Lewis Hamilton took a commanding win in China to not only win his third Chinese Grand Prix, but to also take his first consecutive hat-trick of race wins.
The Mercedes driver led from start to finish as he immediately opened a gap to second placed Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull driver got a good start to jump team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, but dropped back during the race to eventually finish fifth.
It was Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg who took second. Despite dropping back to sixth on lap one, the sheer pace advantage of the Mercedes allowed the German to close up to eventually pass those ahead.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso took his teams first podium of 2014, holding off a late-charge from Daniel Ricciardo in third.
Nico Hulkenberg also came under pressure in the closing laps from Valtteri Bottas, but fought hard to secure P6, whilst the Finn had to settle for seventh ahead of fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen.
Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat completed the top ten.
Felipe Massa’s race was ruined when he made contact with Alonso at the start. Although it didn’t cause the Brazilian any trouble immediately, his first stop was hampered by the minor damage which resulted in a 60-second stop.
Due to an error by a race official who showed the checkered flag a lap too early, the race was completed on lap 54, rather than 56, as per the regulations, therefore Kamui Kobayashi loses out on 17th as he passed Jules Bianchi on the final – now discounted – lap.
Race Result – 2014 Chinese Grand Prix:
| # | Driver | Team | Gap | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 25 | |
| 02. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +18.0 | 18 |
| 03. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +23.6 | 15 |
| 04. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | +27.1 | 12 |
| 05. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | +47.7 | 10 |
| 06. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | +54.2 | 8 |
| 07. | V. Bottas | Williams | +55.6 | 6 |
| 08. | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | +76.3 | 4 |
| 09. | S. Perez | Force India | +82.6 | 2 |
| 10. | D. Kvyat | Toro Rosso | +1 lap | 1 |
| 11. | J. Button | McLaren | +1 lap | |
| 12. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | +1 lap | |
| 13. | K. Magnussen | McLaren | +1 lap | |
| 14. | P. Maldonado | Lotus | +1 lap | |
| 15. | F. Massa | Williams | +1 lap | |
| 16. | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | +1 lap | |
| 17. | J. Bianchi | Marussia | +1 lap | |
| 18. | K. Kobayashi | Caterham | +1 lap | |
| 19. | M. Chilton | Marussia | +2 laps | |
| 20. | M. Ericsson | Caterham | +2 laps | |
| 21. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | Retired | |
| 22. | A. Sutil | Sauber | Retired |
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