Lewis Hamilton claimed his ninth victory of the campaign winning the Russian Grand Prix, with teammate Valtteri Bottas finishing in P2 and rounding off a fantastic weekend for team Mercedes.
Hamilton was able to deny Ferrari a fourth straight victory, putting one hand on his sixth drivers’ trophy.
Vettel surprised many at the previous Grand Prix in Singapore coming out on top ahead of teammate Leclerc after numerous safety cars ruined any chance Hamilton had of winning consecutive races in Asia. But it wasn’t to be in Russia for the Ferrari driver, after a strong start from the German.
Vettel took a surprise lead from P3 at the beginning, and despite orders from the pits to let Leclerc take the top spot, Vettel opted against his team and continued to make pace from the front. However, Leclerc’s well-timed pit stop and faster laps saw him manage to get back in front of his teammate.
Things went from bad to worse for Vettel, who had to pull over after suffering from engine problems, resulting in the Ferrari driver having to retire from the race halfway through – the first time the German has had to retire from a race since 2017.
In fact, the last time a Ferrari driver had to retire due to technical issues was Kimi Raikkonen in Abu Dhabi last season, and Vettel’s first DNF was very harsh considering he was looking at potential back to back Grand Prix victories.
This ultimately allowed Hamilton to swoop in, and he wasn’t for passing after a virtual safety card helped him out on his way, allowing him to push on and build up a healthy advantage to eventually go on and win by 4.6 seconds. Leclerc wasn’t able to get past Bottas in order to challenge Hamilton, which gave the Brit one of his easiest wins of the campaign.
Hamilton is the clear favourite to win the title, but F1 betting suggests Ferrari are likely to be much closer next season due to their strong run of late from both Leclerc and Vettel. Mercedes will be well aware of the dangers Ferrari can present, and it is fully expected that the next campaign may the closest fought in recent years.
Red Bull endured a fairly disappointing weekend, with Max Verstappen finishing a remote fourth and Alexander Albon in fifth place. This was down to the Red Bull team being penalised having to start five places below their qualifying time due to having taken new engine components and fresh gearbox prior to the Russian Grand Prix.
Overall, it was a good day at the office for team Mercedes. Hamilton was desperate to get back in front after a disappointing Grand Prix out in Singapore, and luck was very much on his side in this race. This was Mercedes’ eighth 1-2 this campaign, while they have edged ever closer to an impressive sixth successive constructor’s championship.