It’s as easy as 1+2 = 3

Mercedes has gone 1-2, 1-2, 1-2 in the first three races of the new Formula One season, a great start for the sport’s dominating team.

Lewis Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas completed their third straight double in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. That kind of start has not happened since 1992 when Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese went 1-2 in the first three races.

“As a team, we didn’t expect to have three 1-2s,” Hamilton admitted. He acknowledged there’s been some luck involved, particularly two weeks ago in Bahrain when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc should have won, but was undone by late engine trouble.

“I think we’re over-delivering a little bit at the moment,” Hamilton said. “What a fantastic result for the team, everyone’s worked so hard for this.

“Coming here we didn’t know exactly where we would stand with Ferrari, as they’d been so quick in Bahrain. Valtteri has been quick all weekend and did a great job.

“To have a 1-2 together is really special for the 1,000th grand prix. The start was where I made the difference and after that it’s history.

“The strategy has really been on point over these first three races so we need to keep that up. A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who’s supported me. You can still see it’s very close between us all. I really have no idea how the next races will turn out but I’m super excited for them.”

Sunday’s race was over in the first 30 seconds.

Second on the grid, Hamilton beat pole-sitter Bottas to the first turn and then led for the entire 56 laps. It was Hamilton’s sixth victory on the Shanghai circuit. It was also the five-time and defending champion’s 75th career victory, which moved him into the lead in the overall standings after three races.

The next is in two weeks in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari was third ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.

The Mercedes 1-2 streak – two wins for Hamilton and one for Bottas – comes despite early hints that Ferrari had more flat-out speed.

Bottas acknowledged he was done in by his slow start, with Hamilton racing ahead out of the first turn.

“For us as a team it’s really been a perfect start to the season; we could not have imagined to get three 1-2s in a row,” he said. “We managed to maximise on every single opportunity which is great to see.

“For me personally, Sunday was a bit disappointing as I was on pole, but then lost the race at the start. There’s a white line just outside the starting box and I had some wheel-spin when I went over it and lost the position to Lewis.

“It’s all about details in this sport, so unfortunately that detail decided the rest of the race. On the positive side, we did have a strong race pace here in Shanghai, much better than in Bahrain.

“I think that we’re in a good position, but we need to keep pushing. This track is very unique in its layout and Baku will hold very different challenges so it’s going to be interesting again in two weeks.

The 21-year-old Leclerc of Monaco was upset after about 10 laps when his Ferrari team ordered him to let Vettel pass. Vettel was in fourth at the time and Leclerc was third.

“Let Sebastian by. Let Sebastian by,” the team radio told Leclerc. He replied, clearly irritated: “But I’m pulling away” as he backed off and watched Vettel pass.

Ferrari team head Mattia Binotto told reporters earlier in the week that preference would be given to the four-time champion Vettel over Leclerc. At least early in the season.

“If there is any 50-50 situation where we need to take a decision, the advantage would have been given to Sebastian, simply because Sebastian has got most of the experience,” Binotto said.

Despite benefiting from team orders, Vettel was not thrilled with his finishing position.

“I’m happy to be on the podium,” he said. “It’s tough. We tried to stick with them. But we just couldn’t. They were too quick right from the start.”

He was asked about the team orders and didn’t give a straight answer in the post-race press conference sitting alongside Bottas and Hamilton.

“I’m not sure I want to answer,” he said, chiding some reporters for taking his words out of context. “I thought I was faster in the car,” he said. “I was asked if I could go faster. I answered that I felt I can. Obviously the objective was to try to catch Mercedes. At that point the gap was already quite big.”

Vettel expressed some frustration. He said the car was ‘strong, nothing wrong with it’ but he said the team had to find a way to ‘unlock’ its performance. “At this point it’s a question of putting it together,” he said.

Hamilton has 68 points after three races followed by Bottas (62), Verstappen (39), Vettel (37) and Leclerc (36).

The race was billed as the 1,000th in Formula One history dating from the first race in 1950 at the Silverstone circuit in England. That was won on May 13 by Guiseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: “To win the 1,000th race in such a controlled way is amazing. It’s a very special win and you can tell that everyone in the team is very happy with the outcome.

‘Baku is a different ball-game, there’s a very long straight and we need to get the power and drag level there right. I think we’ll be up for the fight and I’m looking forward to it.”

It’s a case of catch us if you can, motorsport scribes would suggest, be-FOUR it gets too late.