The inaugural Russian Grand Prix brought about a familiar result, with Mercedes wrapping up the crown in Sochi. But the race could have a major bearing on the closing stages of the 2014 Formula One Drivers’ World Championship.
Lewis Hamilton qualified on pole position, but on the long run down to the first corner, Nico Rosberg dove down the inside to take the lead, although he went in too fast and locked his brakes, ran wide and damaged his tyres.
Rosberg was forced to pit at the end of the opening lap, and from there, the race seemed won for Hamilton.
Williams’ Valteri Bottas had other ideas, as he kept pace with Hamilton for a few laps, before eventually dropping off as they both headed into their pit window.
However, Rosberg was able to manage his tyres as he completed 52 laps of the 53 lap race on one set, and made his way through the field to second place with a great recovery drive.
Second place for Rosberg means that Hamilton enters the United States Grand Prix in three weeks’ time with a 17-point lead.
Bottas was able to record the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, but ultimately fell short of the Silver Arrows, who made history in securing their first Constructors’ Championship, with an unassailable 223-point lead with just three races remaining.
The only driver left in the championship hunt is Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, who is currently 92 points behind Hamilton. But with only 100 points up for grabs in the final three races, he will need both Mercedes to fail to score in the final races.
Ricciardo finished seventh, after hounding Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso during the latter stages of the race, but failed to find a way past him. While the Australian is theoretically still in the hunt, the title race is realistically down to the two boys in silver.
With this being the first World Championship Russian Grand Prix, Daniil Kvyat would have surely been out to impress and prove his promotion to the Red Bull team from next year was no fluke, and he started off well on Saturday by qualifying fifth on the grid.
However he failed to capitalise on this, and ended up finishing in 14th, behind his outgoing teammate Jean-Eric Vergne, who started in ninth.
It was disappointing race for Marussia, who only ran one car for Max Chilton in the wake of Jules Bianchi’s accident in Suzuka, as Chilton retired early on with vibration problems stemming from a lock-up.
The only other retirement was Kamui Kobayashi, who was reportedly told to bring his car into the pits and to switch off the engine, without being told what the problem with his car was.
Caterham later announced that his retirement was due to overheating brakes, but the whole situation leaves many wondering if Kobayashi will even drive for Caterham in Texas.
But, back to the front of the pack, Hamilton seems to have all the momentum leading into the final three races of the season. And with Mercedes having sealed the Constructors’ Championship, both Hamilton and Rosberg can solely focus on their individual tasks, which should lead to some very exciting racing between the two.
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