SOCHI, Russia - Valtteri Bottas held off a late charge from Sebastian Vettel to claim his maiden Formula One win at the Russian Grand Prix, crossing the line just 0.6 ahead of the Ferrari driver.
After beating the Ferraris in the long run down to Turn 2, Bottas led the race and appeared to be in control before a huge lock-up at Turn 11 on lap 38 left him with a big flat-spot and brought Vettel back into proceedings, though the German could not get close enough to challenge for a third win in 2017.
The win is Bottas' first race in 81 attempts and moves him within 10 points of teammate Hamilton, though Sebastian Vettel still holds the outright lead of the championship by 13 points. It marked a dramatic turnaround from Mercedes' qualifying fortunes, which had seen the world champion team locked out of the front row of the grid for the first time since the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix. With strategy options limited in Sochi due to low levels of tyre degradation the start was vital and Bottas capitalised, giving Mercedes the all-important clear air at the start of the race.
An early Safety Car failed to liven up the race for the lead and the processional race only came alive in the closing stint as Vettel slashed away at Bottas' lead, albeit to no avail. Raikkonen claimed a much-needed first podium of 2017 in the other Ferrari, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, whose frustrating weekend continued with a lonely and agitated drive to fourth position. The three-time world champion failed to jump either red car into Turn 2 and spent much of the race nursing his overheating Mercedes around the Sochi Autodrom, and he finished a massive 36 seconds down on the lead.
Behind that, Max Verstappen claimed a solid fifth position for Red Bull in a race which saw teammate Daniel Ricciardo retire early with a rear brake issue. Force India pulled the upset of the race, with Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon finishing sixth and seventh. A mammoth first stint from Nico Hulkenberg helped him claim eighth position behind, with a slow puncture forcing Felipe Massa into a second pit stop late on which relegated him to ninth. Carlos Sainz rounded off the points-paying positions.
The start of the race saw more drama for Honda, with Fernando Alonso pulling up with a suspected ERS failure on the way to the grid.
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