Valtteri Bottas’s first ever race win headlines an otherwise dull Russian Grand Prix

With three laps to go, Valtteri Bottas was in a spot that he had never been in before. Having never led a Grand Prix this close to the chequered flag in his F1 career, Bottas had to drive the perfect race. This was because the perfect car was right behind him. Sebastien Vettel’s Ferrari was hot on his heels, and with the German eating the laps and counting the seconds down, it looked like the final few laps would be a nail biting affair.

But a lucky Bottas will thank his stars and former teammate Felipe Massa, as the Brazilian’s Williams slowed down the Ferrari at a crucial juncture. This allowed the Finn to regain a slender advantage and all but take away hopes of Vettel’s third win of the season.

With this victory, Mercedes’ newest signing became the fifth driver from Finland to win a GP and marked his arrival as a potential title contender. Following him on the podium were both the Ferraris – of Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

Bad day for Lewis

It was a bad day for Lewis Hamilton. The start of the race saw his partner leapfrog the two Ferraris into first, while the Brit got stuck in the traffic behind fourth-placed Raikkonen. Overtaking has been a major offset of the new regulations this season and one could see that Hamilton was going to find it very hard to catch up to the Ferraris. His miserable evening was compounded by an engine problem that refused to go away.

With the engine threatening to overheat at various points in the race, Hamilton had to back off and settle for a fourth-place finish. At one point, he was down by 6.8 seconds to Raikkonen in the eighth lap, and was asked to slow down further and take care of his engines. But Hamilton being Hamilton, was curt and replied, “I’m trying to race here.” Eventually the 32-year-old had to buckle down and take care of his car, rather than go outright after the Ferraris ahead of him.

Alonso’s nightmare continues

But if Hamilton’s drive was a troublesome one, Fernando Alonso is having an absolute nightmare of a start to the 2017 season. After a suspected Energy Recovery System failure, the two-time champion was yet again forced to sit out of a race, this time at the Sochi Autodrome. While a welcome distraction in the Indy 500 is upon him, Alonso revealed his frustrations at the inability of the McLaren garage to provide him with a competent car. He described being “hurt” at his F1 ambitions taking such a heady hit. One can only hope that things improve for the British legacy racing team and its champion Spaniard soon.

Moving on, Force India continued their dizzying run of late. With a sixth- and seventh- placed finish, they were once again reaping the riches of a competitive mid-level car. Both drivers had a clear run ahead of them and with no cars around, they could maintain their hold on their positions. Sergio Perez’s sixth place and Esteban Ocon’s seventh now hands Force India the fourth spot in the Constructors Championship – a worthy position from where further improvement could see them take on third-placed Red Bull Racing.

Red Bull’s break issues

Speaking of Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen finished behind Lewis Hamilton, but almost a minute slower than the eventual race winner, Bottas. It was his partner Daniel Ricciardo, though, who was forced off the race early. With his brakes on fire, the Aussie had to steer his car gently into the pits where he was declared out of the Russian GP. This is the second break-related stoppage that the Red Bull team has faced this season. Verstappen’s Bahrain bid was denied earlier due to brake issues as well.

Overall, the Russian GP was not the most exciting affair, barring the battle over the last few laps for P1 and P2. The spectacle failed to dazzle and the lack of any tools to help overtaking meant that much like the previous races this season, the reliance on qualifying and tyre strategy decided the outcome of the race results.

While Ferrari need to continue what they are doing, it will be Mercedes who would be the worried lot among the paddock. While they have just enough race pace to match the Prancing Horse, they lack the durability to challenge over the entirety of the drive. This season is shaping up to be a battle between the two teams and the standings suggest that Sebastien Vettel is well on his way to bring the Ferrari back to relevance.