Lewis Hamilton emerged winner in the Chinese GP at the Shanghai International circuit to not only secure three successive titles for the first time in his career but also to equal Jim Clark and Niki Lauda's record of 25 career victories.
Hamilton did everything to maintain his lead while his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg lost pace and was seen seventh, before finally finishing second, 18.0s behind the Brit. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso held off Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo to grab third place.
The win helped Hamilton narrow the gap with Rosberg in the drivers' championship to four points.
"I can't believe how amazing the car is. I was able to look after the tyres and then I was racing myself," Hamilton said on the podium after the race. "I'm really happy Nico's up here with us. It's great points for the team."
It was Hamilton's third career victory in Shanghai and it's also the third time this season that the Mercedes racers finished one-two. The Red Bulls, despite finishing second and third in qualifying, did not do well enough to keep Alonso away. The Spaniard finished third, 23.6s behind Hamilton to help Ferrari achieve their first podium finish this season.
"It was a good weekend," Alonso said. "We did improve the car a little bit compared to the first three races, so we felt more competitive. Being in the podium is a nice surprise for us.
"I think I'm third in the championship behind these two guys. We didn't have the start of the season we would have liked but we are still in the fight."
Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel, for the second time in a row, was forced to let teammate Ricciardo move ahead of him, thanks to the medium-compound Pirelli tyres they both were on at the same time and a two-stop strategy the team adopted. The Australian finished fourth and was followed by his German teammate without much competition from Force India's Nico Hulkenberg, who finished sixth, while Williams' Valtteri Bottas came seventh.
Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari was all alone almost throughout the race to finish eighth, while the second Force India of Sergio Perez followed behind.
Results: 1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 5. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 6. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) 7. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 8. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 9. Sergio Perez (Force India) 10. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso).
(Ed: VP)
All-time Formula One Winners List
1. Michael Schumacher 91
2. Alain Prost 51
3. Ayrton Senna 41
4. Sebastian Vettel 39
5. Fernando Alonso 32
6. Nigel Mansell 31
7. Jackie Stewart 27
T8. Jim Clark 25
T8. Niki Lauda 25
T8. Lewis Hamilton 25
11. Juan Manuel Fangio 24
