Lewis Hamilton wins Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Sebastian Vettel after leading from start to finish in Shanghai
LEWIS HAMILTON had China in his hand as he clocked up the third Grand Slam of his F1 career.
The Mercedes ace notched up the landmark achievement by taking pole position, leading from start to finish, and setting the fastest lap.
Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Chinese Grand Prix in ShanghaiGetty ImagesLewis Hamilton celebrates after winning in Shanghai on SundayGetty ImagesLewis Hamilton on the top step ahead of Sebastian Vettel (left) and Max Verstappen (right)Reuters
Ironically, the Brit did that on lap 44, in car number 44 — which is his lucky racing number.
Hamilton’s victory in Shanghai was his fifth in 10 years at the track and drew him level with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the championship after the German’s win in Melbourne.
Hamilton said: “It has been a dominant weekend. It has been remarkable that this is my 10th year here and I have had six poles and five wins.
“I have a great record he and I have been very fortunate to work with some intelligent and hard-working people who have helped elevate me to the top step.
“This is a track that suits my driving style, whether it is in the wet or the dry and I am really happy with how I performed today.
“The strategist made the right decision in terms of coming in for tyres and the guys in the garage did a fantastic job with the stops, so it was a very on-point weekend.”
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Lewis Hamilton leads from Sebastian Vettel during Sunday's race in ChinaAP:Associated PressLewis Hamilton celebrates after his first win of the 2017 seasonGetty Images
Hamilton's boss at Mercedes, Toto Wolff, hailed the three-time world champion's performance as exceptional.
He added: "Lewis on his day is just in a different league. He made no mistakes on a difficult day in tricky conditions."
However, Hamiton's team-mate at Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas did not fare so well, as he spun while driving behind the safety car.
The Finn's mistake proved costly as he slipped down to 12th place before battling back to come home in sixth place.
It was a wet start to the Chinese Grand Prix in ShanghaiAP:Associated Press
Bottas, who replaced Nico Rosberg in the team and was called Nico by his race engineer in error, admitted it was his "amateur mistake".
He said: "Really sorry, guys, for the amateur mistake. I'll make up for it in the next race.
"I was trying to generate as much tyre temperature as I could and I went too far away, was too aggressive, made a mistake and spun and I lost so many places.
Lewis Hamilton's fan army in the grand stands in ShanghaiGetty ImagesMax Verstappen comes in to pit for Red Bull during the raceGetty ImagesAntonio Giovinazzi has a collision on the pit straightGetty Images
"The pace towards the end of the race was good. But from the stupid mistake of mine we lost a lot of points."
There was also more misery for Jolyon Palmer, who came home in 13th place while Sauber's Antonio Giovinazzi had another crash in his Sauber.
And McLaren were again left red-faced after BOTH Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne failed to finish the race.
Alonso had a problem with his driveshaft while Vandoorne had a fuel problem.
Alonso said: "We proved once more how hungry we are to get a good result, but unfortunately we're still not strong enough to finish the races.
"The lack of winter testing means we're paying a big price now, but hopefully we can improve quickly."
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