia and both cars in Bahrain and Renault's fortunes did not improve in China.

Although Renault got both Ricciardo and Hulkenberg into the top 10 in qualifying for the first time this season, reliability issues struck again.

Hulkenberg was forced to retire but Ricciardo gave it something to cheer by finishing as the best of the rest in seventh position.

MIXED DAY FOR TORO ROSSO

Alex Albon started from the pits after a crash in FP3 meant he had to sit out qualifying. The rookie produced a brilliant race, though, climbing up to 10th position to finish in the points for the second race in succession.

The same could not be said of Daniil Kvyat, who lost control on the first lap and collided with McLaren duo Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris, who was sent into the air by the contact.

Kvyat received a drive-through penalty and was forced to retire on lap 43 of 56.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment