A race win may still elude Lewis Hamilton in 2012, with three different teams having won the first three races, but the McLaren driver does lead the championship after the Chinese Grand Prix. The Stevenage man has finished third in every race so far.
After two pole positions in Australia and Malaysia, Hamilton qualified second in China but was demoted to seventh because of a five-place gearbox change penalty. Keeping out of trouble and pulling off several clean and effective overtaking moves, the 2008 title winner came home third behind Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button.
“I had a great race!” he smiled. “And, although neither Jenson nor I was sadly able to win, I’m really happy that Nico (karting team-mate of 2000) took his first win today, but I’m also really pleased for the McLaren team: both Jenson and I were able to get back on the podium and score some more good points.
“It was a tough race, though: I’d love to have been able to challenge Nico and I think maybe I’d have been able to if I’d started on the front row, but we still managed to move forwards from the start I had a lot of fun overtaking people too. I reckon I got everything out of the car that I possibly could.
“It’s also a major positive to know that we’ve got a very consistent car. We just have to make sure we keep moving forwards, that’s all. Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus and Sauber are all up there – that’s a serious championship and it’s going to make for great racing for the fans to watch.”
Hamilton remains the only driver to have won the Shanghai event twice, having crossed the line first in 2008 and last season.
View in full:
2012 F1 championship standings
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Lewis Hamilton
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:36:26.929 |
| 2. | J. Button | McLaren | +20.626 |
| 3. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | +26.012 |
| 4. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +27.924 |
| 5. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | +30.483 |
| 6. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | +31.491 |
| 7. | B. Senna | Williams | +34.597 |
| 8. | P. Maldonado | Williams | +35.643 |
| 9. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +37.256 |
| 10. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | +38.720 |
| Full results | |||
| Lewis Hamilton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Lewis Hamilton photos | |||
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