Lewis Hamilton helped Mercedes reassert their authority over Ferrari by leading home team-mate Nico Rosberg in a dominant display for the German outfit at the F1 Chinese Grand Prix yesterday.

The race had a slightly anti-climatic feel to its conclusion as the cars crossed the line behind a safety car but Hamilton controlled events from the front and always looked good value for his 35th career win and record-extending fourth in China.

“Great stuff, Lewis, great stuff, stellar weekend mate, it’s a full house,” Hamilton’s engineers told him over the radio after the Briton backed up his practice dominance and pole position with the fastest lap of the race in his win.

After stunning Mercedes with a brilliant victory in Malaysia, Sebastian Vettel threatened early in his Ferrari but once the cars were fitted with the medium-compound tyres for the final stint, the German’s challenge faded.

A third podium in as many races since joining from Red Bull was still a great result and he would have been the most relieved when Max Verstappen’s engine failure brought out the safety car as his fast-finishing team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was looming large in his mirrors.

Hamilton’s second win in three races allowed him to extend his lead at the top of the championship standings, the Briton moving on to 68 points with Vettel on 55 and Rosberg four points adrift.

Hamilton had aggressively angled his car towards the inside on the grid to cover any attack from fellow front-row occupier Rosberg and once the lights went out, the Briton surged ahead of his team-mate on the run to Turn One.

Vettel protected third but Raikkonen, who was left ruing another missed opportunity after qualifying sixth, surged past Williams duo Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas off the line to slot into fourth.

Although Mercedes were expected to regain their dominant stride yesterday, Ferrari kept the Silver Arrows honest for most of the early running when the track was at his hottest and the cars fitted with soft tyres.

They lurked within striking distance in the opening runs and at one point after the first pit stops, seemed like genuine contenders for a second-straight win with Vettel reeling in the two cars ahead of him.

The German closed to within less than two seconds of Rosberg but fell behind after switching to the harder compound tyres as Mercedes shadowed Ferrari’s tactics to avoid being outfoxed by the Italians as they had been in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, McLaren’s Jenson Button was handed a time penalty that cost him 13th place after accepting responsibility for a collision with Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado.

The 2009 Formula One world champion, who dropped to 14th as a result of the extra five seconds added to his time, also picked up two penalty points for the turn one collision.

Result at Shanghai Circuit

Note: Jenson Button handed five-second penalty at end of race.

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton,1:42.208, lap 31.
Next race: Bahrain Grand Prix – April 19.

Drivers’ standings
1. Hamilton 68; 2. Vettel 55; 3. Rosberg 51; 4. Massa 30; 5. Raikkonen 24; 6. Bottas 18; 7. Nasr 14; 8. Ricciardo 11; 9. Grosjean 6; 10. Huelkenberg 6; 11. Verstappen 6; 12. Sainz Jr 6; 13. Ericsson 5; 14. Kvyat 2; 15. Perez 1.

Constructors
1. Mercedes 119; 2. Ferrari 79; 3. Williams 48; 4. Sauber 19; 5. Red Bull 13; 6. Toro Rosso 12; 7. Force India 7; 8. Lotus 6.