Hamilton wins in drama race in Russia
Lewis Hamilton won an eventful race from Sebastian Vettel, to extend his championship lead by 66 points, as Mercedes clinch their second Constructors' title. Incredible Sergio Perez promoted to third on the final lap.
Lewis Hamilton
"It is a special moment for me to surpass Ayrton this weekend, I'm incredibly proud to be part of this team." (Hamilton will be crowned a three-time champion if he scores 11 more points than Vettel in the USA)
Sebastian Vettel
"It was a very good race, the car was fantastic and it just kept getting better. I hoped there was a small chance to catch Lewis, but I think he had so much pace in hand."
Sergio Perez
"One lap before the end it seemed like everything went away from us. At that point I was just happy with myself, that I gave it all. So in the last lap when it came, it was amazing."
The race was action-packed from the start and featured two Safety car deployments after contact into the first corner on lap 1, and a big accident from Romain Grosjean hitting the wall later on.
Nico Rosberg then retired due to a brake problem in a race he feels 'should have won', leaving Hamilton completely alone up front. In the fight for the podium, a good Ferrari strategy left Vettel comfortably P2, but P3 was dramatic until the end.
With an early stop, Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo were left in front of both Finns - Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen - in a four-way battle. Ricciardo retired a few laps from the end, and then followed both Finns incredibly overtaking Perez in a matter of seconds, only to later have Raikkonen collide into Bottas, promoting Perez back to third.
"It is disappointing running third on the last lap and ending up with zero points," said a frustrated Valtteri Bottas, while Raikkonen finished fifth but he received a 30-second penalty after the race - which results in Mercedes clinching their second consecutive constructors' championship title.
Finally for McLaren it was originally a great result with a double points finish in what was Fernando Alonso’s 250th race. Jenson Button came in 9th, and Alonso 10th; however, a post-race 5-second penalty for Alonso means he finishes just outside the points in 11th, promoting Max Verstappen to the final point.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | +5.953 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | Force India | +28.918 |
| 4 | Felipe Massa | Williams | +38.831 |
| 5 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | +47.566 |
| 6 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | +56.508 |
| 7 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | +61.088 |
| 8 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | +72.358* |
| 9 | Jenson Button | McLaren | +79.467 |
| 10 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | +88.424* |
*Changed position after penalties
