Lewis Hamilton wins Formulae One's 1,000th race

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Lewis Hamilton (Pic: Hindustan Times)
Lewis Hamilton (Pic: Hindustan Times)

Beijing : Lewis Hamilton on Sunday won the Chinese Grand Prix to seize the overall lead from his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in Formula One’s 1,000th world championship race.

Bottas claimed the second spot, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel took third place, his first podium appearance of the campaign, with Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly denying the German an extra point with the fastest lap right at the end.

It was Hamilton's 75th career win, second in a row after he won in Bahrain two weeks ago, and sixth in China.

“To have a one-two together is really special in the 1,000th Grand Prix. The start was where I was able to make the difference, and after that it’s kind of history,” said the Briton, who also won the 900th in Bahrain in 2014.

He now needs 17 more wins to beat Michael Schumacher, who tops the list with 91 victories.

“I think I lost it in the start. The car was feeling OK and otherwise the pace was similar,” said the Finn.

“But in the first stint in the dirty air I couldn’t follow. Shame about the start, I got some wheel spin when I went over the white line, the start-finish line which is immediately after my box, and I lost it there.”