Driver reaction: Lewis Hamilton expects closest ever championship
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Updated 09/04/2017 at 09:41 GMT
Lewis Hamilton cruised to victory in the Chinese Grand Prix, giving him an immediate reply to Sebastian Vettel, who won the first race of the new season.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates after winning the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Image credit: Reuters
Ferrari driver Vettel was second in China with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull, but it was Hamilton in the Mercedes who took maximum points.
Hamilton was in pole in China and led all the way from start to finish to claim his 54th Grand Prix victory, moving level in the 2017 standings with Vettel, who is shaping up to be his biggest rival in the season.
There was drama on the final lap as Daniel Ricciardo tried to overtake team-mate Verstappen to make the podium, only for the Australian to lock up and almost allow Kimi Raikkonen through.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes, 1st)
I think this will be one of the closest championships] if not the closest I have experienced. Ferrari have done a great job and it is great that we are both pushing. Today was very tough for us all. It was mostly dry at the start but a couple of wet corners. I'm so proud of everyone. It was incredible. Thanks to all of you. It's such a great crowd here in Shanghai. It was tough for all of us today. But it was a great job by my team and Sebastian and this dude (Verstappen). Big thanks to this team - my own staff and the team back in the factory. This race is so real and exciting and we were matching times so if there wasn't safety car as it would have been a lot closer.
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari, 2nd)
The safety car came just as I was about to start to feel the dry tyres were a lot quicker but then I had a very exciting race. I was stuck in the train for a little while but then tried to chase down Lewis Hamilton. It was a good match. It was good fun. My target was to catch Lewis, I was getting angry behind the train, I felt I could go faster in these conditions so I felt I had to try it on Daniel Ricciardo. On the exit I was a bit compromised, I had my elbows out, he really squeezed me, but good fun.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull, 3rd)
It was a very challenging race but I really enjoyed it. I think I overtook nine cars in the opening lap so it was a very good race for me! I didn't have a lot of track time this weekend because didn't do much in qualifying so I wasn't expecting to finish on the podium having started in 16th. I was getting a little frustrated at the end as I wanted clear air to try and push harder but in the end I still finished on the podium so I can't complain.
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes, 6th)
Behind the safety car I was trying generate as much tyre temperature as I could. I went too far away, I was too aggressive and made a mistake and spun, and lost so many places and time. After that, it was tricky for a while to get the tyres working again. I got them there eventually and then the pace was good. From a stupid mistake of mine, we lost so many points today.
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