Lewis Hamilton won his first race of the season, with a dominant win at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver started at the Shanghai International Circuit on pole position, and never lost the lead in a race that was not effected by rain, despite forecasts of a wet track, for race-day.
Sebastian Vettel, who won the opening race of the season in Australia two weeks ago, finished in second place, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen coming in third.
Vettel and Hamilton have now pulled away at the top of the Driver's Standings. Both World Champions have a win and a second place from their opening two races of the season.
UPDATED DRIVER STANDINGS
It's a tie at the top for the first time since 2012 🇩🇪 🇬🇧#ChineseGP 🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/bT2vElMzpT
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 9, 2017
Hamilton's win in China is his fifth in Shanghai. No other driver has won the Grand Prix more than two times, with Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg both reaching the chequered flag first, twice.
After the race, Hamilton said the rivalry between himself and Vettel could be one of the best in recent memory of the sport.
"I think it's going to be the closest championship race I've been involved in. Ferrari have done a great job and so have we"
"This could be the most exciting season in my career" - @LewisHamilton#ChineseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/QeV4dHEQ2o
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 9, 2017
In the first of back-to-back Grand Prix weekends, the third race of the season will take place in Bahrain next weekend.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
