Lewis Hamilton wins the Russian GP as his team mate retires

At the Russian GP on Sunday, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Russian Grand Prix, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez in a race which saw his championship rival and team mate Nico Rosberg retiring from the race.

The win confirms the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team as Constructors Champions for the second consecutive year running and means Hamilton also surpasses his idol Ayrton Senna on career wins.

It was announced before the race began that Carlos Sainz Jr was fit to race in the Grand Prix and will be in the car during the race.

The start of the race saw Nico Rosberg get a good start heading into the first corner as did Lewis Hamilton and Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo. Max Verstappen appeared to have had a bad start. But Rosberg maintained his lead into the first corner.

Into the second sector, Nico Hulkenberg and Marcus Ericsson had a coming together,due to Hulkenberg spinning on the artificial grass and then colliding with Ericsson by accident. This then brought out the safety car until both the drivers and the cars were removed from the track safely.

Max Verstappen had also sustained some damage from the incident and had a left rear tyre problem and needed to pit for fresh rubber. Sadly as a result of their accident, Ericsson and Hulkenberg retired from the Grand Prix.

The Safety Car came in at the end of Lap 3 and we were back racing. As the cars headed into Turn 2, Valtteri Bottas was able to pass Kimi Raikkonen for third place in the race; with a massive speed advantage over the Ferrari that enabled him to do the job. Also, Felipe Nasr was able to pass Jenson Button for ninth place.

Lap 5 saw Rosberg leading Hamilton by 0.9 seconds. We then heard on team radio that Rosberg's throttle peddle was sticking and he was a bit concerned about this but the team were doing everything that they could to fix the issue. As we headed into the first corner on the next lap, Vettel tried to pass his team mate Raikkonen, but Raikkonen was able to hold on and maintain track position; despite the Ferrari team asking him to let Vettel past.

Lap 7 saw Hamilton able to get past Rosberg and take the lead of the Russian GP after Rosberg got a bad exit out of the second corner and ran wide; which allowed Hamilton the chance to get through. In the next few corners, Rosberg ran wide again and this allowed Bottas to gain third place. With his team on the radio stating that he “must adapt to the situation.” At the end of the lap however, Rosberg pitted and retired officially from the race, a bitter blow to the team and driver.

Lap 8 saw Hamilton leading the race ahead of Bottas by 2.3 seconds. In the early stages of the race, there was a battle on the track between Felipe Nasr and Felipe Massa for eighth and ninth places, with Massa gaining on his fellow countryman all the time. But there was also a battle involving Jenson Button and Carlos Sainz Jr for eleventh place; with Sainz Jr gaining on Button all the time and able to pass him after a lap and a half.

Meanwhile, both of the Red Bull drivers were battling each other at this stage of the race for sixth and seventh places; with Ricciardo slowing gaining on his team mate Kvyat. On Lap 12, Romain Grosjean had a big accident at Turn 3 that left debris on the track.

Grosjean was chasing the McLaren of Button down, got into the slipstream and then lost the rear of the Lotus; which then put him into the barriers at high speed.

This brought out the safety car for the second time as they checked that Grosjean was okay and the car could be removed safely. This allowed the drivers a chance to pit for new tyres as Grosjean walked away from the car and retired from the race officially but thankfully unhurt.

The safety car came in at the end of Lap 16 and we were back racing. Vettel heading into Turn 2 tried to pass his team mate, Raikkonen ran wide and was able to keep his position ahead of Vettel, on the inside of Turn 4 however, Vettel was able to pass for position and was now in third place.

On the next lap, Sainz Jr and Ricciardo were battling each other for tenth place, with Ricciardo getting ahead of him, then Sainz Jr fighting back. Wheel to wheel going into Turn 3, Sainz Jr tried with all his might but Ricciardo was able to gain the position ahead of him. Sainz Jr was not giving up without a fight and was trying to get past the Australian driver as quickly as possible.

There was also a battle for fifth between Kvyat, Nasr, Massa, Perez and Maldonado on the track on Lap 20 which saw the Sauber driver coming under pressure from his fellow countryman in his Williams.

Lap 23 saw Hamilton leading Bottas by 6.9 seconds, with Bottas coming under pressure from Vettel for second place, with Vettel gaining on Bottas all the time. The stewards then announced that Sainz Jr was under investigation for crossing the white line under the pit lane entrance. The next lap the stewards confirmed that Sainz Jr would receive a five second time penalty for the offence.

