Lewis Hamilton has taken the lead in the world championship for the first time in 2019 as he crossed the line in first place at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Briton was unchallenged on his way to his 75th career win, as he beat teammate Valtteri Bottas to the chequered flag at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Hamilton got the jump on Bottas off the line, and took the lead into the first corner, making it three from three races in 2019 that the pole sitter hasn’t headed the pack into the opening corner of the Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc also got past his teammate Sebastian Vettel at Turn 1, but couldn’t keep up with the Mercedes’ who started to pull away. There was a brief virtual safety car period after Daniel Kvyat came together with the two McLarens on the exit of Turn 6. Daniil Kvyat received a drive-through penalty for the incident, whie McLaren failed to score any points.
On the 11th lap, Leclerc let Vettel past to allow the German to go in chase of Bottas in front. However, Vettel failed to pull away quickly and while he towed Leclerc along, Max Verstappen closed in in the Red Bull.
The Dutchman then triggered the pit stops, as he boxed for medium tyres. Vettel responded on the next lap, coming out just in front of the 21-year-old. Verstappen attempted an overtake at the Turn 14 hairpin, but failed to make the move stick, getting pushed out onto the grass by Vettel.
When Leclerc pitted a number of laps later, he emerged far behind Verstappen in fifth place, where he would remain for the rest of the race, even after the second round of pit stops.
Out in front, Mercedes was unchallenged and decided to stack their cars when they made their second pit stops, after Vettel and Verstappen.
Pierre Gasly drove a lonely race but picked up his best result at Red Bull, crossing the line in sixth place. However, he pitted in the last couple of laps and managed to pick up the extra point for the fastest lap.
Daniel Ricciardo also had a quiet race for Renault but managed to pick up his first points of the year, finishing in seventh place. He headed Sergio Perez and Kimi Raikkonen who were eighth and ninth respectively.
After staring from the pitlane, Albon drove a one-stop strategy to pick up the final point on offer, while also winning the Driver of the Day vote.
Mercedes were utterly dominant in Shanghai as Ferrari’s pre-race hopes of impressing fell apart amid a farcical application of team orders.
Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Race Results
1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 56 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 6.552s
3. Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari + 13.744s
4. Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 27.627s
5. Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari + 31.276s
6. Pierre Gasly FRA Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 89.307s
7. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Renault F1 Team + 1 lap
8. Sergio Perez MEX SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team + 1 lap
9. Kimi Raikkonen ITA Alfa Romeo Racing + 1 lap
10. Alexander Albon THA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1 lap
11. Romain Grosjean FRA Rich Energy Haas F1 Team + 1 lap
12. Lance Stroll CAN SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team + 1 lap
13. Kevin Magnussen DEN Rich Energy Haas F1 Team + 1 lap
14. Carlos Sainz ESP McLaren F1 Team + 1 lap
15. Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing + 1 lap
16. George Russell GBR ROKiT Williams Racing + 2 laps
17. Robert Kubica POL ROKiT Williams Racing + 2 laps
Ret. Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team
Ret. Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
Ret. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault F1 Team
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