Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, the Briton's closest rival, finished only sixth after an early collision with Red Bull's Max Verstappen left the German fighting back from 19th place.
Sebastian Vettel won a tense Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday in a Ferrari one-two that stretched his championship lead to 14 points after Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton sportingly surrendered third place to his teammate.
Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix will be the 1,000th race of the Formula One world championship since the first at Silverstone in 1950.
The six times world champion took the chequered flag at Imola 5.783 seconds ahead of team mate Valtteri Bottas, who started on pole position.
Fernando Alonso won the Italian Grand Prix while teammate Lewis Hamilton finished close on his heels on second.
Six time world champion Lewis Hamilton, winner of the British Grand Prix from pole position at the same circuit last weekend and 30 points clear of Valtteri Bottas after four races without spectators, was 0.138 seconds slower.
World champion Lewis Hamilton, back in the car after his COVID-19-enforced absence at last week's Sakhir Grand Prix, was third but only 0.086 seconds off the pace.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday in a Mercedes one-two that ended Sebastian Vettel's bid for a fourth in a row.
The front row lockout was a record-equalling 65th for champions Mercedes.
Formula One leader Valtteri Bottas put his Mercedes on pole position by a massive margin at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday with team mate Lewis Hamilton having to settle for second in a front row lockout.
Lewis Hamilton can clinch his fifth Formula One world championship at Sunday's US Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton extended his lead at the top of the overall Formula standings with an unchallenged drive to victory in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix. The Briton, who started from pole and led every lap, crossed the line 8.4 seconds ahead of team mate Valtteri Bottas who gave Mercedes a one-two finish.
The Finn lapped the six-km Baku street circuit in one minute, 40.495 seconds, just 0.059 seconds faster than team mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
Monaco's Leclerc, who had started on pole position for the first time, lost power with 10 laps to go while leading and finished third with an extra point for the fastest lap.
A glaring error by Ferrari denied Charles Leclerc the chance to shine at home, with the 21-year-old failing to make it through the first phase and qualifying only 16th after going fastest in final practice.
The pole was the Finn's second in a row, after Brazil two weeks ago, and fourth of the campaign. Hamilton had been aiming for his 12th of the year.
The Briton's Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas will line up alongside on the front row of the starting grid with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel behind them.
IMAGES from the Silverstone F1 GP on Sunday
Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix to seize the overall lead from his Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas in Formula One's 1,000th world championship race on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton collected his champion's trophy at a glittering gala in Paris after ending the year in touching distance of Michael Schumacher's records for wins and titles.
Hamilton is seven points clear of Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas after five of the 21 races.
Red Bull closed the gap to champions Mercedes in the constructors' standings to one point.
The triple champion, who started the race from a record 69th career pole position, led Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas to a runaway one-two finish in front of the massed ranks of red-shirted Ferrari fans.
Lewis Hamilton won the Monaco Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday, nursing his car's worn tyres to the finish in a nail-biting victory worthy of the team's late great Niki Lauda.
Lewis Hamilton was 'shocked' with the pace of Mercedes after notching a record-extending eighth pole position at the Australian Grand Prix ahead of team mate Valtteri Bottas as they thrashed their Formula One rivals in qualifying on Saturday.
A Ferrari victory was the shot in the arm that Formula One needed.
Lewis Hamilton lapped fastest overall for Mercedes in Hungarian Grand Prix practice
Max Verstappen won Red Bull's home Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday while Lewis Hamilton suffered his first race retirement since 2016 and lost the Formula One championship lead to Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
Formula One got back on track in changed circumstances on Friday but with Mercedes bringing a familiar look to the timing sheets as six times World champion Lewis Hamilton led team mate Valtteri Bottas one-two in Austrian Grand Prix free practice. The Briton did 41 laps and lapped with a best time of one minute 04.816 seconds in a damp and overcast session, 0.356 faster than the Finn.
Images from the Tuscan F1 Grand Prix held at at Mugello, Scarperia e San Piero in Tuscany, Italy, on Sunday.
Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg chalked up his seventh win in a row at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday with team mate Lewis Hamilton fighting back from 10th on the grid to seal a Mercedes one-two finish.
Valtteri Bottas won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday and retook the Formula One lead from team mate Lewis Hamilton after a fourth successive one-two finish for Mercedes.
'The chance is there -- and what kind of racing driver would I be if I stopped believing?'
The German's hopes of winning a fifth Formula One title this season moved away from slim and closer to non-existent at Suzuka.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Will things be the same at Bahrain? Here's where we look to the front - by looking at what we've learnt.
Fernando Alonso got the win that he wanted in Sunday's German Grand Prix while his Ferrari Formula One team paid the price with a fine of $100,000.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain Grand Prix for the second year in a row on Sunday with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen back on the podium to deny Mercedes another one-two finish under the floodlights.
Hamilton has won the last three races, out of four so far in this COVID-19 affected season, and will start as favourite again.
World champion Sebastian Vettel won the Korean Grand Prix in a Red Bull one-two finish on Sunday to take the overall Formula One lead from Ferrari's Fernando Alonso with four races remaining.
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