Lewis Hamilton dominated the fourth round of the 2014 Formula 1 Championship in China this morning to secure his first ever hat trick of victories and reduce the points gap to team-mate Nico Rosberg who finished second.
Hamilton never looked back after a great start that saw Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso move from P5 to P3 despite contact with Williams’ Felipe Massa. Nico Rosberg also made contact with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas on turn 1, which dropped him to sixth position.
Rosberg then drove a fantastic race, overtaking his rivals on track, to eventually finish 18 seconds behind his teammate while Alonso beat the Red Bulls to third place, securing Ferrari’s first podium of the season, while team-mate Kimi Raikkonen struggled throughout the race and settled for eighth place.
Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel crossed the finish line fourth and fifth respectively as Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg fended off late pressure from Valtteri Bottas to finish sixth.
McLaren had a disastrous race as both its drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen struggled with the Pirelli tyres to end up in eleventh and thirteenth places.
