| 2018 Russian Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 16 of 21 in the2018 Formula One World Championship
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 Layout of the Sochi Autodrom | |||||
| Race details[1] | |||||
| Date | 30 September 2018 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 2018VTBRussian Grand Prix | ||||
| Location | Sochi Autodrom, Adlersky City District,Sochi,Krasnodar Krai,Russia | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 5.848 km (3.634 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 53 laps, 309.745 km (192.467 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Cloudy | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:31.387 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:35.861 on lap 50 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Mercedes | ||||
| Second | Mercedes | ||||
| Third | Ferrari | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2018 Russian Grand Prix (officially theFormula 1 2018 VTB Russian Grand Prix) was aFormula One motor race held on 30 September 2018 at theSochi Autodrom inSochi,Russia.[1] The race was the 16th round of the2018 Formula One World Championship and marked the 7th running of theRussian Grand Prix and the 5th time the race had been held in Sochi.[2][3][4]
Mercedes driverLewis Hamilton entered the round with a 40-point lead overSebastian Vettel in the Drivers' Championship. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes ledFerrari by 37 points.[5] The race was one of controversy, as Mercedes enacted team orders to swap their two drivers, handing Lewis Hamilton the win andValtteri Bottas would move to 2nd place for the race finish.[6] The race result sparked discussion regarding the future of team orders in the sport, and some even going as to call for an outright ban on the practice.[7]
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The race was moved from its April date to September to fill the vacancy of theMalaysian Grand Prix, which was discontinued at the end of the2017 Formula One season.[8][9] During the weekend, the firstDRS zone was extended by 100 meters so that the beginning of the DRS zone started 95 meters before turn 1.[10]
Artem Markelov replacedCarlos Sainz Jr. atRenault during the first practice session.
During the first qualifying session,Brendon Hartley, driver forToro Rosso, was eliminated after complaining about vibrations on his car.Williams' driver,Sergey Sirotkin, spun near the end of the session, leaving him in P18.[11]
In Q2, several teams elected not to place times, hoping that this would give them an advantage on race day.Red Bull andToro Rosso'sPierre Gasly opted to remain in the garage due to grid penalties that required them to start at the back of the grid.Renault also chose to miss the session to allow them a free tyre choice in the race.[11]
During hishot lap, Hamilton overcommitted into Turn 7, resulting in his car heading off into the run-off area. This allowed for Bottas to take pole position, securing the sixth pole of his career.[11]
This would also mark Red Bull's last double elimination until the2023 Singapore Grand Prix.
At the start, Sebastian Vettel got a better start than Lewis Hamilton but there was no room to overtake heading into turn one.[12] On lap 4, bothScuderia Toro Rosso driversPierre Gasly andBrendon Hartley suffered brake failures which forced both to retire; they were the only retirements of the race.[13] Later on lap 14, Hamilton made his one and only pitstop of the race, putting him behind Vettel.[12] Two laps later, Hamilton made a move on Vettel at turn 3 and passed him into fourth place into turn 4.[12]
The most notable moment of the race came on lap 26, when Mercedes asked Valtteri Bottas to let Hamilton through into second at turn 13, gifting the Briton the race win.[12]Max Verstappen, who led the race since lap 19, came in for his pitstop on lap 42.[12][14] Hamilton won the race for the third time in his career, with Bottas second and Vettel completing the podium in third place.[3][15] As a consequence, Hamilton extended his lead over Vettel in the championship to 50 points.[16]
Despite receiving no penalties, both of the Renault drivers elected not to run any laps on Q2 due to them automatically receiving places 11 and 12. They were then able to start the race on fresh tyres of their choice.[21]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 |  Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 53 | 1:27:25.181 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 53 | +2.545 | 1 | 18 |
| 3 | 5 |  Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 53 | +7.487 | 3 | 15 |
| 4 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 53 | +16.543 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 33 |  Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 53 | +31.016 | 19 | 10 |
| 6 | 3 |  Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 53 | +1:20.451 | 18 | 8 |
| 7 | 16 |  Charles Leclerc | Sauber-Ferrari | 53 | +1:38.390 | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | 20 |  Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 52 | +1 lap | 5 | 4 |
| 9 | 31 |  Esteban Ocon | Force India-Mercedes | 52 | +1 lap | 6 | 2 |
| 10 | 11 |  Sergio Pérez | Force India-Mercedes | 52 | +1 lap | 8 | 1 |
| 11 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 52 | +1 lap | 9 | |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 52 | +1 lap | 12 | |
| 13 | 9 |  Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 52 | +1 lap | 10 | |
| 14 | 14 |  Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Renault | 52 | +1 lap | 16 | |
| 15 | 18 |  Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 52 | +1 lap | 14 | |
| 16 | 2 |  Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren-Renault | 51 | +2 laps | 15 | |
| 17 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Renault | 51 | +2 laps | 11 | |
| 18 | 35 |  Sergey Sirotkin | Williams-Mercedes | 51 | +2 laps | 13 | |
| Ret | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda | 4 | Brakes | 17 | |
| Ret | 28 |  Brendon Hartley | Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda | 4 | Brakes | 20 | |
| Source:[13] | |||||||
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| Previous race: 2018 Singapore Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2018 season | Next race: 2018 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2017 Russian Grand Prix | Russian Grand Prix | Next race: 2019 Russian Grand Prix |
