Formula 1: Mercedes’ Russian Grand Prix team orders end up meaning nothing
By Asher Fair
As expected, Mercedes’ use of team orders in the Russian Grand Prix to get Lewis Hamilton closer to his fifth Formula 1 championship ended up meaning absolutely nothing.
With Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Valtteri Bottas appearing to be well on his way to a victory in the 16th race of the 21-race 2018 Formula 1 season, the Russian Grand Prix, after starting from the pole position, Mercedes ordered him to let teammate Lewis Hamilton pass him for second place.
This order came 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.
Hamilton, whose lead in the driver standings over Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was 40 points coming into the race, went on to take the lead and win the race after Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen made his pit stop.
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As opposed to scoring 18 points by recording a second place finish, Hamilton scored 25 points by earning what was his eighth victory of the season. Meanwhile, Vettel, who finished the race in third, scored 15 points.
This allowed the 33-year-old Briton to enter the 17th race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix, with a 50-point advantage over Vettel in the driver standings as opposed to a 43-point advantage. However, as expected, the difference between Hamilton winning the Russian Grand Prix and finishing in second place in it ended up meaning absolutely nothing as far as the championship is concerned.
The only meaning it ended up having was the fact that it robbed Bottas of his first win since he won the 2017 season finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His win drought is still active.
With two races remaining on the 2018 schedule, the Brazilian Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton has already clinched the championship, which is the fifth championship of his Formula 1 career. He leads Vettel, whose quest to win his fifth career Formula 1 championship this season has officially ended unsuccessfully, by 64 points in the driver standings.
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A maximum of 50 points are on the table for each driver over the course of the 2018 Formula 1 season’s final two races, meaning that even if Lewis Hamilton had finished in second place in the Russian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel would not be able to catch him in the driver standings before the season ends, as Hamilton would still have a 57-point advantage over the 31-year-old German.