Valterri Bottas won the battle and Sebastian Vettel won the war in the 2017 Russian Grand Prix in Sochi. In his Mercedes, Bottas won his first-ever Grand Prix race as a Formula One racer – edging out Vettel by 0.6 seconds – but Vettel nearly doubled his season points lead in the driver’s standings over Bottas’ teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who missed out on the podium and finished fourth. Vettel’s teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, claimed the third and final podium spot for Ferrari.
Vettel and Raikkonen began in the first row with Vettel as the pole-sitter, but Bottas, coming from the second row, slipped past both Vettel and Raikkonen in what was essentially the move of the race as it allowed Bottas to stay out in front in clear air for the majority of the race and never get challenged until Vettel made a final charge in the closing laps on fresher tires.
With the results, Vettel extends his 2017 Formula One driver standings lead to 13 points with 86 points to 73 for Hamilton while Bottas is another 10 points back with 63 points with the next race coming at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on May 14, 2017.
2017 Russian Grand Prix Top 10
1] Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes
2] Sebastian Vettel – Ferrari
3] Kimi Raikkonen – Ferrari
4] Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
5] Max Verstappen – Red Bull
6] Sergio Perez – Force India
7] Esteban Ocon – Force India
8] Nico Hulkenberg – Renault
9] Felipe Massa – Williams
10] Carlos Sainz, Jr. – Toro Rosso