Lewis Hamilton extended his Formula 1 title advantage over Sebastian Vettel to 50 points as he sealed a third straight win at the Russian Grand Prix, with Valtteri Bottas instructed to move over.
Hamilton fended off Vettel into Turn 1 as Bottas retained his pole advantage on the run to Turn 2, though the slipstream effect enabled Hamilton to sniff a chance into the first braking zone.
Bottas led Hamilton and Vettel through the first stint but the Briton was undercut by Vettel and dropped to third.
Hamilton quickly regrouped and mounted an attack; Vettel defended into Turn 2 and raised the ire of Hamilton at what he perceived to be a double move, though stewards cleared the Ferrari driver.
Hamilton remained glued to Vettel through Turn 3 and launched up the inside into Turn 4 to retake the position.
Bottas continued to lead but as the pair caught the yet-to-stop Max Verstappen, Mercedes issued instructions for Bottas to relinquish position to Hamilton.
Bottas dutifully obliged, allowing Hamilton through, with the points leader picking up the race lead when Verstappen made his mandatory stop.
Hamilton therefore went on to triumph, with Bottas second, while Vettel drifted away from the scrap across the final stint and took a low-key third.
Kimi Raikkonen was anonymous fourth in the second Ferrari, while Verstappen provided much of the early action as he surged from the back row to fifth in just eight laps.
Verstappen’s long stint on Softs meant he led a large chunk of the race before filtering back out into fifth when he took on Ultrasofts.
Daniel Ricciardo was unable to match Verstappen’s early gains but still took sixth, having changed his front wing during his pit stop.
Charles Leclerc led the midfield battle in seventh place, the highlight of which came on the second lap, when he went around the outside of Kevin Magnussen through Turn 3.
Magnussen preserved eighth under sustained pressure from both Force India drivers, as the team gave opportunities for Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez to attack the Haas driver.
Romain Grosjean was 11th, while neither Renault driver scored on a lacklustre weekend for the manufacturer, leaving Nico Hulkenberg 12th and Carlos Sainz Jr. a dismal 17th.
Marcus Ericsson started within the top 10 but dropped to 13th after using a two-stop strategy, while McLaren duo Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne were 14th and 16th, split by Lance Stroll.
Sergey Sirotkin was 18th and last in his maiden home Grand Prix.
Toro Rosso drivers Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley were the sole retirements as the pair suffered suspected brake failures during the opening laps.
Gasly and Hartley both spun on the same lap, at Turns 5 and 2 respectively, and pulled into the garage at the end of the lap.
The next round of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix, will take place at Suzuka next weekend
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