Nico Rosberg wins manic race at Chinese GP

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg continued his superlative form as he won his third successive race of the 2016 Formula One season at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday.

Rosberg, who won the opening two races in Australia and Bahrain, stormed through a manic first lap at the Shanghai International Circuit to win comfortably from Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari and Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat.

Rosberg capitalised on the misery of Daniel Ricciardo, who suffered a left rear puncture after propelling his Red Bull into the lead at the first bend. He eventually displayed resilience and finished fourth with Kimi Raikkonen fifth and Felipe Massa sixth in the Williams, Sport24 reported.

Meanwhile, reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton overcame an array of adversities to finish seventh. He was positioned last on the grid and lost his Mercedes front wing in a collision on an incident-packed opening lap.

This was also Rosberg's sixth consecutive win (three from last season) and extended his championship lead to 36 points over Hamilton, with Ricciardo a further three adrift.