It was another Mercedes 1-2 – but it was not the typical snoozefest their 1-2 finishes have been in the past – as defending Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton comfortably won the 2019 Russian Grand Prix over his Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas in second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third.
The race began as a potential 1-2 for Ferrari with Leclerc sitting on the pole position and his Ferrari teammate, Sebastian Vettel, in third position on the grid. A pre-race agreement between Leclerc and Vettel allowed Vettel to tuck in behind Leclerc at the start, allowing him to slingshot his way past Hamilton, who was starting in the second position. From there, Vettel took off and built up a four-second lead and seemed reluctant to swap his position back with Leclerc until Ferrari forced his hand by keeping him out on his aging soft tires for an extra lap, allowing Leclerc to reclaim the top spot on the track on Lap 27. One lap later, Vettel was out of the race with an engine failure and the point was moot.
However, all the Ferrari drama helped Hamilton take the lead of the race during Ferrari’s pit stops and when a safety car emerged while Vettel’s car was being removed from the track, that essentially gave Hamilton the race as Leclerc was unable to pass Hamilton or Bottas during the final 20 laps of the race.
Hamilton’s victory strengthens his already-commanding lead in the driver’s championship as he sits on top with 322 points to 249 for Bottas in second while a battle continues to ensue for the third spot with Leclerc having 215 points to 212 points for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and 194 for Vettel.
2019 Russian Grand Prix Top 10
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:33:38.992
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +3.829 seconds
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +5.212
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull +14.210
5 Alex Albon Red Bull +38.348
6 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren +45.889
7 Sergio Pérez Racing Point +48.728
8 Lando Norris McLaren +57.749
9 Kevin Magnussen Haas +58.779
10 Nico Hülkenberg Renault +59.841