In the second half of the race, Hamilton still lead the race by 7.6 seconds ahead of Kvyat after making his pit stop for new tyres on Lap 33 . There was now a battle for sixth between Ricciardo, Bottas and Raikkonen. Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were in a battle with each other for tenth place; with Alonso defending as well as possible. Three laps later, Bottas and Raikkonen were battling each other for position, but Bottas defended superbly.

We saw battles throughout the field between Kvyat and Massa, Ricciardo, Bottas and Raikkonen that kept us on our toes especially the dual between the two Finnish drivers who had been battling since their pit stops. Lap 43 saw Hamilton still leading the race ahead of Vettel by 12.1 seconds as the battle for fourth still continued.

Meanwhile further down the grid in the closing laps of the Russian GP, Pastor Maldonado was able to pass Button for eleventh place as Felipe Massa passed Daniil Kvyat for eighth place after a long battle. On Lap 46, Sainz Jr has another spin after his left front brakes failed, then Raikkonen after trying to pass Ricciardo ran wide, with Ricciardo able to keep the position. However, Bottas tried to get past Perez for third place but couldn’t do so.

Lap 47 saw Sainz Jr officially retire from the race with brake failure and also rear wing damage to his Toro Rosso after hitting the barriers. The next lap Raikkonen was finally able to pass Ricciardo for fifth place with a clear move. On Lap 49, Daniel Ricciardo parked up his Red Bull at Turn 8 and was officially out of the race with suspected brake problems.

In the last few laps of the race, Perez with his tyres well past their best, was under considerable pressure from Bottas for third place; with the Finnish driver slowly getting himself into a position to pass Perez for position. Raikkonen now joined the two of them on the second to last lap for the battle for the final podium place. Bottas in a brilliant move passed Perez for third as Raikkonen also gets past for fourth place.

On the last lap, Bottas and Raikkonen came together which saw Bottas going into the barriers, Raikkonen suffering suspension damage and Perez now reclaiming the third place that he had held for so long.

In the end it was Lewis Hamilton who comfortably won the Russian GP for the second consecutive year and giving the Mercedes team their second consecutive Constructors Championship and his 42nd career win in Formula One ahead of Sebastian Vettel in second place 0.320 seconds behind him and ahead of Sergio Perez who finished in third place and scoring his fifth podium in the sport.

Felipe Massa finished the race in fourth place ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in fifth place, Daniil Kvyat in sixth place, Felipe Nasr in seventh place, Pastor Maldonado in eighth place, Jenson Button in ninth and Fernando Alonso rounding off the top ten finishers of the session.

Max Verstappen was in eleventh place ahead of Valtteri Bottas in twelfth one lap down on Hamilton ahead of the two Manor drivers of Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens in thirteenth and fourteenth places and Daniel Ricciardo in fifteenth place.

Carlos Sainz Jr, Romain Grosjean, Nico Rosberg, Nico Hulkenberg and Marcus Ericsson did not finish the race.

The classification for the Russian GP is as follows:-

1.Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1.37.11.024
2.Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 5.953s
3.Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 28.918s
4.Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 38.831s
5.Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 42.358s*
6.Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull Renault, 47.566s
7.Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari, 56.508s
8.Pastor Maldonado, Lotus-Mercedes, 1.01.088s
9.Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda, 1.19.467s
10.Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Honda, 1.26.210s**
11.Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1.28.424s
12.Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes, 1 lap
13.Will Stevens, Manor, 1 lap
14.Roberto Merhi, Manor, 2 lap
15.Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault, 6 laps
16.Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, Not classified
17.Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Mercedes, Not classified
18.Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, Not classified
19.Nico Hulkenberg,Force India-Mercedes Not classified
20.Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari, Not classified

Lewis Hamilton leads the Drivers' Championship with 302 points, Vettel is second with 236 points, Rosberg is third with 229 points, Raikkonen is fourth with 129 points, Bottas is fifth with 111 points, Massa is sixth with 109 points, Kvyat is seventh with 74 points, Ricciardo is eighth with 73 points, Perez is ninth with 54 points and Grosjean is tenth with 44 points.

Mercedes lead the Constructors Championship with 531 points, Ferrari are second with 365 points, Williams are third with 220 points, Red Bull are fourth with 147 points, Force India are fifth with 92 points, Lotus are sixth with 64 points, Toro Rosso are seventh with 44 points, Sauber are eighth with 32 points and McLaren-Honda are ninth with 20 points.

Kimi Raikkonen slips to eighth place after the stewards believed him to be at fault with the incident with Valtteri Bottas on the final lap of the race.

Fernando Alonso slips to eleventh after receiving a penalty from the stewards after the race.

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa