Mercedes' driver Valtteri Bottas claimed his maiden Formula 1 win after fighting off Sebastian Vettel for victory in the Russian Grand Prix.
Bottas, starting from third, took the lead off the line when he swept past both Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, and then withstood a late charge from Vettel to secure a richly-deserved win.
"It took quite a while, more than 80 races for me, but it was definitely worth the wait, "It feels a bit surreal. Hopefully it's the first of many. It was definitely one of my best races personally ever." said Bottas after becoming only the fifth Finn to win in F1 circuit.
Despite his late-race second position, Vettel has moved 13 points clear in the Drivers' Championship after Lewis Hamilton, off the pace all weekend, finished a distant fourth in the Russian Grand Prix 2017.
Congrats Bottas! Perfect way for your first F1 race win
What a thrilling battle for the lead! Well done Bottas! Grabbed the lead at the very start - most crucial moment of the race. Vettel also did well to get back and make him push all the way, ending up less
than a second behind at the finish.
A classic Formula 1 race in Sochi, Russia with the real battle. Not with the many Drs overtakes, but with the great battle for better lap times. This race showed us, that Ferrari and the Mercedes are equal in terms of the performance. This F1 season Is announcing to be very interesting, with three four drivers who can fight with equal chances for the world title in 2017.
Full Russian Grand Prix race results following Round 4 of the 2017 World Championship at the Sochi Autodrom.
1. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes - Mercedes 51 laps 2. Sebastian Vettel GER Ferrari - Ferrari +0.617s
3. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari - Ferrari +11.000s
4. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes - Mercedes +36.320s
5. Max Verstappen NED Red Bull - TAG +1m 00.416s
6. Sergio Perez MEX Force India-Mercedes +1m 26.788s 7. Esteban Ocon FRA Force India-Mercedes +1m 35.004s
8. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault - Renault +1m 36.188s
9. Felipe Massa BRA Williams - Mercedes +1 lap
10. Carlos Sainz ESP Toro Rosso-Renault +1 lap
11. Lance Stroll CAN Williams - Mercedes +1 lap
12. Daniil Kvyat RUS Toro Rosso-Renault +1 lap
13. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas-Ferrari +1 lap
14. Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren-Honda +1 lap
15. Marcus Ericsson SWE Sauber - Ferrari +1 lap
16. Pascal Wehrlein GER Sauber - Ferrari +2 laps
Did not finish
17. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull - TAG 5 laps completed
18. Jolyon Palmer GBR Renault - Renault 0 laps completed
19. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas-Ferrari 0 laps completed
20. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren-Honda DNS
Driver Standings Top 5
1. Sebastian Vettel GER. FERRARI (86)
2. Lewis Hamilton GBR. MERCEDES (73)
3. Valtteri Bottas FIN . MERCEDES (63)
4. Kimi Räikkönen FIN. FERRARI (49)
5. Max Verstappen NED. RED BULL (35)
The next race is the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA PIRELLI 2017 Catalunya, in Fri 12 May – Sun 14 May 2017.
The next race is the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA PIRELLI 2017 Catalunya, in Fri 12 May – Sun 14 May 2017.