April 9, 2017 – Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claimed his 54th career victory today at the second round of the 2017 Formula 1 championship, a mixed-weather Chinese Grand Prix that kicked off on a wet track.
Hamilton, who started from pole, was unchallenged throughout the race and finished a comfortable 6 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who also finished where he started.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, up from 16th on the grid to seventh on the first lap, took third place, but was under pressure in the closing laps from his more team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who ended up 4th.
Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas had a difficult day, spinning behind the safety car – caused by a shunt by Sauber’s Giovinazzi – in the early stages and dropping back to 12th, from which he recovered to finish sixth, behind the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.
| Pos | Driver | Car | Laps | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 56 | 1h37m36.160s |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 56 | 6.250s |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 56 | 45.192s |
| 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 56 | 46.035s |
| 5 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 56 | 48.076s |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 56 | 48.808s |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso/Renault | 56 | 1m12.893s |
| 8 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 55 | 1 Lap |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 55 | 1 Lap |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon | Force India/Mercedes | 55 | 1 Lap |
| 11 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 55 | 1 Lap |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 55 | 1 Lap |
| 13 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 55 | 1 Lap |
| 14 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 55 | 1 Lap |
| 15 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 55 | 1 Lap |
| – | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 33 | Transmission |
| – | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso/Renault | 18 | Retirement |
| – | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren/Honda | 17 | Retirement |
| – | Antonio Giovinazzi | Sauber/Ferrari | 3 | Spun off |
| – | Lance Stroll | Williams/Mercedes | 0 | Collision |