Hamilton wins in Russia

Formula One holder Lewis Hamilton snatched victory in the Russian Grand Prix in a surprise Mercedes one-two on Sunday after Ferrari argued over team orders and was undone by a virtual safety car.

Hamilton also bagged a bonus point for the fastest lap of the race to stretch his lead to 73 points over teammate and closest rival Valtteri Bottas, who finished second. Five races remain in the ongoing campaign. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished third after an early radio controversy with Sebastian Vettel, whose retirement on the 28th of 53 laps brought out the virtual safety car that ironically cemented Hamilton’s lead.

Mercedes’s victory was its sixth in a row in Sochi, the team having won every Russian Grand Prix since the first in 2014. The win was the 82nd of Hamilton’s career, and ninth of the season, leaving him nine short of Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 91. “It feels like a long time coming, it feels like the first time as well,” said Hamilton of his first success since Hungary on the eve of the August break.

“It’s just incredible to have this result, considering how quick it (Ferrari) was off the blocks. Just keeping up with it was an incredibly hard task. Honestly I try not to think too much about the championship. One race at a time and one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. We don’t want to stumble.”

Ferrari had arrived in Sochi after a hat-trick of wins and with a hefty speed advantage on the straights, it was looking set for another triumph. Leclerc sealing his fourth pole in a row had also worked in its favour. But the Italians tripped themselves up with a strategy that involved Leclerc allowing Vettel, starting in third place, to slipstream the Monegasque off the start and take the lead into turn two.

The deal was for the German to hand back the place once Ferrari had settled into a one-two formation, but instead Vettel began banging in a series of fastest laps to Leclerc’s consternation. Vettel refused to ease off and said Leclerc would need to close a gap of some 1.3 seconds to make that possible.

Leclerc pitted from second place on lap 23 and came back out in fourth. Vettel made his stop three laps later, trading places with Leclerc while Hamilton led. After two laps, Vettel came to a halt by the side of the track, and the virtual safety car period gave Hamilton the chance to take a free pit stop. The Briton came back out ahead of Leclerc.

The Monegasque made another pit stop on lap 31 when the real safety car was deployed after George Russell crashed in his Williams. He resumed in third and was unable to pass Bottas.