Nico Rosberg

Nico Rosberg has won the Chinese Grand Prix, the  third race of the season for Mercedes, with team mate Lewis Hamilton coming home 7th.

The world champion started from the back, suffered a broken front wing on the first lap and did five pit stops.

Nico Rosberg

Hamilton faces the prospect of trying to overhaul a 36-point deficit over the remaining 18 races of the season.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel took second despite colliding with team-mate Kimi Raikkonen on the first lap.

The incident damaged both cars, with Raikkonen fighting back to fifth behind the Red Bulls of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.

Raikkonen’s rise through the field included passing Hamilton in the closing stages, Ferrari’s decision to use soft tyres for the final stint as opposed to the mediums chosen by Mercedes giving the Finn an advantage as Hamilton fought in vain to try to pass the Williams of Felipe Massa.

*With BBC report