Chinese Grand Prix LIVE results: Lewis Hamilton wins F1’s 1,000th GP ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian vettel

Re-live the action from the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai

Formula One: 1000 races in numbers

Lewis Hamilton took his second consecutive victory to seize the world championship lead after a perfect performance in winning the Chinese Grand Prix.

In what was Formula One's 1,000th race in history, Hamilton beat Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas off the line into turn one, and never looked back. Behind, Bottas was able to hold off the Ferraris with ease, given their intra-team battle that threatens to boil over. Ferrari used early team orders to release Sebastian Vettel, gifting him third place but infuriating Charles Leclerc.

And subsequently, Leclerc lost fourth place to Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with the fallout from Ferrari's decision set to rumble on to the next race in Baku. Re-live the live updates below.

What time does it start?

The Chinese Grand Prix begins at 7:10am BST on Sunday 14 April.

Where can I watch it?

The race will be shown live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Highlights will be shown on Channel 4 from 3pm.

Starting grid

1 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1min 31.547secs

2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:31.570

3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:31.848

4 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:31.865

5 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:32.089

6 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Red Bull 1:32.930

7 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:32.958

8 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:32.962

9 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 No time set

10 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 No time set

11 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:33.236

12 Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:33.299

13 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:33.419

14 Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:33.523

15 Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:33.967

16 Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:34.292

17 George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:35.253

18 Robert Kubica (Pol) Williams 1:35.281

19 Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing No time set

20 Alexander Albon (Tha) Scuderia Toro Rosso No time set

Key Points

• The Chinese Grand Prix is the 1,000th race in history
• Hamilton takes second win of the season and inherits championship lead
• Bottas finishes second for third straight Mercedes one-two
• Ferrari use team orders to gift Sebastian Vettel third but cost Charles Leclerc fourth

[14 April 2019 06:18 · Jack de Menezes]

Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's Chinese Grand Prix, the third round of the 2019 F1 season.

[14 April 2019 06:36 · Jack de Menezes]

PITS OPEN

The pit lane explodes into live 35 minutes before lights out as the drivers get the green light to begin their installation laps. The Mercedes' and Red Bulls are quick out the box with Ferrari a little behind, but so far no dramas ahead of the 1,000th Grand Prix in Formula One.

[14 April 2019 06:41 · Jack de Menezes]

QUALIFYING RECAP

It was a throwback to the opening race of the season on Saturday in China as Valtteri Bottas returned to the front of the pack, and too a much-deserved pole position. The Finn has been well on the pace all weekend, leading the Mercedes challenge, but the interesting thing is that Hamilton kept tinkering with his set-up to improve his handling throughout qualifying - and seemed to find something as he nearly beat his teammate to top spot.

Ferrari were left to fill the second row, but they cannot be ruled out here as both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc found some one-lap pace towards the end of Q3 and just missed out on challenging for the front row. The joker in the pack could well be Max Verstappen though, whose qualifying session went a little worse than planned...

[14 April 2019 06:46 · Jack de Menezes]

Verstappen didn't really have much to argue - but he did anyway. The young Dutchman placed his Red Bull in fourth between the two Ferraris after the opening run of Q3, but as everyone was slow out the pits for their second and final run, it quickly became apparent that some of the top 10 were not going to make the line in time to start their final flying lap.

No one saw this better than Vettel, who passed a slow-moving Verstappen around the outside of the hairpin and just crossed the line in time to set a lap. So too did the two Renaults of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg, leaving both Verstappen and Pierre Gasly in each other's way and seeing the lights turn red before they crossed the line.

If it was a mistake for Red Bull, it was amateur hour at Haas, as both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen failed to get out in time - despite not having a first run and having all the time in the world to get their timing right.

Needless to say, Verstappen was not impressed.

[14 April 2019 06:48 · Jack de Menezes]

Start grid1 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1min 31.547secs

2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:31.570

3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:31.848

4 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:31.865

5 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:32.089

6 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Red Bull 1:32.930

7 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:32.958

8 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:32.962

9 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 No time set

10 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 No time set

11 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:33.236

12 Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:33.299

13 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:33.41

14 Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:33.523

15 Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:33.967

16 Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:34.292

17 George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:35.253

18 Robert Kubica (Pol) Williams 1:35.281

19 Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing No time set

20 Alexander Albon (Tha) Scuderia Toro Rosso No time set

[14 April 2019 06:52 · Jack de Menezes]

Esteban Ocon, the supremely talented young driver that was unlikely to miss out on the grid this year, believes it's almost impossible for the field to one-stop today, such is the wear on the tyres in China.

His prediction? The Mercedes reserve driver is going for Lewis Hamilton.

[14 April 2019 06:58 · Jack de Menezes]

With the national anthem done and dusted, the drivers head to their cars and engines are fired up for the final time. Little over 10 minutes until we get underway...

[14 April 2019 07:00 · Jack de Menezes]

Daniel Ricciardo has been taking some rather unusual advice from David Coulthard ahead of lights out...

[14 April 2019 07:05 · Jack de Menezes]

Liberty Media have allowed drivers to change their helmets for the 1,000th Grand Prix, and there are some beauties out there today. Williams may be at the back of the field this year, but George Russell has rolled back the years with a Juan Pablo Montoya-themed helmet that blends with his own design. For me, it's the clear winner.

Daniel Ricciardo meanwhile has paid tribute to the late Jack Brabham, the Australian racing hero, with an all-silver design that really is a throwback to the 1950s and 60s.

[14 April 2019 07:09 · Jack de Menezes]

Just five minutes until lights out and the main F1 feed plays out a spine-tingling montage of the 69-year and 1,000-race history of Formula One.

A wonderful walk down memory lane brings up Fangio, Clark, Stewart, Prost, Senna and Schumacher.

But today it could be about two, three, four and even five drivers, as Bottas, Hamilton, Vettel, Leclerc and Verstappen all harbour genuine hopes today.

Strategy-wise. we're expecting plenty of different options as drivers head into the cooler conditions fairly uncertain on what will work and what won't, so we'll have to keep an eye on who's on what as they emerge from two - maybe even three - pit stops.