SHANGHAI, China -- Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton captured his third straight Formula One race with ease on Sunday, leading from start to finish to win the Chinese Grand Prix. Mercedes showed again that its in a different class from its rivals, with Hamiltons teammate Nico Rosberg taking second place -- the third time in four races this season the pair have finished one-two. "This is a team on a roll, thats for sure," Hamilton said. "Im going to be working hard, were going to keep working hard because obviously the others are pushing to catch us." Ferraris Fernando Alonso held off fast-charging Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo to finish third and give his team its first podium finish of the year, with new team principal Marco Mattiacci watching from the garage. Ricciardo was fourth, finishing one place ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel after the four-time defending world champion was asked by his team to allow the faster Ricciardo to pass for the second race in a row. Hamiltons win gave him his first career hat trick following his victories in Malaysia and Bahrain. The Briton may have even had a fourth win this season but was forced to retire in the season-opener in Australia after starting from pole position due to engine trouble. With the win, he inched closer to his teammates lead in the drivers championship with 75 points, just four behind Rosberg. Hamilton, who moved one ahead of Jim Clark for most poles by a British driver with the 34th of his career in Shanghai, was cruising so comfortably at the end of Sundays race that he wasnt even rattled when the checkered flag was mistakenly shown a lap too soon, at the end of lap 55. "That was very strange. I was thinking, Am I seeing things? I looked up, I was coming across the line expecting to do another lap and, all of a sudden, I looked for a split second and I saw the flag," he said. According to F1 regulations, if the checkered flag is shown early, the official end of the race will be the lap before it was shown. On Sunday, that meant the end of lap 54. The only racers this affected were Caterhams Kamui Kobayashi and Marussias Jules Bianchi. Kobayashi had passed the Frenchman on their final lap for 17th place, but their places were reversed in the official results. Hamilton was so far ahead for much of the race, his rivals were left to battle for second best. Rosberg, expected to challenge Hamilton in Shanghai after the pairs incredibly tight duel in Bahrain, started fourth on the grid and was forced to play catch-up after a slow start immediately dropped him back to seventh. The German methodically tracked down the two Red Bulls and finally passed Alonso on the back straight of the 43rd lap, the Ferrari unable to match the speed of the Mercedes. Rosberg then set his sights on Hamilton but he was by that point too far ahead, finishing nearly 19 seconds clear of the German. "We have the best car," Rosberg said. "But I was back there, so then catching up was nice with this fast car. Its a good weapon." Vettel started third on the grid and briefly moved to second before beginning to fade as his tires wore out. After Rosberg passed him, he was asked to give way to Ricciardo on the 25th lap -- a repeat of what happened two weeks ago at the Bahrain GP. Instead of acceding, however, Vettel asked his team what tires Ricciardo was using and when told they were both on mediums, the German responded, "Tough luck." At the start of the next lap, though, Vettel did make way and finished a distant 24 seconds behind his teammate. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner explained afterward that the team had different tire strategies for the drivers, planning a two-stop race for Ricciardo and a three-stop race for Vettel. "As soon as (Vettel) understood that, he immediately let him through," he said. "You could see he simply didnt have the pace to hold him back there. It was pointless." Vettel, who has qualified behind Ricciardo three times to start the season, agreed with the decision given his struggles Sunday. "Im not yet where I want to be with the car, but its an on-going process," he said. "Hopefully at the next few races we will make some more steps in the right direction." Force India had both its drivers finish in the points with Nico Hulkenberg finishing sixth and Sergio Perez taking ninth. