Russian Grand Prix - as it happened: Lewis Hamilton beats Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel
From pole, Valtteri Bottas got a good start and almost hung Lewis Hamilton out to dry as he defended his position in the first two turns and invited Sebastian Vettel to attack his teammate. The Ferrari edged in front of Hamilton, but the championship leader held his nerve and swatted him away.
Hamilton held off championship rival Sebastian Vettel after a tight battle following a strategic pit-stop by Ferrari, and was then given clearance by Mercedes to pass Bottas on lap 25 after establishing a lead over the German, taking the win away from his teammate.
The procession to the finish was made a little more complicated by a minor engine problem and a tyre blister on Hamilton’s car, but it was a nevertheless another important victory, and with a 50 point lead over Vettel, it meant that the British driver placed one hand on his fifth championship title.
It became clear from the moment that Valtteri Bottas qualified ahead of Lewis Hamilton on Saturday that Mercedes’ team orders would play a large part in the race.
"They worked very good together and at the start i had no where to go. We surprised them with a good out lap and I got Lewis. Lewis was close then had a turn into turn two - I did not see him through the left handed, he as somewhere on the outside, I thought, fair enough and gave room, even though I didn't want to.
"It was hard but fair. Everyone had the same pace. I tried my best but couldn't get close enough."
"Personally it was quite difficult. We always go through the scenarios. Lewis is fighting for the championship and we are fighting for the constructors. It is what it is."
"It's a difficult day because I mean Valtteri did a fantastic job all weekend and was a real gentleman told let me by. The team have done such an exceptional job to have a one two.
"I would usually be elated but I understand what Valtteri did today and he deserved to win. It doesn't feel spectacular."
1 HAM Mercedes 2 BOT Mercedes 3 VET Ferrari 4 RAI Ferrari 5 VPN Red Bull 6 RIC Red Bull 7 LEC Sauber 8 MAG Haas 9 OCO Force India 10 PER Force India 11 GRO Haas 12 HUL Renault 13 ERI Sauber 14 ALO McLaren 15 STR Williams 16 VAN McLaren 17 SAI Renault 18 SIR Williams R GAS Toro Rosso Retired (4) R HAR Toro Rosso Retired (4)
"Difficult day for you, difficult day for us. Let's discuss later."
Toto Wolff is now on the radio to Bottas to tell him they will talk about the team orders after the race. Surely he's here to win the race and he can really feel hard done by.
Bottas is told after the race that they will discuss the team orders after the race after he is told that Hamilton will hold onto the win. Vettel is not challenging the Mercedes drivers and, in theory, Hamilton could hand back the lead to his teammate, but that's not on the menu.
Vladimir Putin has just made his way to the stands, maybe he's been balancing the Ryder Cup and the Grand Prix this afternoon. How good would a world leaders Olympics be, by the way?! Can anyone else imagine it?
1 HAM Mercedes 2 BOT Mercedes 3 VET Ferrari 4 RAI Ferrari 5 VPN Red Bull 6 RIC Red Bull 7 LEC Sauber 8 MAG Haas 9 OCO Force India 10 PER Force India 11 HUL Renault 12 GRO Haas 13 ERI Sauber 14 ALO McLaren 15 STR Williams 16 SAI Renault 17 VAN McLaren 18 SIR Williams R GAS Toro Rosso R HAR Toro Rosso
Vettel can't even hope for any back markers to hold up Hamilton, like in Singapore, because the track is wide enough to avoid these kind of issues. The Ferrari now goes a bit wide and leaves the road on the exit of a turn as he pushes hard to close the three second gap on Bottas.
"He could close on us, we will let you know" the Ferrari engineers tell Raikkonen. They also say he's 12 seconds behind, in actual fact he is over 15 seconds behind! Maybe they're asking for him to get a bit of a move on.
Here's the standings as we head into the final 10 laps of the race
1 HAM Mercedes 2 BOT Mercedes 3 VET Ferrari 4 RAI Ferrari 5 VPN Red Bull 6 RIC Red Bull 7 LEC Sauber 8 MAG Haas 9 OCO Force India 10 PER Force India 11 HUL Renault 12 GRO Haas 13 ERI Sauber 14 ALO McLaren 15 STR Williams 16 SAI Renault 17 VAN McLaren 18 SIR Williams R GAS Toro Rosso R HAR Toro Rosso
Verstappen finally pits and Hamilton takes the lead for the first time in the race. He comes out about 13.800 seconds behind Raikkonen, he has less than 10 laps to get him in his ultrasoft tyres.
The fifth Russian Grand Prix, in it’s current format, is on Sunday 30 September.
What time does it start?
The race in Sochi begins at 12:10 BST
Where can I watch it?
Sky Sports will be showing live coverage on Sky Sports F1 and online on the Sky Go app. You can also follow the action with The Independent’s live blog above.
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