Seven-time world champion Hamilton’s 97th grand prix triumph extended his early season lead over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the Formula One drivers’ standings to eight points.
Browsing: Valtteri Bottas
The 35-year-old started on pole, but found himself behind his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas after a chaotic first lap which also saw Carlos Sainz lead the race for a period following some light rain.
The victory takes the Briton to within one race victory of Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 – a landmark he could equal in Sochi, Russia, a week next Sunday.
Untroubled out front and with no repetition of the tyre problems that blighted Mercedes last week, Hamilton took another dominant victory.
Bottas, who led every lap in a peerless performance, crossed the line just 0.6 seconds clear of his Mercedes team-mate, but world champion Hamilton was penalised after he was involved in a crash with Red Bull driver Alex Albon in the closing stages.
The world champion moved closer to winning a sixth world title – 73 points clear of nearest challenger and teammate Valtteri Bottas with 130 remaining – after a virtual safety car was brought out after Sebastian Vettel’s red car stopped with engine failure.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, starting on pole, finished second after defending hard against Verstappen with the two youngsters banging wheels as the Dutchman forced his way past three laps from the end.
Lewis Hamilton delivered a crushing performance to win in China as Ferrari used team orders to help Sebastian Vettel finish on the podium.
Valtteri Bottas has signed a one-year contract extension with Mercedes to ensure that he will remain with the team for the 2019 season.
The Mercedes driver remained calm and composed en route to a comfortable win in the first French GP for a decade, finishing ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
However, Bottas suffered a puncture while Vettel lost three places at the restart after locking up trying to overtake for the lead, setting Hamilton up for a straightforward victory.
Starting in pole, Vettel was out almost instantly due to a start-line crash that also eliminated Max Verstappen and teammate Kimi Raikkonen.