Hamilton dominates Chinese GP
Ryan Joseph Ramos April 9, 2017Lewis Hamilton capped off a fairly dominant race weekend by winning the 2017 Chinese GP, ahead of the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, in a race that could have gone either way were it not for certain events.
The win puts Hamilton with Vettel in a tie for the drivers championship points lead. Mercedes, meanwhile, takes the lead in the team standings over Ferrari.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen stole the show with an incredible drive, going from P16 all the way to seventh right in the first lap. He had to duel with his teammate Daniel Ricciardo near the end, but eventually took the last spot on the podium.
Hamilton led the wet opening lap, but by lap two, the track was already drying fast. Vettel had switched to dry tyres at this point, and was in a good position despite dropping to P6 because of going to the pits. However, Antonio Giovinazzi of Sauber crashed soon after and Hamilton was able to dictate the pace of the race from there on.
The other Mercedes car did not have similar luck. Valtteri Bottas spun while behind the safety car and dropped all the way down to P12. He was still able to salvage the day by finishing in sixth place.
The Chinese GP went a long way toward proving that F1’s new rules and regulations won’t hamper the competition and entertainment that fans expect from Formula One. There were many impressive overtakes, most notably the one from Verstappen on Ricciardo.
“I think this will be one of the closest [battles for the championship] if not the closest I have experienced,” remarked Hamilton. With the win, Hamilton has now tied Alain Prost for second-most all-time career podiums, with 106. Michael Schumacher is at the top with 155.
Here’s a recap of the 2017 Chinese GP results:
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (LAP 56/56): After a frantic start, @LewisHamilton produces a flawless drive #ChineseGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/Em2zz7huhB
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 9, 2017
