Chinese grand prix: Lewis Hamilton wins the penultimate race of the season

Lewis Hamilton took a five-point lead and a dominant display in qualifying to pole position in the Chinese grand prix in Shanghai Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty

The Brazilian Felipe Massa was Hamilton's closest rival and would start from third on the grid in the Ferrari Photograph: Vladimir Rys/Getty

An uneventful start meant Hamilton could pull away unimpeded from the chasing pack Photograph: David Davies/Press Association

Hamilton led into the first corner and would not relinquish the lead throughout Photograph: Nir Elias/Reuters

Hamilton's closest challenger for large sections of the race was Kimi Raikkonen, but the Finnish driver moved over to allow his team-mate Massa to take second Photograph: David Davies/Press Association

Hamilton opened up a huge gap between his McLaren and the rest of the field, eventually taking the chequered flag with a 15-second margin over Massa Photograph: Luca Bruno/AP

Hamilton's victory means that he needs only to finish fifth in Brazil to become world champion Photograph: Vladimir Rys/Getty

Hamilton was sandwiched by the two Ferrari drivers on the podium: Felipe Massa, left, and Kimi Raikkonen, right Photograph: Greg Baker/AP