HAMILTON CLAIMS 1000th F1 RACE
Lewis Hamilton has won the 1000th Formula 1 Grand Prix – Photo: LAT
Reigning Champion Lewis Hamilton took victory in the 1000th Formula 1 race in China and takes the championship lead for the first time this season.
Hamilton overtook teammate Bottas at the start and from there was never headed, Bottas brought his Mercedes home in second place to make it a Silver Arrows 1-2 finish for the third time in as many races.
Sebastian Vettel finished third for Ferrari despite losing the place to teammate Charles Leclerc early in the race.
Daniel Ricciardo scored his first points of the 2019 season – Photo: LAT
Daniel Ricciardo scored his first points for Renault finishing best of the rest in seventh position, while teammate Nico Hulkenberg retired from the race with a mechanical failure.
Leclerc was told to let Vettel through in the opening laps as Ferrari felt he was holding up the German, in doing so they left the Monegasque driver vulnerable to Max Verstappen. Red Bull driver Verstappen made the undercut work on Leclerc in the opening stops and despite Ferrari trying an overcut at the end of the second stops to retake fourth Verstappen held on. Red Bull teammate Pierre Gasley finished a lonely race in sixth.
Sergio Perez, Kimi Raikkonen drove well to finish eighth and ninth respectively. Alexander Albon started from pit lane after missing qualifying, the Thai driver recovering to finish 10th in his Toro Rosso, holding off the Haas of Romain Grosjean in the closing stages of the race.
Albon’s teammate Daniil Kvyat didn’t have such a good day colliding with both the McLaren’s on the opening lap. Of the three only Carlos Sainz finished but out of the points in 14th.
Formula 1 – Chinese Grand Prix – Result
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Diff | Pts |
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 56 | 1:32:06.350 | 25 |
| 2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 56 | +6.552s | 18 |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 56 | +13.744s | 15 |
| 4 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 56 | +27.627s | 12 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 56 | +31.276s | 10 |
| 6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull Racing Honda | 56 | +89.307s | 9 |
| 7 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 55 | +1 lap | 6 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 55 | +1 lap | 4 |
| 9 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 55 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 55 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 11 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Mclaren Renault | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 54 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 17 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams Mercedes | 54 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 18 | 4 | Lando Norris | Mclaren Renault | 50 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 41 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 16 | DNF | 0 |
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