Valtteri Bottas has fond memories
of Sochi, having earned his maiden Grand Prix victory at the venue last year.
But the Mercedes driver was asked to play the team game allowing Lewis Hamilton
to ultimately claim a victory and extend his championship lead yet further over
Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton, who, after falling behind
in the pit stops, was forced to pass Vettel on track en route to what was his
third victory in Sochi. Behind the front three, Max Verstappen starred,
climbing from 19th on the grid to fifth in just eight laps, which soon became
the lead when the tyre strategies began to play out.
The Dutchman ended up leading the
most laps of anyone, but ultimately came home fifth, behind the second Ferrari
of Kimi Raikkonen but ahead of his Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo.
Unsurprisingly, Verstappen also picked up Driver of the Day honors with a huge
majority. Sauber’s Charles Leclerc was another to shine, the future Ferrari
driver finishing seventh ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, while the Force India
pair of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez kept their noses clean this weekend to
round off the top ten.
Mercedes
- knowing a race win for Hamilton was crucial for both championship quests -
allowed their reigning world champion to keep top spot, with Bottas - who had
asked if the positions would be reversed - forced to settle for second on a
track he has enjoyed much success at. Vettel came home where he started, and he
now trails the Brit by 50 points with just five races of the season remaining.
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