SOCHI, Russia – Lewis Hamilton didn’t have the dominant Mercedes during Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix, but he was the benefactor of team orders that handed him his eighth Formula One victory of the season.
After Valtteri Bottas qualified on the pole and dominated the opening stint at Sochi Autodrom by leading the first 11 laps, a cycle of pit strategy saw Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – who started from the last row of the grid and cracked the top five in just eight laps – stay out on a long stint to take the lead.
Verstappen actually led the most laps (24) during the 53-lap race, remaining at the head of the field from lap 19 to lap 42, but behind him was where the decisive change took place as team boss Toto Wolff ordered Bottas to let Hamilton through just before the halfway point – all in an effort to extend the Briton’s lead in the driver’s championship over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
The move came at turn 13 on lap 25, and from there, it was Hamilton’s race to lose. When Verstappen finally ceded the point with 11 to go, the die was cast and Hamilton went on to his 70th grand prix victory and third in Sochi, beating Bottas to the checkered flag by 2.545 seconds in the end.
While the four-time champion was able to increase his margin in the standings to 50 points over Vettel, Hamilton was very subdued on the victory podium and reluctant to celebrate under the circumstances.
“Valtteri was an incredible gentleman today. Honestly, it’s the strangest day I can remember having in the sport in my career,” noted Hamilton. “We have crossed this situation and had this discussion before. It’s always felt super uncomfortable. I was like ‘Look, I want to win the right way’ … that’s always how it is for me. … I would never wish it upon anyone else and would never ask for it, ever.
“Obviously, the team took the decision when they saw that my tires were blistered and Vettel was charging from behind. … I think ultimately, it’s really important to first acknowledge Valtteri, because as I said, he was just the ultimate gentleman,” Hamilton continued. “It is very weird to feel down but we’ve also got to feel grateful to the guys back at the factory. So many people are working flat-out to make sure we have a one-two (finish) like this and the team did an incredible job this weekend. We have to really embrace the moment still, but it’s definitely a victory on my list of wins that I am least proud of.”
After dominating the weekend up to the point where team orders came into play, Bottas was understandably disappointed in the race’s final outcome on Sunday.
“It’s been a tough day. We got a good result for us as a team with maximum points, but for me personally, it was a difficult race,” lamented Bottas. “I understand the situation, though. If you put yourself in the team leader’s shoes, for them it doesn’t matter if it is me or Lewis winning, as long as we are first and second, we get the maximum points. For the end of the year, it’s only Lewis fighting for the championship … so, for the team, it is always better that Lewis wins and that’s how it goes.
“It is not ideal for me as an athlete and a person, but that is a fact. We are playing as a team and I am prepared to play as a team. I took one for the team today; I will take one for the team tomorrow. … I know that today, I could’ve won the race on equal terms. I know (within) myself that I am the winner of this weekend. I don’t have the trophy but it doesn’t matter. That’s how it is and we’ll move on.”
Vettel completed the podium ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen and the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
Sauber’s Charles Leclerc was “the best of the rest” in finishing a solid seventh, while Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen and the Racing Point Force India duo of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez completed the top 10.
The race featured no caution periods and only two retirements, as the Toro Rosso pair of Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly both spun and went out with brake failures after completing just four laps.
