DHAKA: Lewis Hamilton took a dominant victory in the Chinese Grand Prix to win three consecutive races for the first time in his career.

Hamilton`s Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg took second, fighting back to beat Ferrari`s Fernando Alonso after a poor start left him sixth on Lap One.

Alonso beat Red Bull`s Daniel Ricciardo to grab the final podium position.

An unhappy Sebastian Vettel was fifth, beaten by team-mate Ricciardo for the second race in a row.

The world champion refused a team order to let Ricciardo by in the middle of the race but was powerless to stop the Australian passing him.

But Vettel`s travails were a mere sideshow to the unanswerable pace of Hamilton, who was in a league of his own throughout.

Hamilton pulled away at about a second a lap in the early laps and was in cruise control for the rest of the afternoon, with less tyre wear and better fuel consumption than his rivals as he circulated serenely at the head of the field.

The win closes his deficit to Rosberg at the head of the championship to four points.

"I just can`t believe how amazing the car is and how hard everyone`s worked," Hamilton said on the podium. "After the start it was just really racing myself. I`m really happy Nico is up here with us. Great points for the team."

Hamilton is still making up the 25-point hit he took in retiring from the first race of the season in Australia while Rosberg won. The Englishman has won every grand prix since.

Rosberg`s race, meanwhile, demonstrated how much more difficult it is even in a dominant car such as the Mercedes if a driver finds himself out of position, reports the BBC.

BDST: 1514 HRS, APR 20, 2014