Russian GP 2014: Hamilton wins, Mercedes clinch the constructors' title

Lewis Hamilton won the first Russian GP in world championship history from pole position and led all 53 laps. His Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg finished behind him, with Valtteri Bottas third for Williams. The race was decided at the very first sequence of corners: Rosberg braked too late, ruined his tyres and had to pit after the opening lap. The one-two secured the constructors' title for Mercedes, with three races still to go.

At the Sochi Autodrom, set around the Olympic Park of the Winter Games, Formula 1 held a world championship race in Russia for the first time. The last races under the name Russian Grand Prix had taken place in 1913 and 1914. Mercedes had locked out the front row in qualifying. According to Wikipedia, it was the team's 15th pole in the 16th race of the season.

At the start, Rosberg pulled alongside Hamilton and tried to outbrake him into Turn 2. He locked both front wheels, and the German slid straight off the track. He handed the lead back to Hamilton. Far more costly, though, were the flat spots on both front tyres, which caused heavy vibrations. Rosberg pitted at the end of the opening lap. The fight for victory was settled before it had really begun.

Bottas then moved up to second and was able to follow Hamilton in the early phase. Over a longer distance, however, the Finn could not match the pace of the Mercedes. Hamilton built a comfortable lead and made his only tyre change on lap 27. According to our data, the trip through the pit lane took 30.5 seconds. He was straight back in front afterwards.

Pirelli's tyres were considered very durable in Sochi, and the fuel limit forced many teams to save. Both played into Rosberg's hands. At his stop on lap 1, Mercedes fitted the harder medium compound and planned to run to the end on that set. He therefore went 52 laps without another stop. From the very back, he worked his way forward thanks to his Mercedes' top speed and the other cars' stops. In the end, he also passed Bottas on track to reclaim second place.

Rosberg could not get any closer to Hamilton. After 53 laps, he was 13.657 seconds behind the winner. Hamilton later said he had been able to match his teammate's times in the closing stages. Rosberg himself called the result damage limitation. According to grandprix.com, it was Hamilton's 31st Grand Prix win and his fourth in a row.

Felipe Massa also pitted after lap 1, but switched to the softer compound. His strategy worked out less well, and he had to stop a second time on lap 27.

Bottas had long looked set for his first pole in qualifying until he made a mistake in the final corner. In the race, he had to settle for third. On the last lap, he set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:40.896, which according to Wikipedia was also the first official lap record at the new circuit.

McLaren produced their best team result in a long time. Jenson Button went from fourth on the grid to finish fourth. Kevin Magnussen had received a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change and started only eleventh. He quickly worked his way forward and then had to save a lot of fuel, but kept Ferrari and Red Bull behind him to finish fifth. Having gained six places, he was among the winners of the day.

Fernando Alonso finished sixth, making him the best driver without a Mercedes engine. He had to fend off Daniel Ricciardo for a long time. The Australian already had a blistered tyre after qualifying and so pitted as early as lap 11. During the stops, he got past his teammate Sebastian Vettel and finished seventh. Vettel had been knocked out in Q2 and stayed out long on his first set of tyres. As a result, he was briefly running second before his stop on lap 30. He eventually finished eighth. Kimi Räikkönen and Sergio Pérez in the Force India took the last points.

The biggest loser was, of all people, the only Russian in the field. Daniil Kvyat had put his Toro Rosso fifth on the grid in qualifying, his best qualifying result to date. In the race, he complained of a lack of grip and had to save more fuel than his rivals. A lap down, he could only finish 14th, nine places lower than where he started. Massa gained the most positions from 18th on the grid, seven in all, and finished eleventh. It was not enough for points. In qualifying, a fuel-flow problem had cost him power.

Only two of the 21 starters failed to finish:

• Max Chilton, Marussia: Retired after lap 9, official reason suspension. He reported vibrations at the front left. The team did not want to risk a failure and called him in.
• Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham: Retired after lap 21, official reason brakes. Caterham spoke of overheating brakes. Kobayashi, however, said his car had been fine and that the team had parked it to save mileage.

Romain Grosjean received a five-second penalty for contact with Adrian Sutil at Turn 2 and finished 17th in the Lotus F1. His teammate Pastor Maldonado started from last on the grid due to a penalty carried over from Japan and a gearbox change. Nico Hülkenberg also dropped five places after a gearbox change and started 17th. He finished twelfth. The Sauber drivers Esteban Gutiérrez and Sutil again went without points in 15th and 16th, as did Jean-Éric Vergne in 13th and Marcus Ericsson in 19th.

The weekend was dominated by thoughts of Jules Bianchi, who had suffered serious head injuries at the Japanese GP a week earlier. Marussia ran only one car, the cars carried “#JB17”, and the drivers wore stickers on their helmets reading “Tous avec Jules #17”. There was a minute's silence before the start. Hamilton dedicated his win to Bianchi. He was handed the trophy by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In sporting terms, Sochi was a milestone for Mercedes. On 565 points, the team were out of reach of Red Bull (342) and clinched their first constructors' title early. Behind them, Williams (216) held on to third ahead of Ferrari (188). McLaren (143) moved past Force India (123).

In the drivers' battle, Hamilton extended his lead to 17 points: 291 to 274 over Rosberg. Ricciardo remained third on 199 points. Bottas jumped from sixth to fourth with 145 points, just ahead of Vettel (143) and Alonso (141). With double points on offer at the Abu Dhabi finale, the title fight between the two Mercedes drivers was far from decided. You can find the full 2014 standings and all the race figures on our 2014 Russian GP race page. Next up is the United States GP.