Sochi Grand Prix – Race: Jackpot for Hamilton and a Thrilling Final Lap!

Sunday morning in Sochi opened with good news. Indeed, the paddock welcomed the announcement of Carlos Sainz’s good recovery with relief: after crashing into the protective barriers during the third free practice session the previous day, the Spaniard was well enough to start the race from the last place on the grid.

Nico Rosberg, dominant against a too erratic Lewis Hamilton in qualifying, approached the start knowing that any result other than a victory would further diminish his chances of a world title. Behind the seemingly untouchable Silver Arrows, Bottas’ Williams and the Ferraris of Vettel and Räikkönen were eagerly eyeing the third step of the podium.

Trouble at the start

The distance between the starting line and the first corner is the longest of the season. And the spectators were not disappointed! Lewis Hamilton approached the first curve almost alongside his teammate, but Nico Rosberg, being better positioned, managed to maintain a valuable advantage. Kimi Räikkönen, for his part, had a better start and was in 3rd place at the end of the first lap.

It was in the heart of the pack that troubles piled up for several drivers: Nico Hülkenberg suddenly spun, clipping Max Verstappen, Romain Grosjean, and Marcus Ericsson in the process. Both the Force India and the Sauber had to retire, while the Toro Rosso and the Lotus managed to make it back to their pits. The Safety Car understandably came onto the track.

SAFETY CAR: Early drama – incident at Turn 2

Up ahead, Rosberg has held off Hamilton to maintain P1

#RussianGP pic.twitter.com/w46naJrzYx — Formula 1 (@F1) 11 October 2015

Rosberg: The Disillusionment

In the 5th lap, the race resumed. While Nico Rosberg managed to fend off Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen was quickly overtaken by Valtteri Bottas: the Williams driver thus took third place. Kimi Räikkönen couldn’t then resist the charge from his teammate Sebastian Vettel: and there was the Finn back to his starting position.

The concern then spread to Nico Rosberg: despite his fastest lap times, the German complained about his brake pedal. On the 7th lap, the expected penalty unfortunately caught Rosberg off guard. The German missed his braking at turn 2 and let his teammate Hamilton pass. Then came the downfall: his Mercedes no longer turned at all, and the pole-sitter painfully returned to his garage. Abandonment loomed, and with it, Nico Rosberg likely let go of his ultimate hopes for the title.

ROSBERG: “My throttle pedal is broken. Advise…what should I do if it sticks?” #RussianGP pic.twitter.com/FMpQqxDFoW

— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 Octobre 2015

At the 10th lap of the race, Hamilton was 1st, ahead of Bottas, Räikkönen, Vettel, Perez, Kvyat, Ricciardo, Nasr, and Massa, who had climbed back up from 15th place. Button was 10th, closely followed by Maldonado. Carlos Sainz was 12th, Grosjean 13th, and Alonso 14th.

Grosjean loses his Lotus and crashes violently

On the 13th lap of an eventful race, Romain Grosjean veered violently off the track, prompting the Safety Car to come out for the second time in the Grand Prix. Fortunately, the Frenchman was able to exit his car on his own. His Lotus was severely damaged.

Grosjean actually lost the rear of his car in the middle of the challenging Turn 3 (a long left-hand corner). It seems that the engine power of his Lotus suddenly increased on the exit of the corner, similar to Räikkönen’s off-track incident at the Canadian Grand Prix. The impact was truly violent; the driver’s head was tossed in all directions; the outcome was fortunately positive. The TechPro barriers were seriously damaged, however, and it took the stewards several minutes to set them back in order.

Grosjean lost the rear end at Turn 3 and went into the wall. He has walked away from the scene #RussianGP pic.twitter.com/bsoGe1yR8T

— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 Octobre 2015

The two Ferraris outdo each other.

On the 17th lap, the race resumed. While Lewis Hamilton continued without damage, the two Ferraris surprisingly clashed. Kimi Räikkönen, once again getting off to a mediocre restart, vigorously resisted Sebastian Vettel but subsequently had to concede, likely fearing a penalty or, even more terrifying, the wrath of Maurizio Arrivabene. The Finn grumbled over the radio, complaining about his lack of straight-line speed.

This was not a duel between brothers but between cousins which then pitted Carlos Sainz against Daniel Ricciardo. In the famous turn 3 of the circuit, the Spaniard tried to overtake the Australian but had to give up at the entrance to turn 4. At least one thing was certain: his accident from the day before was forgotten.

Räikkönen tried everything to stop Vettel passing him, including pressing his secret sparks button #RussianGP pic.twitter.com/K1tOrzYIJj

— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 Octobre 2015

Vettel opens the chase against Bottas

Lap after lap, Sebastian Vettel regained the ground lost to Valtteri Bottas. Faster on the straight, the Finn was less comfortable in the curves. By the end of the 25th lap, the Ferrari finally entered the DRS zone and had the white Martini in its sights. On the 27th lap, Bottas surrendered to change his overly worn tires. Sebastian Vettel thus moved into second place.

The German pitted five laps later, coming out ahead of Bottas, who was stuck in traffic. Arriving at the pits one lap later, which was a bit too late, Räikkönen on his part couldn’t really threaten Bottas. But firmly positioned just behind the Williams driver, the second Scuderia driver also had the podium in sight… just like the very discreet Daniel Ricciardo, surprisingly in 6th place thanks to an offset strategy.

Returned to the points despite starting from the back of the grid, Carlos Sainz was visibly too enthusiastic in the pit lane. The young Spaniard exceeded the speed limit and received an indisputable five-second penalty.

