Hamilton takes championship lead with controlled victory

Quicker than the poleman Bottas when the lights go out, Lewis Hamilton jumped out of his box and took control of the 3rd event of the season from the first turn and never let go afterwards. The five-time world champion pockets a 75th career victory, the 6th in China, an improved record. 

Bottas secures a 3rd double Mercedes in as many rounds this season, while the Team disappoints again, both in terms of performance and strategy.

Better than Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc was in the leading trio when he was asked to step aside to let the German pass after only 11 laps. Initially reluctant, the Monegasque quickly complied. A maneuver which would greatly complicate his race without Vettel really taking advantage of it. 

By stopping on the 18th lap, Max Verstappen, who had stuck to Ferrari's coattails since the start of the race, forced the Scuderia to react. The house of Maranello then stopped Vettel at the next pass so that he came out just in front of the Red Bull from the Dutch. 

For Leclerc, it was already too late and the former champion of Formula 2 found himself on an offbeat strategy which relegated him to 5th place under the checkerboard, behind Vettel, who reached his first podium of the season, and Verstappen, again very solid this weekend. 

In difficulty since the start of the season, Pierre Gasly will be satisfied with the 6th place gleaned in Shanghai. The Frenchman added the point for the best lap in the race after making a ‘free’ stop to put on soft tires at the very end of the race. 

Mixed day for Renault who sees Daniel Ricciardo sign his first finish of the season, in 7th place moreover, but records another retirement due to a technical problem for Nico Hulkenberg. 

One of the nice surprises comes from Sergio Pérez. 12th on the grid, the Mexican took off superbly to reach 8th position at the end of the first lap. Shod on medium yellow tires better suited to the race than the reds of his direct competitors who started from the Top 10. Pérez retained his rank until the end and collected points for the second consecutive race. 

Absent from Q3 for the first time this season, Kimi Räikkönen delivered another very solid performance to secure his third Top 10 in a row. Forced to start from the pits after missing qualifying due to an accident in Free Practice 3, Alexander albon grabs the last point after a valiant and error-free race. 

In the second half of the table, disappointment for the Haas, only 11th and 13th with Romain Grosjean et Kevin Magnussen, as well as for McLaren, involved in a collision in the first lap. 

The Mercedes team had never seemed so vulnerable at the dawn of a campaign in the era of V6 hybrids and here is the star firm well in the lead in both championships after a perfect start to the season from an accounting standpoint and operational. 

2019 Chinese Grand Prix – Ranking:

FINAL CLASSIFICATION

A 1-2 for the Silver Arrows, with Verstappen splitting the Ferraris

First points of the season for @danielricciardo and P7

Hard-earned points for Raikkonen Albon #ChineseGP #Race1000 pic.twitter.com/fJVpU14xGq

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 14th

Find the analysis of the Chinese GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2211 of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands.