Summing up
Putin and Ecclestone come out to glad-hand the top three and exchange stilted pleasantries, as is the way with top-level sport these days. But away from all that, this was an absorbing race, for which Vettel also deserves credit for the way he pursued Bottas all the way. He won’t be too despondent – his championship lead is still 13 points from Hamilton, with Bottas now third, Raikkonen fourth and Verstappen fifth. Mercedes now have a one-point lead in the constructors’ standings from Ferrari.
As they come out for podiuming and champagne-ing, I’ll sign off now. Thanks for following, and stay on the site for Giles Richards’ race report and more reaction. Bye.
Updated
So we have another feelgood story for the New F1: a new young winner, showing his class and temperament to hold on after a blistering start in which he snatched the lead from third on the grid and won by 0.6secs . It’s quite a statement from Mercedes too.
So Vettel takes second, Raikkonen third and Hamilton, in damage limitation mode, a disappointing fourth. Max Verstappen is fifth.
Here’s the top 10:
🏁 POINTS SCORERS 🏁
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 30, 2017
1 BOT 📸
2 VET
3 RAI
4 HAM
5 VER
6 PER
7 OCO
8 HUL
9 MAS
10 SAI#RussianGP 🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/wSuq6RlUox
Updated
Valterri Bottas wins the Russian Grand Prix!
Lap 52: Massa leaves it late to let Bottas past him, but the Finn stretches his lead again. More traffic dogs Bottas as Vettel closes, but Bottas is staying out there. And he’s done it. Bottas wins his first grand prix.
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Lap 51: DRS now in operation for Vettel, as he hunts down Bottas, who can’t get past Massa ahead of him. The pressure is really building. 0.91secs lead.
Lap 50: Vettel can’t quite get close enough for the DRS, and he’s running out of time. There’s traffic in front of them too, which is more help for Bottas than his challenger.
Lap 49: Debris announced in turn five – does a late safety car loom? – as Vettel stays menacingly on Bottas’s tail, closing the gap to below a second at one point. But as they end the lap, the gap moves out to 1.1secs. Raikkonen sets a new fastest lap in third.
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Lap 48: So as we go into the last five laps, Bottas leads by 1.2secs from the again-closing Vettel, who’s in turn seven seconds ahead of Raikkonen in third. Hamilton is still fourth, with Verstappen, Perez, Ocon and Hulkenburg behind him.
Lap 47: What a win this would be for Bottas, who was lavishly praised by Hamilton in his pre-race interview, and he’s still out in front by 1.4secs. He’s felt the pressure but he’s handling it at the moment.
Lap 46: Vettel ups the pace as the fuel loads lighten, and makes a slight inroad on Bottas’s lead to 1.376secs. Further back, the battle for sixth between Perez, Ocon and Hulkenburg is hotting up.
Lap 45: Raikkonen had a bit of bother on the previous lap, running wide out onto the gravel, but he maintains his third place, nine seconds ahead of Hamilton, who’s had an underwhelming afternoon. Bottas is still hanging on in there, with a 1.8sec lead.
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Lap 44: Vettel surges again, cutting the gap to 1.1secs, almost within DRS range, before getting held up by the Toro Rosso of Kvyat in front of him, and Bottas extends the advantage back to around 1.8secs. It’s getting tense.
Lap 43: Bottas reasserts himself, stretching his advantage a tad, to 1.57secs. Vettel’s Ferrari is still looking good on the turns though, and the Mercedes man in front doesn’t have the control he had earlier in the race.
Lap 42: Bottas has traffic to negotiate now, amid the blue flags, as Vettel’s surge behind him continues – he’s cut the lead down to 1.1secs. Felipe Massa has just pitted again to deal with a slow puncture: a blow for Williams, as their man drops to ninth.
Lap 41: A properly intriguing finish lies ahead now, with Bottas under pressure ever since running wide on the artificial grass a couple of laps back. Hulkenburg pits at last and comes out ahead of Carlos Sainz – in ninth place.
Lap 39: Can Bottas holds his nerve – this is as big a test as he’s faced. Vettel continues to make ground, cutting the gap to below two seconds, and stretching it on Raikkonen, whose main aim now will be to hold onto third from Hamilton, who’s a way back in fourth now.
Updated
Lap 38: Bottas is 2.4secs ahead of Vettel, who’s making inroads and benefiting from his fresher tyres. Raikkonen is four and a half seconds further back
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Lap 37: So as we enter the final 15 laps there’s not too much movement from pole beyond the initial changing of hands, with Verstappen still in fifth after his early leap from seventh, and Bottas in the lead, benefiting from his early jump to first. Hulkenburg in sixth still hasn’t pitted, the only one of the leading pack now not to do so.
Lap 36: Vladimir Putin, never shy of being seen at these sorts of events, has showed up in the stands apparently. Bottas still leads from Vettel.
Updated
Lap 35: Lewis Hamilton is now 14.8secs behind Raikkonen, and the podium is fading from view for the British driver. Bottas still leads from Vettel.
Lap 34: Ferrari DO call Vettel in at last. There’s a slight delay on changing the left front, and the German comes out in second. Bottas leads, with Raikkonen still behind him in third and Hamilton fourth. Can Vettel’s new tyres make a difference?
Lap 33: Raikkonen’s complaining about why he’s so far behind Bottas, having got his Mercs mixed up, and thinking Hamilton was the man in front of him. He isn’t, he’s still fourth. Raikkonen’s benefiting from his tyre change though, clearly. And Vettel is still being told to stay out.
Lap 32: Raikkonen sets a fastest lap time. He’s third ahead of Hamilton, who’s wondering why the gap of eight seconds to the Finn is so big. He doesn’t sound chuffed.
Lap 31: Hamilton comes into the pits at last, pitting in 2.9secs, amid a couple of sparks off the front left wheel. Will this boost him? He comes in just behind Raikkonen, in fourth. Vettel, 19 secs ahead, is staying out for now.
Lap 30: Bottas set a fastest lap on the 29th – he’s now third, with Raikkonen fourth. Verstappen also pits quickly in 2.3sec. It’s currently 1 Vettel 2 Hamilton 3 Bottas 4 Raikkonen.
Lap 29: Vettel and Hamilton are still staying out there – there’s some interesting strategic variety going on here – while Raikkonen complains of a rear tyre going. He’ll be in soon surely, and he is in. Bottas begins to turn up the pace again, currently fourth.
Lap 28: That was a smooth and slick stop from Bottas and he’s back out swiftly and in fourth. Vettel now leads from Raikkonen and Hamilton, the front three all yet to pit. Perez in seventh pits.
Lap 27: Bottas comes in and Vettel stays out. Vettel and Mercedes are putting the pressure on now – this mingling with traffic ahead isn’t doing the leader many favours by the looks. Ocon pits and changes swiftly.
Lap 26: Left front tyres are getting blistered all over the place, including for the leader, who still hasn’t pitted and lost 8/1o of a second to Vettel over the previous lap. Vettel is closing fast now, down to a 2.5sec deficit. Vandoorne, meanwhile, has just come out of his second stop. He’s back in 14th.
Lap 25: Still no stops from the leading pack though Bottas has caught some traffic up ahead of him now, so might fancy clearing the air, so to speak, with a stop soon.
Lap 24: Bottas still leads from Vettel, Raikkonen and Hamilton, who has a 3.5sec gap to third now. Vettel has just set a new fastest lap but he’s 4.8secs behind the leader.
Lap 22: Massa goes into the pits from sixth, for a swift 2.8sec change. He comes back in in 10th position, and still in contention for a decent points haul. Magnusson, who has a five-second penalty, comes in and out behind Kvyatt. Bottas still leads, by 5.43secs.
Updated
Lap 21: Hamilton is told on the radio that both Mercedes car are struggling with temperatures but Bottas of course has the advantage of clean air. He could pit here and stay ahead, but he’s complaining of a tyre blister. And he’s not coming in yet.
Lap 20: This race isn’t panning out so well for Ferrari after all, with Raikkonen labouring a bit in third and Vettel’s tyres not looking great. He’s now 5.6secs behind Bottas, the leader, still driving imperiously.
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Lap 19: Hamilton outpaces Raikkonen on the previous lap, and is now 2.6secs behind him, so he’s driving well considering, with none of the front runners having pitted yet. Vettel’s tyres are looking a little blistered.
Lap 18: So just to recap it’s 1 Bottas 2 Vettel 2 Raikkonen, 4 Hamilton, 5 Verstappen, 6 Masa, 7 Perez 8 Ocon. Hamilton’s still complaining about the temperature problems.
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Lap 17: It’s hard to see what Hamilton can do here – his tyres aren’t the problem so pitting now changes little, and he needs the points even if he can’t win. His team-mate, however, is in control, still outpacing Vettel, so there are still big positives for Mercedes here.
"Manic stuff"? Sounds like an ordinary day on Russian roads. We've all seen the videos @tomdaviesE17.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) April 30, 2017
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Lap 16: There’s talk of other cars struggling with temperatures as well, but no sense of trouble for Bottas, almost four and a half seconds ahead.
Lap 15: Bottas continues to manage the race impressively, and he’s four seconds in front now, with the top five still unchanged. Hamilton’s now 10 seconds ahead of Verstappen in fifth. Hamilton moans, however, that he’s “out of the race” because of the overheating problems. He’s 11 seconds off the lead.
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Lap 13: Vettel isn’t bossing the race but he’ll improve his advantage over Hamilton if things stay as they are, though it’s a boon for Mercedes that their man is out in front after that sensational start.
Lap 12: Hamilton is told “we are borderline on temps, just do what you’ve got to do on pace”. “I’m trying to race,” he responds. he’s still fourth, nine seconds off the lead, still worried about the radiators and temperatures. Bottas’s lead, meanwhile, is now 3.601 secs.
Lap 11: Bottas leads by 3.3sec from Vettel, who’s 3.7 secs ahead of Raikkonen, but Hamilton has gained on the Finn a little, cutting the gap to 1.3secs. Verstappen’s a fair way back in fifth.
Lap 10: The top four are properly stretched out at the moment, while Hamilton puts in a better lap but is disrupted by the air coming from Raikkonen in front of him, which is stalling his advances a tad. Further back, Hulkenburg in ninth and Stoll in 13th are putting on some pressure.
Lap 9: Hamilton still talking about needing air in the radiators, as he’s now two seconds behind Raikkonen who’s holding onto third. Bottas is now 3.1secs ahead.
Lap 8: Vandoorne cops his second five-second time penalty, further back, while Bottas stretches his lead to 2.76 seconds.
Lap 7: Hamilton’s got bother now – he’s reporting cut-outs in power, one and a half seconds behind Raikkonen. Bottas still looking in command out in front, 2.3 secs in front after setting the fastest lap yet, Vettel still ruing his poor start no doubt.
GAINS & LOSSES: A dramatic start... who's up, who's down? #RussianGP 🇷🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ePMmMPq3NJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 30, 2017
Updated
Daniel Ricciardo is out of the race
Lap 6: Bottas still leads from Vettel, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Verstappen as the Red Bull team get to grips with Ricciardo’s brake fire. It’s deemed terminal and he’s out.
Updated
Lap 5: Smoke is coming out of Ricciardo’s car – his right rear brake is on fire! It’s not going well, technically, for Red Bull today. Ricciardo’s been ordered in to the pits, unsurprisingly. So Perez moves up into seventh.
Lap 4: The safety car goes in and Bottas stretches out in front – he’s in the mood. Front five still as you were. Hamilton’s got some ground to make up in Raikkonen in third, a reflection of his caution about the car in general?
Lap 3: With the safety car out, Hamilton is plotting his move. He started smoothly but cautiously but stayed out of trouble. Looking back at the replays of the start, it was a pretty impressive and audacious overtake on the outside at turn two from Bottas
Lap 2: Those initial turn 2 incidents involving Palmer and Grosjean are under investigation. Bottas leads from Vettel, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Verstappen, who has moved up two places from the grid, swapping places with Ricciardo after a move on the first turn.
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Lap 1: Vettel starts well, but Raikkonen doesn’t. And then Bottas takes the lead! A frantic and stunning start. Jolyon Palmer has spun into a fence after turning into Grosjean, and is getting out too. Lance Stroll is also spun round. The safety car is out. Manic stuff.
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Lights out. They're off!
McLaren’s mechanics are in looking at Alonso’s car, ever hopeful. But Alonso himself doesn’t seem interested, and is marching off. He’s a non-runner.
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Fernando Alonso has got out of his car
Problems already for Alonso, who has complained of “no state of charge” on his radio. Looks like he’s a non-starter. And we have an extra formation lap. Today’s McLaren misery story is written.
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It’s a beautiful day in Sochi, against an undeniably lovely mountainous backdrop. And we’re likely looking at a one-stop only race.
A reminder of how the front 10 line up:
1 Vettel 2 Raikkonen 3 Bottas 4 Hamilton 5 Ricciardo 6 Massa 7 Verstappen 8 Hulkenberg 9 Pérez 10 Ocon
Culture news: the national anthem is going to be sung by a Cuban cossack choir. And it is one of the undeniably more memorable anthems.
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Christian Horner says he hopes Verstappen’s “water leak is under control”, which isn’t quite a 100% declaration of confidence.
Some perfunctory pre-race talk from Vettel now: “Yesterday was special but today we move on. I’ve had a lot of good races starting from pole, it’s obviously the best position to start from. We didn’t have the speed before, but if we can take that speed and momentum, then that’ll be good.”
Trackside news: it looks like Verstappen’s car is going to be OK
A bit of TV interview chat with Lewis Hamilton, in a billiards room, covering Hamilton the driver and Hamilton the celebrity. “It’s a much better year than 2016,” he chuckles. “I love a challenge, we’ve got things to improve on.” Relishing Ferrari’s revival, he says “Growing up in karting, I loved wall-to-wall battles, I’m hoping we get more of that. There was lots and lots of tension in the past [with Rosberg], have got a new relationship with a team-mate who’s brought in lots of positive energy. I just feel happy with life. I still have this burning desire to win this championship and this race, it’s just in my DNA. The point I decide to stop could be soon, or could be far away,” he teases.
On Hamilton the celeb, he riffs on his music-making but denies that he’s working on an album, name-drops Kanye West and Samuel L Jackson and mentions his upcoming cameo in Cars 3.
He does cut a more relaxed jib these days, Hamilton, and for all the bling, kudos to him too for his defence of Serena Williams in the face of Ilie Nastase’s nastiness.
News: Big bother for Max Verstappen, whose car has a water leak and the mechanics are still working on it, with less than an hour to the start. Red Bull head honcho Christian Horner is confident they’ll fix it but it’s all a bit frenetic.
News jiffy:
Sauber confirm they will switch to Honda engines in 2018. #F1
— Giles Richards (@Giles_Richards) April 30, 2017
Channel 4’s coverage begins with an absurdly portentous analogy between the new-look F1 and the dynamics of the Russian revolution and then perestroika. “The proletariat are in pole position, not Ferrari,” trills Eddie Jordan, who then later stresses it was “the editing people that came up with that”. Pick the bones out of that.
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Preamble
Afternoon everyone. Those sands continue to shift, then. Mercedes’ Russian stronghold now also looks pregnable after Ferrari’s front row lockout yesterday, their first for nine years. Which could mean a hell of a season is about to unfold, or could equally suggest Sebastian Vettel and the Scuderia are going to streak off into the distance. Whatever, we at least have a different script this year as well as new rules.
Of course, nothing’s settled in qualifying, and Lewis Hamilton is perfectly capable of surging up from fourth on a track where he has won twice and came second in 2016 despite car troubles, having delivered a record lap time in qualifying. Hamilton’s not a massively happy bunny this year though, admitting yesterday that he had been “struggling there all weekend with the balance and it’s been tough to utilise the tyres”, and sighing: “That was the best job I could do today.”
So Vettel starts from the front and well fancied to extend that seven-point lead over Hamilton. If he and Mercedes can make it count on a circuit that hasn’t been to their liking until now, then we are definitely in new territory.
Elsewhere, Red Bull will be a tad disappointed with how things went in qualifying, with Daniel Ricciardo and the exciting but unpredictable Max Verstappen back in fifth and seventh respectively. While the word “McLaren” continues to be prefixed with “ailing” or “troubled”, as Fernando Alonso trundled through in 15th with his team-mate, Stoffel Vandoorne, a couple of places further back.
Lights out: 1pm BST.
Tom will be here shortly.
