It was the 2017 Formula 1 season's first win for Lewis Hamilton as he rolled his way on the finish line at the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver had lost the top spot on the podium in Melbourne at the season opener to Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, and it was clear that the racer was seeking redemption. Having started at the pole, Hamilton managed to retain his position despite competition coming from Vettel who finished at P2, while Max Verstappen took the third spot on the podium. Mercedes' new recruit Valtteri Bottas finished at P6 in the race, a big drop from the podium finish in Melbourne.
Hamilton surged ahead followed by Ricciardo and Raikkonen
The 2017 Chinese GP opened to mix weather conditions due to showers, making for a damp track. This meant that with the exception of Carlos Sainz of Torro Rosso and Jolyon Palmer of Renault, all cars on the grid started on intermediate tyres. The starting of the race saw Hamilton take the lead and remained comfortably there for the remainder of 56 laps. Meanwhile, Vettel lost time in traffic early on but managed to stay ahead of Bottas.
Ricciardo stayed ahead, but was surpassed by Vettel in the later stages
The Red Bull duo Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen managed to progress early in the race. Ricciardo stayed ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for fourth, while Verstappen coming to P7 in the opening laps, having started 16th on the grid. The first crash came with Lance Stroll of Williams, who punted into Sergio Perez of Force India and was pushed into gravel. The incident necessitated the appearance of a Virtual Safety Car, which remained for 4 laps.
Giovinazzi crashed on the main straight slamming into the pitwall
This worked for Hamilton giving him an healthy advantage, while also providing the chance to switch to slick tyres. In no time, the Chinese GP saw its second crash of the day as young driver Antonio Giovinazzi lost his car on the main straight and slammed his car into the pitwall barrier. The incident brought out the safety car with the race restarting in Lap 7.
Hamilton continued to maintain his lead by now, but Ricciardo turned out to be his biggest competition. However, the green-flag conditions gave Verstappen an impressive opportunity to pass Raikkonen for P3, before taking on teammate Ricciardo for P2. Meanwhile, the Ferrari twins followed closely behind Ricciardo with Vettel at P5 and Australian ensured to keep the red cars at bay. The fight seemed to be between Hamilton and Verstappen at one point, but Hamilton had a gap of over 7 seconds, which was seemingly difficult to close by now.
Vettel showed impressive pace but wasn't much of a competition to Hamilton
Despite Ricciardo's best efforts, Vettel managed to find the gap and quick surged pass Raikkonen and Ricciardo, closing in on Verstappen. In the battle for second, the German driver finally found the opportunity to overtake Verstappen as the latter locked up on a hairpin. Hamilton was still distant from Vettel, eventually finishing the race with a gap of 6.250 seconds.
Nevertheless, the battle for P3 remained much exciting as Red Bull drivers Ricciardo and Verstappen put up an impressive fight. But Verstappen managed to maintain the lead, taking the podium, also the 100th for Red Bull Racing in F1. Raikonen finished fifth in the race, ahead of Bottas, while Carlos Sainz of Torro Rosso took P7, after showing some impressive pace having lost time early in the race due to slick tyres.
Hamilton and Vettel now lead the race with equal points
Kevin Magnussen took first points for his new team Haas at P8, while the Sahara Force India duo Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon finished ninth and tenth respectively, taking crucial points for the Indian team. Apart from Stroll and Giovinazzi, McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Vandoorne as well as Daniil Kvyat of Torro Rosso retired from the race due to mechanical issues.
With two races complete, the 2017 F1 season has Mercedes and Ferrari tied in points for the championship title this year. The teams will now be heading to Bahrain for the next race on 16th April.
Images Courtesy: Formula 1
