Hamilton bags F1 hat-trickposted in F120 | 04 | 2014
MERCEDES' LEWIS HAMILTON won his third grand prix in a row — the first time the 2008 world champ has achieved the winning run — when he stormed to victory in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton also led home Mercedes third successive 1-2 finish, ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg. It's the first time a manufacturer has recorded three back-to-back 1-2 finishes since Ferrari did so in 2004 at the European, Canadian and US GPs.
Hamilton dominated today's race, leading from pole position, while Rosberg had to fight back after dropping to seventh after a bad start from fourth on the grid.
Fernando Alonso survived contact with the Williams of his former Ferrari team-mate, Felipe Massa, in the short sprint to the opening right-hander, to score the first podium of the season for the struggling Maranello team. Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen could only manage a distant eighth, more than 76secs behind Hamilton.
Related: Hamilton wins Bahrain thriller
Aussie Daniel Ricciardo again finished ahead of his more illustrious Red Bull team-mate, four-time world champ Sebastian Vettel: the duo finished fourth and fifth respectively.
But there was controversy within the Red Bull camp when Vettel refused an order from his team to let Ricciardo through. The Aussie though eventually took advantage of Vettel running too deep into Turn 1 to ease passed.
Behind the top five, Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth for Force India, ahead of the Williams of Valtteri Bottas, and Raikkonen in eighth. Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top 10 for Force India and Toro Rosso respectively.
DRIVER QUOTES:
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes:
"The team have done an amazing job and all the hard work both here and at the factory is really paying off at the moment. This car is just unbelievable; in the final laps, I was pushing a little bit more to keep up the tyre temperatures and it just felt great to drive. I'm so, so happy today. We had to make a lot of changes after P2 in terms of the set-up of the car but after it rained on Saturday, we didn't know exactly how it would go today. There was a lot of hard work done, sitting down with the engineers so that we didn't guess anything and just made the right steps in anticipation for today.
"I really want to give a big shout-out to the team in Brackley and Brixworth for embracing me last year, for building this amazing car and engine and for continuously pushing forward with so much positive energy in 2014. We are definitely on a roll right now; I'm working hard, the team is working hard and we just want to improve even further when we get back to Europe.
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes:
"That was not a perfect weekend for me. Too many things went wrong, beginning with a technical problem and a less than perfect job from me in qualifying. Today I didn't have any telemetry, so there was no communication from the car to the pits. My engineers couldn't see what was going on in my car and therefore they couldn't set up my clutch for the start. The clutch was completely on the wrong place, which is why I had a really bad start.
"I had some contact with Bottas in Turn 1 and I thought that was it. Luckily my car wasn't damaged and in the following laps the pace in the car seemed good, which meant I was able to climb some positions. To finish second in the end, on a weekend of damage limitation, is great. I collected some important points again, which makes me happy.
"It's great to go back to Europe with the lead in the Championship. In Barcelona, the aim will be to have a normal weekend and be back in first place. It was again an amazing team result and the whole team can be very proud. Congratulations to Lewis on a fantastic weekend."
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull:
“I started on the dirty side of the grid and had quite a poor getaway; I was spinning up on the line a bit too long and lost the two places. From then on however, I thought the race was good! With Seb, we were racing and you always want to hold on to your position, but the team radioed and he let me through.
"I did what I could after each stop and we improved the car; at the end I was doing all I could to catch Alonso and I think we got to within a couple of seconds of him as we went over the line. It’s going well with the team, I feel comfortable here and I did the best I could today. I really want that podium and we’re getting close.”
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull:
“I moved over for Daniel once I knew we were on different strategies. When I was first asked, I didn’t understand as we were on the same tyre, unlike in Bahrain, so I double checked. When the team said we were on a different strategy, I moved over and then, as the race went on, I saw more and more that I didn’t have the pace.
"There was no point in holding Dan back. I’m not yet where I want to be with the car, but it’s an on-going process; hopefully at the next few races we will make some more steps in the right direction. Our weakness isn’t in the corners, but on the straights. The first stint today was okay but after that I’m not sure what happened.”
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari:
“After a difficult start to the season, this podium is a confidence boost for the whole team, providing extra motivation for all those who are doing their best to close the gap to the front. And I think this podium should be dedicated to Stefano (Domenicali), as everything we do up to July will also be the result of his efforts. We have definitely made a step forward, because compared to two weeks ago, we have partly closed the gap to the leaders, but we are well aware there’s still a long way to go and we have to keep our feet on the ground.