A dantesque battle for third place, until the final lap of the race

Since we cannot cry about it, it’s better to laugh at the amusing conversation that surprised Fernando Alonso on the 35th lap: the Spaniard was supposed to be fighting with Felipe Massa until the end of the Grand Prix. The double World Champion found it amusing: « Ah! I love your sense of humor! ».

MCLAREN: “Fernando, we are racing Massa until the end”

ALONSO: “Ha – I love your sense of humor…”

#RussianGP pic.twitter.com/T6xeuwm06n — Formula 1 (@F1) 11 October 2015

The only real suspense surrounding the end of the Grand Prix, at the dawn of the 37th lap, was the battle for third place. But what suspense! With more worn tires, Sergio Perez held the much-coveted position but saw Ricciardo, Bottas, and Räikkönen closing in, all within less than two seconds. Battling with Ricciardo, Bottas didn’t see Räikkönen coming… but managed to resist him thanks to a better exit out of the corner. However, the 2007 world champion, who had refueled later, maintained the advantage of fresher tires.

Daniel Ricciardo, lurking behind Sergio Perez, was nevertheless losing too much time on the straight against the Force India-Mercedes to glimpse the podium closely. The Mexican, as usual, had perfectly managed his tire capital throughout the Grand Prix. Behind Bottas, Räikkönen still couldn’t find an opening but remained under the one-second mark.

On the 45th lap, Ricciardo’s blockage was overtaken by the ambitious Bottas! This was not good news for Sergio Perez, whose tires were increasingly worn. Kimi Räikkönen also set out to overtake Ricciardo but did so outside the track limits, picking up debris on his tires. His grip would suffer, but he quickly caught up with the Australian. On the 48th lap, the Ferrari driver finally passed Daniel Ricciardo to take 5th place.

FINAL LAP: Heartbreak for Sergio Perez as he loses P3 to Bottas and P4 to Räikkönen #RussianGP pic.twitter.com/oEAaMnF092

— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 Octobre 2015

On the penultimate lap, Bottas launched an attack and overtook Perez! At the same time, Räikkönen, who had caught up with this intense battle, also managed to snatch the position from the Mexican, thus causing him to lose two places in a matter of seconds. The duel between the Finns resumed with more intensity on the last lap for the gain of third place. And then disaster struck! Räikkönen attacked Bottas presumptuously and couldn’t avoid a collision. As a result, Perez reclaimed a spot on the podium, to everyone’s surprise!

FINAL LAP: But Perez is back in P3 after a sensational collision between Bottas and Räikkönen! #RussianGP pic.twitter.com/X9i3I5TEUV

— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 Octobre 2015

Setbacks for Red Bull and a scare on the track

While the battle for third place was still raging, Carlos Sainz experienced brake problems and broke his wing by going too wide. The race was over for him… It was a very regrettable end after a comeback that deserves recognition. Race control thought it wise to send a marshal to retrieve a wing debris on the track; the initiative was reckless: Vettel almost accidentally hit the volunteer!

The Red Bull Boys were certainly not having a great day, as Daniel Ricciardo also had to retire just a few laps from the finish due to a broken suspension.

Hamilton, happy in his solitude

Dominated by Nico Rosberg at the beginning of the Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was able to perfectly take advantage of his teammate’s retirement to manage a victory offered on a platter without too much trouble. Sebastian Vettel, however, did not disappoint by maintaining an 11-second gap between him and the Englishman. It is likely that the double world champion was not at his best in Sochi; nevertheless, his success, combined with Rosberg’s zero points, propels him with a 73-point lead over his teammate in the championship. A true avenue for a third world title. The German is now even behind his compatriot Vettel in the drivers’ championship.

Thanks to this spectacular outcome, Felipe Massa, having come back from the depths of the grid, secured an unexpected 4th place. Kimi Räikkönen, after pushing Bottas out of the points, claimed the 5th place. In front of his home crowd but after an anonymous race, Daniil Kvyat finished 6th, just ahead of Nasr, who can be pleased with his six points. Pastor Maldonado could certainly have done better than his 8th place, unlike the two McLarens of Button and Alonso, who finished 9th and 10th.

BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton wins the #RussianGP ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez pic.twitter.com/ocqNMM0QFf

— Formula 1 (@F1) 11 Octobre 2015

N°	Driver	Team	Times	Gap	Laps
1	Hamilton	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1h37m00.024s		53
2	Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari		+5.953
3	Perez	Sahara Force India F1 Team		+28.918
4	Massa	Williams Martini Racing		+38.831
5	Räikkönen	Scuderia Ferrari		+42.358
6	Kvyat	Infiniti Red Bull Racing		+47.566
7	Nasr	Sauber F1 Team		+56.508
8	Maldonado	Lotus F1 Team		+61.088
9	Button	McLaren Honda		+79.467
10	Alonso	McLaren Honda		+86.210
11	Verstappen	Scuderia Toro Rosso		+88.424
12	Bottas	Williams Martini Racing		+	+ 1
13	Merhi	Manor Marussia F1		+	+ 1
14	Stevens	Manor Marussia F1		+	+ 2
15	Ricciardo	Infiniti Red Bull Racing		+	+ 6
16	Sainz Jr.	Scuderia Toro Rosso		+	Ab.
17	Grosjean	Lotus F1 Team		+	Ab.
18	Rosberg	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team		+	Ab.
19	Hülkenberg	Sahara Force India F1 Team		+	Ab.
20	Ericsson	Sauber F1 Team		+	Ab.