OMNISPORT

After a triumphant Formula One season last time out, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have endured a tough start to 2018 as Sebastian Vettel has built an early lead.

World champion Hamilton had to settle for second then third in the opening two races of the campaign, with technical difficulties costing the Mercedes driver. He will therefore be delighted to return to China, where he has excelled in the past and could set a record points streak on Sunday.

Mercedes will also hope Hamilton can help to maintain their own rich history in Shanghai and stop Vettel securing a career first with another victory.

5 - Hamilton has won five races and recorded six pole positions in China, more than any other driver.

7 - If Mercedes reach pole, it will be the joint-best streak at a single circuit for a team in F1 history - alongside Ferrari in Japan, between 1998 and 2004, and Williams in Great Britain from 1991 until 1997.

27 - No F1 driver has won more often in Asia than Vettel, where 55 per cent of his 49 victories have come. He first won in Shanghai in 2009.

4 - Mercedes have won the last four in China, all of them from pole position. The winner in Shanghai has started from pole nine times out of 14.

3 - The last time Ferrari won the opening three races in a single F1 season was when Michael Schumacher began 2004 with five straight. Vettel has never before triumphed in the first three grands prix in a campaign.

0 - Williams are the only team yet to score points after the opening two events.

28 - Hamilton is only one race away from becoming the driver to collect points in the most F1 grands prix in succession.

100 - Valtteri Bottas will take part in his 100th F1 race this weekend.

5 - Fernando Alonso has collected points in five events in a row, his best streak during his second stint at McLaren.