Lewis Hamilton win at the Russian Grand Prix will be the only victory in a superlative 2018 season from which he will take no pleasure. His victory, ensured the moment Mercedes employed orders allowing him to pass his teammate Valtteri Bottas, proved an ill-sitting success defined by the decidedly uncelebratory figures of the Mercedes drivers on the podium as well as their team below them.
Valtteri Bottas has fond memories of Sochi, having earned his maiden Grand Prix victory at the Russian venue last year. But the Mercedes driver was asked to play the team game on Sunday, The Finn Bottas made no mistake in holding off his team-mate and Ferrari's Vettel on the opening-lap drag race to turn two. It was, by the Finn's own admission, a result that, whilst great for the team, was difficult to accept...
The world champion is now 50 points clear of Sebastian Vettel by taking his eighth and most controversial victory of the year here at the Sochi Autodrom.Russian.
Bottas, who had controlled the opening half of the race after retaining his lead from pole position, crossed the line in second ahead of Hamilton's championship rival Vettel.
Hamilton now has the equivalent of two victories in his pocket with just five rounds remaining and 125 points left to play for.
“It is definitely a win on my list of wins that I am least proud of,” Hamilton said. “The strangest day I can remember in my career. I want to win the right way. As racing drivers we exist to win; if you tell us we can’t it is like you are taking our life away. I would never wish it on someone else and I would never ask for it ever. I made sure in a meeting that they knew this is not how I want to win.”
In the tpo 6 F1Championship standings:
1 Lewis Hamilton 306
2 Sebastian Vettel 256
3 Kimi Räikkönen 189
4 Valtteri Bottas 186
5 Max Verstappen 158
6 Daniel Ricciardo 134
Race results for the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom, round 16 of the 2018 Formula 1 season.
2018 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix - Race Results
1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 53 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 2.545s
3. Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari + 7.487s
4. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Scuderia Ferrari + 16.543s
5. Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing + 31.016s
6. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Aston Martin Red Bull Racing + 80.451s
7. Charles Leclerc MON Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team + 98.390s
8. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team + 98.390s
9. Esteban Ocon FRA Racing Point Force India F1 Team + 1 lap
10. Sergio Perez MEX Racing Point Force India F1 Team + 1 lap
11. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas F1 Team + 1 lap
12. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault Sport Formula One Team + 1 lap
13. Marcus Ericsson SWE Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team + 1 lap
14. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren F1 Team + 1 lap
15. Lance Stroll CAN Williams Martini Racing + 1 lap
16. Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren F1 Team + 2 laps
17. Carlos Sainz Jr. ESP Renault Sport Formula One Team + 2 laps
18. Sergey Sirotkin RUS Williams Martini Racing + 2 laps
Ret. Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 4 laps
Ret. Brendon Hartley NZL Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 4 laps.
What’s next?
There’s no time for rest for the drivers, with the Japanese Grand Prix hosting round 17 of the F1 season next weekend. In 05 - 07 OCT 2018.
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