German cruises to victory in Sochi; Hamilton recovers from 10th to second; Vettel eliminated in first-lap clash with Kvyat
Sunday 1 May 2016 21:54, UK
Nico Rosberg eased to victory at the Russian GP to extend his championship lead to 43 points over Lewis Hamilton.
The German was in supreme form in Sochi on Sunday and led from start to finish as he maintained his 100 per cent victory record in 2016.
Defending world champion Hamilton recovered from 10th on the grid following more unreliability problems in qualifying to take second place and limit the damage to his title chances.
The Briton also had further reliability issues during the race and was instructed his car had a "water pressure" problem with less than 20 laps to go after he had cut Rosberg's lead down to seven seconds.
"There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I couldn't win it. I had the pace, but then I had the problem with the engine again so I had to back off," said Hamilton. "I wasn't at full throttle down the straights."
However, one driver who now appears to be out of championship contention is Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who was hit twice in two corners by Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat.
The Russian carried too much speed into Turn Two on the opening lap and hammered into the back of the Ferrari, before hitting Vettel again at Turn Three and firing him into the barriers.
The German launched a foul-mouthed tirade over the radio before exiting his car and then went to visit Red Bull boss Christian Horner on the pit wall when he returned to the pits.
"All I could do was apologise, because this week it was a mistake by Daniil Kvyat," Horner told Sky Sports F1 of his brief exchange with his former driver.
"Daniil just misjudged his braking spot. Emotions run high - in his home race, I think he has just gone for too much too soon at the start."
Updated Drivers' and Constructors Championships standings
Kvyat was handed a 10-second stop/go penalty for causing the collision and after the highs of China, he will now find his future under further scrutiny with Red Bull's Helmut Marko thought to be keen on promoting Max Verstappen to the senior team.
The top three was completed by Kimi Raikkonen, the 700th time in F1 history a Ferrari driver has finished on the podium.
After showing impressive pace early in the race, Williams dropped away in the second half with Valtteri Bottas only able to finish fourth despite his front-row start, just ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa.
Fernando Alonso was a remarkable sixth for McLaren as he picked up his first points of the season on a track where the team was expected to struggle. Jenson Button made it a double points finish for the Woking squad for the first time since Hungary 2015 with 10th.
"We are relieved and happy for the guys back at the factory. Everyone is working so hard," said racing director Eric Boullier. "This track did not suit us with the famous fuel saving, so hopefully on another track, we can get more power out of the car."
Renault also picked up their first points since their return to F1 with a seventh-place finish for Kevin Magnussen who had started down in 17th.
Haas' Romain Grosjean was another to make progress through the field, coming from 15th on the grid to take eighth after a fine defensive effort in the closing laps to hold off Sergio Perez.
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 53 laps
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, +25.022
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, +31.998
4. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, +50.217
5. Felipe Massa, Williams, +1:14.427
6. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, +1 lap
7. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, +1 lap
8. Romain Grosjean, Haas, +1 lap
9. Sergio Perez, Force India, +1 lap
10. Jenson Button, McLaren, +1 lap
11. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, +1 lap
12. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, +1 lap
13. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, +1 lap
14. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, +1 lap
15. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, +1 lap
16. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, +1 lap
17. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, +1 lap
18. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, +1 lap
Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, Not classified
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Not classified
Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, Not classified
Rio Haryanto, Manor, Not classified
Don't miss the F1 Report for all the analysis of the Russian GP at 8:30pm on Wednesday on Sky Sports F1. Natalie Pinkham is joined in the studio by Sky Sports F1's David Croft and Marc Priestley.
