adminSHANGHAI. — A clean-sweep for Mercedes including a Lewis Hamilton hat-trick has left the rest of Formula One wondering whether they can keep up this year, even after only four races.
The opening exchanges have all been won by Mercedes, who have dropped just 18 points so far — after a broken spark plug forced Hamilton out of the season-opener in Melbourne.
Since then, Mercedes have enjoyed three consecutive one-two finishes with 2008 world champion Hamilton leading team-mate Nico Rosberg, the winner in Melbourne, home on each occasion.
The Briton was untouchable at Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, pulling away from pole position to beat Rosberg by 18 seconds and complete a run of three straight F1 wins for the first time.
It underlined a power advantage which propelled the Mercedes cars down the 1.3 kilometre (0.8 miles) Shanghai back straight more than 20 kilometres an hour faster than their rivals.
Red Bull boss Christan Horner, who saw Daniel Ricciardo and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel finish fourth and fifth, said his team needed to find a response quickly. — AFP.
Online Reporter