Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton wins 2019 Russian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton took a surprising victory in the Russian Grand Prix to secure his first Formula 1 race win since early August in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton ended what was his longest Formula 1 win drought, a three-race win drought, since the end of the 2017 season and the start of the 2018 season by winning the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom.

Hamilton started the 18-turn, 3.634-mile (5.848-kilometer) Sochi Autodrom road course in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia in second place alongside Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, and he won it by 3.829 seconds over teammate Valtteri Bottas in second.

Leclerc ended up finishing in third place ahead of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing teammates Max Verstappen and rookie Alexander Albon rounded out the top five by finishing in fourth and fifth, respectively.

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McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. finished as the “best of the rest” in sixth place ahead of SportPesa Racing Point’s Sergio Perez in seventh. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen originally finished in eighth but was given a five-second time penalty for going off the track. He was demoted to ninth.

As a result, McLaren rookie Lando Norris finished in eighth place and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10 by finishing in 10th.

But the eighth Mercedes 1-2 finish of the season could have easily been a Ferrari 1-2 finish. A combination of poor planning, poor strategy execution and otherwise poor decisions set the stage for a very unfortunate situation regarding Sebastian Vettel that sealed the team’s fate.

Ferrari discussed the start of the race with their drivers with Leclerc on the pole and Vettel in third place. Leclerc punched a hole in the air, allowing Vettel to close in behind him and overtake Hamilton, and Vettel used that momentum to take the lead going into turn one.

A few laps later, Vettel was told to let Leclerc pass him. But Vettel, who clearly had the pace to lead the race, refused to do so and continued to build his lead. Leclerc maintained a steady advantage over Hamilton in third place.

Ferrari then took matters into their own hands, attempting an undercut with Leclerc after an undercut by Vettel over Leclerc cost Leclerc the Singapore Grand Prix last Sunday.

Leclerc came into the pits before Vettel. Vettel urged Ferrari to led him pit shortly thereafter. When they let him pit, he came out behind Leclerc, negating not only his advantage over Leclerc but more importantly over the Mercedes duo.

But Hamilton and Bottas had still not pit, and Vettel was then forced to retire with a mechanical error. As a result, the ensuing virtual safety car period allowed the Mercedes teammates to pit and stay out front. Hamilton maintained the lead while Bottas slotted into third place.

Leclerc then came into the pits for new tires again himself, and he restarted in third place behind Hamilton and Bottas and ahead of Verstappen in fourth. From that point forward, there was no passing among the top four.

Hamilton ended up leading the race’s final 28 laps after Vettel led the first 25. Leclerc did not lead any of the race’s 53 laps from the pole position, but the race did technically feature two lead changes. Of the 20 drivers who started the race, 15 finished it, and all 15 of these drivers finished on the lead lap.

Here are the full race results of the 2019 Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom.

Race Results
1st – Lewis Hamilton
2nd – Valtteri Bottas
3rd – Charles Leclerc
4th – Max Verstappen
5th – Alexander Albon
6th – Carlos Sainz Jr.
7th – Sergio Perez
8th – Lando Norris
9th – Kevin Magnussen
10th – Nico Hulkenberg
11th – Lance Stroll
12th – Daniil Kvyat
13th – Kimi Raikkonen
14th – Pierre Gasly
15th – Antonio Giovinazzi
16th – Robert Kubica
17th – George Russell
18th – Sebastian Vettel
19th – Daniel Ricciardo
20th – Romain Grosjean

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The next race on the 2019 Formula 1 schedule is the Japanese Grand Prix. This race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 13, and it is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 beginning at 1:10 a.m. ET from Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan.

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