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was seventh, Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen was eighth, and Toro Rossos Daniil Kyvat finished in 10th, another impressive showing by the 19-year-old debutant. Austin Hedges Jersey . Its been a successful Games for Canada, which will finish near the top of the medal standings again. From repeat gold medal winners to multiple medal winners to undefeated teams to acts that define the Olympic spirit, there are many solid candidates who could be considered to receive the honour. Custom San Diego Padres Jerseys . First, Ivan Nova decided to have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery. Then Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games for using pine tar. http://www.padressale.com/padres-rollie-fingers-jersey/. Adam Lind provided the power and rookie starter Marcus Stroman had the best start of his young career as the Blue Jays dumped the Yankees 8-3 at Rogers Centre. Stroman, making his fifth start for Toronto, allowed one earned run and three hits over a career-high eight innings. Johnny Manziel Jersey .S. - Nova Scotias Mary Fay guaranteed at least one more match and a shot at the Canadian junior curling championships final on home ice. Dave Winfield Padres Jersey . Correia pitched six innings of one-run ball, Eduardo Escobar homered, and the Minnesota Twins pulled away late to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-3 on Saturday.DES MOINES, Iowa -- Wichita State soared past yet another overwhelmed Missouri Valley Conference opponent on Saturday night. Now the Shockers could be in line for another leap in the national polls. Cleanthony Early scored 19 points, Ron Baker added 14 and fifth-ranked Wichita State stayed perfect with a 78-61 win over Drake. Wichita States latest win -- combined with an ugly home loss by No. 4 Villanova to Creighton during the week and No. 3 Michigan States home defeat against No. 21 Michigan on Saturday -- could put the Shockers (21-0, 8-0 MVC) in position to leapfrog both teams on Monday. Coach Gregg Marshall appeared to be stumping for his team with what seemed to be a bit of a jab at Michigan State (18-2) after the game. "Did the mighty Spartans lose again?" Marshall said as he left the podium following his postgame news conference. The Shockers will have to wait until March for Michigan State or whoever else might stand in their way at another Final Four appearance. For now, theyll have to settle for pounding on teams in the Valley. Drake was the latest to succumb to Wichita States acrobatic offence and suffocating defence. Nick Wiggins had 11 points for the visiting Shockers, who outscored Drake 28-15 to open the second half and turn a relatively close game into a rout. The Shockers have now won four straight by at least 15 points after an overtime scare at Missouri State two weeks ago. Aaron Hawley had 16 points to lead Drake (11-9, 2-6), which lost for the sixth time in seven games. "That team is extremely tough-minded," Drake coach Ray Giacoletti said. "Each possession offensively and defensively, they control their destiny. They dont splinter ever. We were not able to make them splinter." The Bulldogs had their moments against the Valleys top team, but Wichita State showed off its superior talent with a handful of game-defining plays. Baker answered a Drake 3 with a three-point play through traffic with 15:45 left, and that kicked off a pair of spurts that overwhelmed the Bulldoogs.dddddddddddd Chadrack Lufile scored inside, and Tekele Cottons floater put the Shockers ahead 52-35 with just over 13 minutes left. Early then soared through the paint to flush down an errant shot, and Wiggins three-point play capped an 11-0 run that made it 65-44. The Shockers outrebounded Drake 34-20 and held its leading scorer, Richard Carter, to six points. Its been six years since Drake caught the nations attention with a stunning surge to the Valley championship, the programs first in 37 seasons. The Bulldogs are on their third coach since that NCAA tournament run, with Giacoletti in his first season in Des Moines. Drake started the season 10-3 and whipped Evansville 94-66 in the league opener before slipping during the heart of its Valley schedule. But the Bulldogs, bolstered by a near-sellout crowd, did their best to push the Shockers early. They hit nine of their first 16 shots to stay as close as 30-26. But Baker found Cotton for a one-handed alley-oop that sent Wichita State into the break with a 37-29 lead. "I know Tekele Cotton pretty well. He can jump really high and he likes to dunk it," Baker said. "It was a really athletic play from him, which is no surprise." Cotton then opened the second half with another dunk and the Shockers were on their way to their eighth road win. The Shockers wont face a remaining schedule as tough as Michigan States or perhaps anyone else in a power league. But Marshall said his Shockers can play with anyone in the country. Wichita State next hosts Loyola and Evansville ahead of what could be its toughest test of the year, at 16-4 Indiana State on Feb. 5. "This is a very good basketball team. We dont have to apologize to anybody about our schedule," Marshall said. "Was it (former Arizona Cardinals coach) Dennis Green that says, We are what they say we are? So, were (fifth) in the country and probably moving up -- that is unless theres some elite team wants to jump us this week. I dont know who that elite team might be." ' ' '