Mercedes-AMG enjoyed its third one-two finish in a row in the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship after star driver Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line first on Sunday at the Chinese Grand Prix, which was F1's 1,000th race.
Teammate Valtteri Bottas crossed the line 6.5 seconds later in what turned out to be a day dominated by Mercedes. Rounding out the top three was Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel who finished 13.7 seconds after Hamilton.
The Mercedes drivers started the race at the front of the grid, with Bottas on pole. Hamilton got the better start, though, and was soon in the lead. Behind them were Vettel and fellow Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Although Leclerc got the jump on Vettel at the start, at 10 laps in Ferrari gave team orders to swap positions to see if Vettel would be able to catch up with the Mercedes drivers.
2019 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix
Unfortunately for the Italian team, Vettel wasn't able to gain any positions and Leclerc fell back behind Aston Martin Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen. Verstappen would eventually take fourth and Leclerc fifth.
The fastest lap of the day was made by fellow Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly, who finished sixth and thus claimed a bonus point. Also worth a mention is Renault's Danial Ricciardo who finally finished a race this season. He ended up at seventh after managing to hold off Racing Point's Sergio Perez. Fellow Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg was forced to retire, though, due to car troubles.
Thanks to his strong performance, Hamilton has now moved into the lead spot in the 2019 Drivers' Championship with 68 points. Bottas is second with 62 points and Verstappen is third with 39 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes leads with 130 points versus the 73 of Ferrari and 52 of Red Bull. The next race on the calendar is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a fortnight.
Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton at the 2019 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix
Below are the full results from the 2019 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix:
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG
2) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG +6.552 seconds
3) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari +13.744 seconds
4) Max Verstappen, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing +27.627 seconds
5) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +31.276 seconds
6) Pierre Gasly, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing +89.307 seconds
7) Daniel Ricciardo, Renault +1 lap
8) Sergio Perez, Racing Point +1 lap
9) Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
10) Alexander Albon, Toro Rosso +1 lap
11) Romain Grosjean, Haas +1 lap
12) Lance Stroll, Racing Point +1 lap
13) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
14) Carlos Sainz, McLaren +1 lap
15) Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
16) George Russell, Williams +2 laps
17) Robert Kubica, Williams +2 laps
Ret) Lando Norris, McLaren
Ret) Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso
Ret) Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
