LEWIS HAMILTON had a smooth drive to win the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi yesterday morning, securing the constructors’ championship for Mercedes.Now the clear favourite for the drivers’ title, Hamilton had a simple task after team-mate Nico Rosberg was forced to pit during the first lap after flat-spotting one of his tyres under heavy braking with the race barely under way – a blunder by the German which effectively gifted the victory to his arch-rival.
Valtteri Bottas of Williams took the third place on the podium, with the McLarens of Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen in fourth and fifth and Fernando Alonso of Ferrari sixth.
The Mercedes duo had started on the grid alongside each other, but Rosberg made an explosive and aggressive start, pushing past Hamilton in the opening turn. However, a viciously smoking lock-up meant he needed a change of tyres immediately.
Rosberg drove brilliantly to make his way from the back of the field to finish in second, not making another stop over the course of what was a rather dull race with little real opportunity for overtaking or spectacle.
Despite those heroics, Rosberg’s second place will ultimately be a huge disappointment considering the manner in which he undermined his brilliant start with a rookie mistake and missed the chance to close up to within three points of his team-mate in the drivers’ championship.
The German now trails Hamilton by 17 points in the standings with three races left – a large gap, and assuming that Hamilton need only beat the rest of the field minus his team-mate to guarantee that he’ll be top of the table going into the final race of the season.
Given that double points are offer in that final race in Abu Dhabi, however, there is still every reason to believe that the title race will go down to the wire.