Rosberg bounces back from big first-lap lock-up to finish runner-up to Hamilton; Mercedes clinch the Constructors' Championship; Hamilton's 31st career win ties British record; Williams' Bottas third
Sunday 12 October 2014 16:23, UK
Lewis Hamilton took another step closer to his second World Championship by claiming a fourth consecutive victory in F1’s inaugural Russian GP – but Nico Rosberg limited the damage to his own title chances after a spectacular first-lap lockout by recovering from last to second place.
In another one-two finish which emphatically sealed Mercedes' first Constructors’ Championship, Hamilton and Rosberg’s afternoons around Sochi’s picturesque Winter Olympic Park couldn’t have been more contrasting after a dramatic second corner of an otherwise flat 53-lap race.
Attempting to overtake his team-mate and title rival into the tight right-hander, Rosberg was ahead and had the crucial inside line but simply went in too hot and locked up both his W05’s front brakes in a big plume of smoke, the error sending the German straight on through the copious run-off area.
Although briefly ahead as a result of the error, Rosberg was immediately ordered by the team over the radio to cede position to Hamilton and worse was to instantly follow with the German forced into an unscheduled pitstop after a resultant flat-spot caused major tyre vibrations.
With Rosberg plummeting to the back of the field, and Hamilton beginning to ease away from the Williams of Valtteri Bottas at the front, Sochi appeared sure to deliver a potentially decisive moment in the all-Mercedes title race. However, while there was no stopping Hamilton at the front - the Briton enjoying the F1 equivalent of a cruise in the sunshine to claim his ninth win of the year and tie Nigel Mansell’s all-time British victory record – Rosberg went about limiting the damage to his growing points disadvantage in the championship.
With Sochi’s Autodrom smooth surface creating virtually no tyre degradation, and the season-long pace advantage of Mercedes’ W05 proving particularly pronounced around the track’s sweeping layout, Rosberg was unfathomably able to make one set of medium tyres last for 52 laps and surge back through the field to second place.
Rosberg's part-economy, part-surging run brought the German back into the points within 19 laps, and as cars ahead peeled in for their own single stops, he was eventually on the back of Bottas. In what turned into the key move of the race, Rosberg made a rather better job of a passing move into the second corner with a bold move from a long way back on the Williams.
With significantly fresher tyres, Bottas rallied into the closing laps, but despite clocking the fastest lap of all on the final tour, the Finn still ended up nearly four seconds back on the second Mercedes and had to settle for third place.
How crucial Rosberg’s fine recovery drive will prove in the final title reckoning remains to be seen, but the reality is that the momentum remains firmly with Hamilton after the Briton claimed a fourth consecutive victory for the second time this year. The Englishman’s advantage now stands at 17 points with three races, including the 50-point Abu Dhabi bonanza, to come.
"I'm so happy to be here, we've had an amazing week. I can't wait to come here again," said Hamilton. "Nico did a great job to recover from his mistake, the car was performing well, it's history for the team and I feel really proud to be part of it. It's a beautiful moment."
Fittingly, on the day the works Mercedes team ended Red Bull’s four-year reign as F1’s benchmark, the German manufacturer’s engines monopolised the top five positions.
In what represented their best two-car result since the very first race of the year in Australia, McLaren finished fourth and fifth with Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen respectively to move, perhaps decisively, back ahead of Force India in the Constructors’ Championship.
Button experienced a particularly lonely afternoon on his way to a second consecutive fourth place finish – the veteran finishing 12 seconds behind Bottas but 23 ahead of his young team-mate – yet more importantly the 34-year-old’s strong form over the Japan-Russia flyaway leg further strengthens his claim for a McLaren contract renewal.
Had it not been for a problematic pitstop, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso may have finished between the McLaren pair but the Spaniard had to content himself with beating Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo to sixth place.
World Champion Sebastian Vettel had run ahead of his team-mate through the first stint but a later pitstop dropped him to eighth. Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez rounded out the points finishers, the Force India just holding off the second Williams of Felipe Massa after the Brazilian’s Q1 exit.
As has proved the case throughout the weekend in Russia, the F1 community’s thoughts remained with Jules Bianchi. Before the race all 21 drivers gathered at the front of the grid in tribute to the critically-injured Frenchman. Marussia’s most difficult of weekends ended with Max Chilton retiring from the race with technical problems on lap 12.
Drivers’ Championship – Top five
1. Lewis Hamilton – 291 points.
2. Nico Rosberg – 274 points.
3. Daniel Ricciardo – 199 points.
4. Valtteri Bottas – 145 points.
5. Sebastian Vettel – 143 points.
Constructors’ Championship – Top five
1. Mercedes – 565 points – Champions.
2. Red Bull – 342 points.
3. Williams – 216 points.
4. Ferrari – 188 points.
5. McLaren – 143 points.
