Five key talking points from the Chinese Grand Prix

It was another eventful race in China in the early hours of Sunday morning, Lewis Hamilton started from second but secured a dominant win, there was more controversy in the Ferrari setup and there was an unexpected surge from a contender for driver of the day. Here are the biggest talking points from the weekend’s action!

Hamilton in control – Lewis Hamilton may have not started on pole but it didn’t matter as the Brit stormed to an incredible win, his second of the season. It took him four races before he stood on top of the podium in 2018 but he already has two wins under his belt and is showing no signs of slowing down. Whilst his competitors crumble around him, Hamilton knows what to do in this situation and it showed.

The Ferrari debate continues – So much hope, so much promise and so much speed in the pre-season testing seem a distant memory as the debate of who is Ferrari’s number one takes centre stage. In China it was no different with Leclerc in third the team ordered him to let Sebastian Vettel through, he reluctantly obliged and he finished fifth, another desperately disappointing set of circumstances for the Monegasque. Vettel failed to close the gap to Bottas and Ferrari were humiliated once again.

Ricciardo finally scores some points – It may have taken him two races to score some points for his new Renault team but Daniel Ricciardo came home behind the top three pairs to finish seventh and secure six points. Having had a tough time at home in Australia and then an even tougher race in Bahrain, the Honey Badger put in an assured performance with no reliability issues to claim best of the rest in China. Following the race, he insisted Renault still need to improve and that will be the case with the midfield more competitive than ever, but for now, it’s a welcome result.

Kvyat back in the action… In the wrong way – Having gone under the radar slightly in his opening two races back in Formula 1, Daniil Kvyat was back amongst the collisions in China. The Russian lost control of his car on lap 1 colliding with Carlos Sainz who subsequently bumped into Lando Norris forcing the McLaren off the track. Kvyat was given a drive-through penalty which he wasn’t best pleased with and he ended up retiring along with Norris. Maybe he should take some tips from his teammate...

Alexander Albon proves his worth – He described himself as “greedy” following his crash in practice which meant he didn’t compete in qualifying, but Alexander Albon showed what he’s capable of as he stormed through the field to finish tenth. Having started from the pit lane, little was expected of the Toro Rosso driver but he made his way through the field with poise and control to secure a second points finish of the season. A very impressive race from Albon, a performance worthy of the driver of the day award!