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BEIJING. — Lewis Hamilton can chalk up three wins in a row for the first time in his Formula One career on Sunday but Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg will be doing all he can to deny him the hat-trick. Returning to the Chinese circuit where he took his first pole and victory in 2012, Rosberg has been runner-up in the last two races but still leads the championship by 11 points after his season-opening success in Australia. The pair served up a thriller under the floodlights in Bahrain 10 days ago and another wheel-to-wheel duel in China would be a further boost for a sport fighting back against criticism of its new regulations. Hamilton, the 2008 champion, is ready to do his bit. “I’m in a really good place at the moment and walking around the garage too, you can see the positive energy within the team right now,” he said in a team preview. “I’m getting stronger every time I come to this track and it suits my driving style quite well. The aim, as always, is to win and if I could make it three in a row this weekend that would be incredible.”

The Briton is one of only two drivers to have won twice in Shanghai — Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso is the other — but Hamilton still has painful memories of throwing away a championship lead when he went into a gravel trap at the circuit in 2007.  — Reuters.