"In general, this has been a good weekend for me, as everything went well right from Friday, although the rain made qualifying more complicated than expected. I was on the limit all race long and I really don’t think I could have done any more. This is quite a unique track of its kind and now we must make the most of the long break before the next race to prepare as well as possible for whatever situation arises.”
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari:
“This has been a really difficult weekend. Right from Friday morning, I suffered with problems that we didn't manage to solve completely and today in the race, I couldn’t get the result I wanted. The start was good, I made up two places but then I couldn’t make up any more ground, as I just didn't have the pace, nor much grip at the front or the back. In the final stint on new tyres, the car handled better, but then, as the tyres degraded the situation got complicated again.
"I think the difficulties I encountered here stem from a combination of various factors, from my driving style combined with the low temperatures and the characteristics of the track. Today, we brought home valuable points thanks to the intense efforts of the whole team and now we will continue to work ceaselessly to improve. Fernando’s result is very encouraging and proves we are moving in the right direction.”
Felipe Massa, Williams:
"I had another great start today and we were fighting at the top. I felt some contact with Fernando, but luckily the car wasn't damaged so I could carry on. There was a mistake at the first pitstop and that effectively lost me the race as I came back out on track in last position. It is a frustrating situation and something we need to work on to make sure that it doesn't happen again. We have time now to work hard and improve the car for Spain."
Valtteri Bottas, Williams:
"It was a good race for me despite some hard contact at the start which cost me a few positions. I also had to drive the whole race without telemetry which isn’t the easiest thing to do. We made progress over the whole weekend which is good. It’s great to make steps forward and we are looking to do the same in Spain in a three weeks’ time."
Jenson Button, McLaren:
“It was pretty difficult out there. It felt a little bit like qualifying yesterday: we just couldn’t get the front tyres working – they just grained.
“We’ve got a few upgrades for the next grand prix, in Barcelona, but they won’t be enough to close our performance gap to the fastest cars. But the guys are doing their best, and a result like this is disappointing for everyone, especially for the mechanics and the guys back at the factory, because they’ve all been working so hard."
Kevin Magnussen, McLaren:
“It felt like a long race, because there wasn’t much I could do out there. Our car lacks downforce – that’s its main problem. The way it’s set up, and how it feels, has always been positive; it’s just low on grip, that’s all. So, clearly, we need to work as hard as we can to create that missing downforce.
“I know the guys back in Woking are doing their best, and I have faith that they’ll deliver that downforce before too long.”
F1 Chinese Grand Prix, Result:
1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1h33m28.338s;
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes +18.062s;
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +23.604s;
4. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault +27.136s;
5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault +47.778s;
6. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes +54.295s;
7. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes +55.697s;
8. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +1m16.335s;
9. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes +1m22.647s;
10. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault +1 lap;
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap;
12. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault +1 lap;
13. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap;
14. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault +1 lap;
15. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes +1 lap;
16. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap;
17. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari +1 lap;
18. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault +1 lap;
19. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari +2 laps;
20. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault +2 laps;
Retirements:
Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 28 laps
Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 5 laps
World Championship Standings (After Rnd 4 of 19)
Drivers':
1. Nico Rosberg 79
2. Lewis Hamilton 75
3. Fernando Alonso 41
4. Nico Hulkenberg 36
5. Sebastian Vettel 33
6. Daniel Ricciardo 24
7. Valtteri Bottas 24
8. Jenson Button 23
9. Kevin Magnussen 20
10. Sergio Perez 18
11. Felipe Massa 12
12. Kimi Raikkonen 11
13. Jean-Eric Vergne 4
14. Daniil Kvyat 4
Constructors':
1. Mercedes 154
2. Red Bull-Renault 57
3. Force India-Mercedes 54
4. Ferrari 52
5. McLaren-Mercedes 43
6. Williams-Mercedes 36
7. Toro Rosso-Renault 8
8. Lotus-Renault 0
9. Sauber-Ferrari 0
10. Marussia-Ferrari 0
11. Caterham-Renault 0
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Jim McGill
Photo: Mercedes GP