Lewis Hamilton took a step closer to a fifth Formula One crown with victory at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, reports DW.
Hamilton started second on the grid and was helped to victory by his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who started on pole but followed team orders to move aside and allow Hamilton to victory.
Sebastian Vettel started in third and finished in third and rarely looked like challenging the dominance of the two Mercedes.
Max Verstappen, the Dutchman celebrating his 21st birthday, led the race for a long time after deciding to pit late in the race after gliding through the field following his start from 19th on the grid, but the Red Bull driver was ultimately unable to finish higher than fifth.
Hamilton, who picked up his 70th career win, paid tribute to his teammate for allowing Hamilton to get the win — but Bottas was less than satisfied with the situation.
“It’s actually quite a difficult day,” said Hamilton. “Valtteri was a real gentleman to let me through. To have a one-two, usually we’d be elated. Valtteri deserved to win… but today it was a real team effort.”
Meanwhile, Vettel has seen the title slip away from him in recent races and admitted that he could find no way through the impenetrable Mercedes in front of him.
“It was tricky,” admitted the German. “Hamilton and Bottas worked very well together. I tried to put pressure on Valtteri but couldn’t get close enough. It was a good race, but not the result we wanted”.
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