Chinese GP statistics: Hamilton sets new points record

Sebastian Vettel notched his 52nd F1 pole position in China with a new lap record at the Shanghai International Circuit - 1m31.095s.

It was Ferrari's first pole position in China since Rubens Baricchello topped qualifying in the 2004 edition of the race.

With Kimi Raikkonen qualifying second, Ferrari locked out the front row for the second race in succession. 2006 was the last year when Ferrari dominated back-to-back qualifying sessions in this manner.

Daniel Ricciardo took full advantage of the safety car period to score his sixth F1 win, putting him on level with Tony Brooks, John Surtees, Jochen Rindt, Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques Laffite, Riccardo Patrese and Ralf Schumacher.

Out of his six wins, five featured at least one safety car appearance. The 2014 Belgian GP remains the only race Ricciardo has won which was not interrupted by a safety car.

Ricciardo won the Chinese GP by starting sixth on the grid. Interestingly, none of his six wins have come from starting inside the top three. Denny Hulme currently holds the record for most wins without starting from pole (8).

Ricciardo's sixth F1 win was also the 56th one for his team Red Bull.

While Valtteri Bottas lost out the lead to Ricciardo, second place ensured he finished on the podium for the 24th time in his F1 career. He's now tied with the likes of F1 legends Stirling Moss, John Surtees and Alan Jones.

As for Raikkonen, it was his 93th F1 podium.

Although Lewis Hamilton endured a frustrating race, he now holds the record for most consecutive races in points (28).

Bottas' second place and Hamilton's fourth position meant Mercedes' six-year winning streak at Shanghai came to an end. The German manufacturer won every race in China between 2012-2017.

Before 2018, 2013 was the last season in which Mercedes failed to score a win in the opening three races.

However, Mercedes remains the only team to score points with both cars in the opening three races of the year.

Eighth was Vettel's worst result in Formula 1 after starting from pole. It was also his lowest finish since the 2016 British GP, excluding DNFs.

Kevin Magnussen scored points for a second race running by finishing 10th in China. This is the first time the Dane has managed back-to-back points finishes since the 2014 US and Brazilian Grands Prix.

Force India missed out on points in China, with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez only managing 11th and 12th positions respectively. With only one point in three races, 2018 marks Force India's worst start to a season since 2009, its second year in F1.