Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton wins 2018 Russian Grand Prix

Team orders resulted in Valtteri Bottas giving Lewis Hamilton the victory in the 16th race of the Formula 1 season, the Russian Grand Prix.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Valtteri Bottas took the pole position for the 16th race of the 21-race 2018 Formula 1 season, the Russian Grand Prix, and dominated the first half of it despite the fact that he led only the first 11 laps, as several other drivers, including Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, did not pit as early as he did.

With Verstappen in the race lead and Bottas in second on lap 25 of the 53-lap race around the 18-turn, 3.634-mile (5.848-kilometer) Sochi Autodrom road course in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, Mercedes gave the 29-year-old Finn the order to let teammate Lewis Hamilton pass him.

Hamilton went on to take the lead on lap 43 when Verstappen came into the pits, and he went on to win the race by 2.545 seconds over Bottas in second place. The win is his third in a row, his fifth in the last six races and eighth of the season. It is also the 70th victory of his career. Scuderia Ferrari’ teammates Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finished in third and fourth, respectively.

More from Formula One

• Formula 1: Top Red Bull threat identified for 2024
• Formula 1: Why the Max Verstappen retirement obsession?
• Formula 1: Williams ‘mistake’ hints Logan Sargeant’s future
• Formula 1 awaiting key confirmation for 2024 season
• Formula 1: The ‘championship’ Max Verstappen only leads by 3 points

Verstappen ended up finishing the race in fifth place ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo in sixth. Alfa Romeo Sauber’s Charles Leclerc, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Racing Point Force India teammates Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10 by finishing in seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.

The race featured a total of four lead changes among four drivers. Aside of Hamilton, who led 14 laps, three other drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those drivers were Bottas, Raikkonen and Verstappen. Verstappen, who started in 19th place, led more laps than anybody else in the field with 24 laps led.

The race did not feature any safety car periods, and the only two drivers who failed to finish it were Scuderia Toro Rosso teammates Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley. Of the 18 drivers who finished it, seven finished it on the lead lap.

Here are the full race results of the 2018 Russian Grand Prix.

The next Formula 1 race is the Japanese Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 7. This race is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 from Suzuka Circuit beginning at 1:10 a.m. ET.