Bottas holds off Vettel for 1st F1 victory in Russia

SOCHI, Russia: Valtteri Bottas claimed his first Formula One win on Sunday after holding off a late charge from Sebastian Vettel in the Russian Grand Prix.
Mercedes driver Bottas, who started third but slipstreamed into the lead off the start, finished 0.6 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Vettel. Kimi Raikkonen took third in the second Ferrari, 10.3 seconds further back.
“Took quite a while, more than 80 races,” said Bottas, who had his debut with Williams in 2013. “Worth the wait.”
The 27-year-old Finn joined Mercedes after last year’s champion, Nico Rosberg, announced his retirement.
Vettel, who had started on pole, hunted Bottas down in the latter part of the race. However, he was left fuming after his hopes of passing the Finn on the last lap were dashed by having to lap the Williams of Felipe Massa. “What was that?” Vettel asked over the team radio in frustration that Massa had not moved out of his way swiftly enough, though the German was in conciliatory mood afterward.
“It doesn’t matter,” Vettel said of the incident with Massa. “This is the man of the race today, big congrats to Valtteri.”
Vettel’s second place meant the German extended his standings lead to 13 points over Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who trailed in fourth after suffering overheating trouble. It was a lonely race for Hamilton, who had large gaps with Raikkonen ahead and Max Verstappen behind.
“Why is my car overheating? We’re out of the race now,” Hamilton told his team on lap 16. The British driver never came close to third-placed Raikkonen, and the gap stood at more than 25 seconds at the checkered flag.
With Russian President Vladimir Putin looking on, Red Bull driver Verstappen claimed fifth, ahead of the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. Eighth went to Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, with Massa and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz claiming the final points.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was the most notable retirement, parking his car on lap 6 after the right-rear brakes caught fire.
There was a safety-car stoppage after barely half a lap when Romain Grosjean’s Haas hit the Renault of Jolyon Palmer on the inside of a right-hand bend, putting both cars into the wall. Bottas held on to his lead comfortably at the restart in a race with few overtaking opportunities.
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso is still yet to reach the checkered flag this season after his car broke down on the formation lap.