Bottas makes most of Hamilton penalty RESULTS
SOCHI: Valtteri Bottas took full advantage of a troubled day for his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to claim the ninth win of his career with a measured drive to victory in yesterday’s incidentpacked Russian Grand Prix.
The Finn swooped to take second place at the start and inherited the lead when the runaway series leader and six-time champion took an extended pit-stop to serve two five-second penalties for irregular pre-race practice starts.
A disgruntled Hamilton, aiming to win and equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Grand Prix triumphs, rejoined in 11th place, but fought back to finish third behind Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
It was the sixth time this year the three had appeared together on the podium, but in a very different order to that expected as Bottas secured his second win in Russia and second this season.
His success reinvigorated his challenge for the drivers’ title and reduced Hamilton’s lead to 44 points after 10 of 17 races, with the Finn collecting a bonus point for fastest lap.
“Never give up. It’s a good day,” said Bottas, who addressed his critics in more basic terms over the team radio as he took the chequered flag.
“It’s nice to get a win, it’s been a while and I need to try and keep the momentum... there’s still quite a few races to go, so you never know. I’ll keep pushing, I won’t give up and we’ll see how it ends up.”
Sergio Perez came home fourth for Racing Point ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, who had to take a five second penalty for an infringement, and Charles Leclerc, who was sixth for Ferrari.
Esteban Ocon was seventh for Renault ahead of local hero Daniil Kvyat and his Alpha Tauri teammate Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, who was also given a five-second penalty, in the second Red Bull.
Hamilton did not want to talk about his penalty, instead thanking the Russian fans. “A big thank-you to the fans here this weekend — spasibo,” he said. “It’s not the greatest day, but it is what it is.”
1. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 1:34:00.364 26; 2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +7.729 18; 3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +22.729 15; 4. Sergio Pérez (Racing Point) +30.558 12; 5. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) +52.065 10;
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +1:02.186; 7. Esteban Ocon (Renault) +1:08.006 6; 8. Daniil Kvyat (AlphaTauri) +1:08.740; 9. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1:29.766; 10. Alexander Albon (Red Bull) +1:37.860
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
(after 10 races)
Drivers: 1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 205 points; 2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 161; 3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 128; 4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 65; 5. Alexander Albon (Red Bull) 64; 6. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) 63; 7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 57; 8. Lance Stroll (Racing Point) 57; 9. Sergio Pérez (Racing Point) 56; 10. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) 45 Constructors: 1. Mercedes 366; 2. Red Bull 192; 3. McLaren 106; 4. Racing Point 104; 5. Renault 99; 6. Ferrari 74; 7. AlphaTauri 59; 8. Alfa Romeo 4; 9. Haas 1; 10. Williams 0