Hamilton beats Vettel for Chinese Grand Prix win
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[April 10, 2017]
By Abhishek Takle
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton
mastered Shanghai's changing conditions and stayed clear of
squabbling rivals to win the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix on
Sunday.
The Briton eased his Mercedes across the line 6.2 seconds ahead of
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Max Verstappen, who started 16th,
finished a surprise third to hand his Red Bull team their 100th
podium.
It was Hamilton's 54th career win and a record fifth in Shanghai.
But it was the triple champion’s first this season and returned
Mercedes to the top of the podium after Vettel won last month’s
season-opening race for a resurgent Ferrari.
"I'm so happy with my first win of the year and I can’t believe it
if I’m honest,” said Hamilton after the race, which also handed him
his 106th podium, putting him joint second with Alain Prost on the
list of drivers with most rostrum results.
"What I said to Sebastian as I left the last race … I said I’m
coming back in the next one. When I got on the podium it was like ‘I
told you’."
Hamilton, who finished second to Vettel in Melbourne, heads into the
next race in Bahrain in a week’s time tied on points with the
German.
Mercedes, meanwhile, lead the constructors’ standings by one point
over Ferrari.
Hamilton started from pole position, but the conditions were a bit
of a lottery for all the drivers with the track damp in patches but
drying quickly.
He kept the lead off the line ahead of Vettel, who came under
investigation for lining up out of position on his grid slot.
The German, though, stayed second, fending off Valtteri Bottas in
the other Mercedes, who had started third.
Lance Stroll, the 18-year-old rookie, spun off the track on the
first lap after making contact with Force India's Sergio Perez. The
Canadian beached his Williams in the gravel, bringing out the
virtual safety car.
Vettel took the opportunity to dive into the pits to change to dry
weather tires.
His gamble backfired when Antonio Giovinazzi — standing in for
Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber — crashed, bringing out the actual safety
car two laps later.
The four-times world champion found himself bottled
up behind Ricciardo and his slower team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, costing
him valuable time. As the trio squabbled for position, Hamilton
pulled clear at the front.
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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates with champagne
on the podium after winning the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai
International Circuit. REUTERS/Aly Song
By the time Vettel managed to get past, with a series of spectacular
overtaking moves that included banging wheels with his former
team-mate, Hamilton was too far ahead.
"The safety car came just when I was about to start to feel that the
dry tire was a lot quicker,” Vettel said. "So I couldn’t use the
momentum, the advantage and I lost a lot of positions.
"But then I had a very exciting race."
Ricciardo finished fourth for Red Bull, crossing the line just 0.8
seconds behind Verstappen after hassling the Dutchman in the closing
stages of the 56-lap race. Raikkonen crossed the line a frustrated
fifth.
Bottas finished sixth. The Finn, who has replaced retired champion
Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, dropped him down the field after spinning
behind the safety car.
Fifteen cars finished Sunday's race, with neither McLaren making it
to the flag.
Fernando Alonso, who "pushed like an animal" on Saturday to qualify
13th, had gone into the race aiming to capitalize on the mixed
conditions to score his first points of the year, but his hopes were
dashed by a driveshaft failure. Team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne was
sidelined with fuel pressure problems.
(Editing by Larry King) [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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