( CNN ) -- Nico Rosberg tasted grand prix success at his 111th attempt with a faultless drive to win the Chinese Grand Prix Sunday . The 26-year-old German led from pole in his Mercedes to relegate the McLaren pair of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton to the minor podium positions in Shanghai . Hamilton 's third successive third place finish has taken him to the top of the world championship standings , two points clear of teammate Button . Previous leader Fernando Alonso could only take ninth place in his Ferrari and slips to third in the title race . Reigning double world champion Sebastian Vettel , who started from 11th place on the grid in his Red Bull , battled wearing tires in the closing stages of the 56-lap race and dropped from second place to fifth . He was overtaken by Button , Hamilton and then teammate Mark Webber , but up ahead Rosberg was untroubled . He crossed the line 20.6 seconds clear to become the first winner for the famous German marque of Mercedes since the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955 in Italy . `` This is an unbelievable feeling . I 'm very happy , very excited , '' he told the post-race press conference . `` It 's been a long time coming for me , and for the team also , for the past two years and a bit . `` It 's finally there . It 's amazing , and it 's nice to see now how quickly we are progressing . '' Stopping only twice to change tires , Rosberg was always in control , the last challenge to his supremacy disappearing when Button 's third stop in his McLaren cost him time . `` I think I lost nine to 10 seconds , which is a pity because when I exited the pits I had four cars ahead of me I would n't have been racing . Otherwise I would have had a nice , clear track , '' Button said . Hamilton , who qualified second fastest , but was relegated five grid positions for a pre-race gearbox change , was pleased with another solid performance to take over at the top of the standings . `` I said I wanted to move forward . The team did a great job during the pit stops and with strategy , there was a lot of overtaking , so a fantastic day . '' Rosberg 's teammate , seven-time champion Michael Schumacher , started from second on the grid , but his race was cut short by a mistake at his first pit stop which saw his right front tire nut not properly fitted . His pit crew were seen slapping the ground in frustration as he drove off before quickly retiring on lap 14 . Lotus driver Romain Grosjean finished sixth ahead of the Williams pair of Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado . Alonso and Sauber 's Kamui Kobayashi rounded out the points scoring for the top 10 .
Nico Rosberg wins Red Bull in Italy . McLaren pair Jenson Button and Rosberg third and third . Hamilton takes the lead in the world tite race . Michael Schumacher 's teammate Michael Schumacher victim of faulty pit stop .