Hamilton, Bottas 1-2 in F1 race
Mercedes has gone 1-2, 1-2, 1-2 in the first three races of the new Formula One season.
Lewis Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas completed their third consecutive double in the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai. That kind of start has not happened since 1992 when Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese went 1-2 in the first three races.
Sunday’s race turned out to be over in the first 30 seconds.
Second on the grid, Hamilton beat pole-sitter Bottas to the first turn and then led for the entire 56 laps. It was Hamilton’s sixth victory on the Shanghai circuit. It also was the five-time and defending champion’s 75th career victory, which moved him into the lead in the overall standings after three races.
Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari was third ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. In other news:
• Suzuki’s Alex Rins earned his first career MotoGP victory at the Grand Prix of the Americas after six-time race champion Marc Marquez crashed out of the lead midway through the race. Marquez had been undefeated at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin and was well on his way to another easy victory when a mistake through a corner sent his motorcycle tumbling with 11 laps to go. Marquez spilled his Repsol Honda after breaking out of the long straight. He tried to get back on and restart but couldn’t. Rins then chased down Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi and passed him for the lead with four laps to go. The fall also knocked Marquez out of the lead on the season championship as he chases his sixth title in seven years.