The 2018 Russian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 2018 VTB Russian Grand Prix) was a
Formula One motor race
A Formula One Grand Prix is a sporting event which takes place over three days (usually Friday to Sunday), with a series of practice and qualifying sessions prior to the race on Sunday. Current regulations provide for two free practice sessions ...
held on 30 September 2018 at the
Sochi Autodrom
The Sochi Autodrom (russian: Сочи Автодром, Sochi Avtodrom), previously known as the Sochi International Street Circuit and the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit, is a permanent race track in the settlement of Sirius (urban-type settlement) ...
in
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
The race was the 16th round of the
2018 Formula One World Championship
The 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars and the 69th running of the Formula One World Championship. Formula One is recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the F ...
and marked the 7th running of the
Russian Grand Prix
The Russian Grand Prix (russian: Гран-при России, Gran-pri Rossii) was an annual motor racing event held at Sochi Autodrom – a permanent circuit built around the Olympic Park in Sochi – as part of the Formula One World Champio ...
and the 5th time the race had been held in Sochi.
Mercedes driver
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...
entered the round with a 40-point lead over
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
in the Drivers' Championship. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes led
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
by 37 points.
The race was one of controversy, as Mercedes enacted team orders to swap their two drivers, handing Lewis Hamilton the win and
Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Alfa Romeo, having previously driven for Mercedes from to and Williams from to . Bottas has scored race wins and podiums. H ...
would move to 2nd place for the race finish.
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.
Report
Background
The race was moved from its April date to September to fill the vacancy of the
Malaysian Grand Prix
The Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the Malaysia Grand Prix from 1963–1965 and 2011–2017 and Malayan Grand Prix in 1962) was an annual auto race held in Malaysia. It was part of the Formula One World Championship from 1999 to 2017 and it ...
, which was discontinued at the end of the
2017 season.
During the weekend, the first DRS zone was extended by 100 meters so that the beginning of the DRS zone started 95 meters before turn 1.
Practice
Artem Markelov
Artem Valeryevich Markelov ( rus, Артём Вале́рьевич Марке́лов, p=ɐrˈtʲɵm vɐˈlʲerʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mɐrˈkʲeləf; born 10 September 1994) is a Russian racing driver who last competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship ...
replaced
Carlos Sainz Jr.
Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro (; born 1 September 1994), otherwise known as Carlos Sainz Jr. or simply Carlos Sainz, is a Formula One drivers from Spain, Spanish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is th ...
at
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
during the first practice session.
Race
At the start, Sebastian Vettel got a better start than Lewis Hamilton, but there was no room to overtake heading into turn one.
On lap 4, both
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso (; literal translation of "Red Bull Racing Team"), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One racing team. It was one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Red ...
drivers
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver, currently competing in Formula One under the French flag, racing for Scuderia AlphaTauri. He is the 2016 GP2 Series champion, and the runner-up in the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 ...
and
Brendon Hartley
Brendon Hartley (born 10 November 1989) is a New Zealand professional racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
He won the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, alongside his te ...
suffered brake failures which forced both to retire; they were the only retirements of the race.
Later on lap 14, Hamilton made his one and only pitstop of the race, putting him behind Vettel.
Two laps later, Hamilton made a move on Sebastian Vettel at turn 3 and passed him into fourth place into turn 4.
The most notable moment of the race came on lap 26, when Mercedes asked Valtteri Bottas to let Lewis Hamilton through into second at turn 13, gifting the Briton the race win.
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...
, who led the race since lap 19, came in for his pitstop on lap 42.
Hamilton won the race for the third time in his career, with Valtteri Bottas second and Sebastian Vettel completing the podium in third place.
As a consequence, Hamilton extended his lead over Vettel in the championship to 50 points.
Classification
Qualifying
;Notes
* –
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...
received a 43-place grid penalty: 35 places for exceeding his quota of power unit elements, 5 places for an unscheduled gearbox change and 3 places for a yellow flag infringement in qualifying.
* –
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( "Ricardo", ; born 1 July 1989) is an Italian-Australian racing driver who last raced in Formula One driving for McLaren, under the Australian flag. He made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with the HRT ...
received a 40-place grid penalty: 35 places for exceeding his quota of power unit elements and 5 places for an unscheduled gearbox change.
* –
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver, currently competing in Formula One under the French flag, racing for Scuderia AlphaTauri. He is the 2016 GP2 Series champion, and the runner-up in the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 ...
received a 35-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.
* –
Brendon Hartley
Brendon Hartley (born 10 November 1989) is a New Zealand professional racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
He won the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, alongside his te ...
received a 40-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.
* –
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
received a 30-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.
* –
Stoffel Vandoorne
Stoffel Vandoorne (born 26 March 1992) is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently racing for Dragon Racing in Formula E. He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren from 2016 to 2018. He is currently a test driver of M ...
received a 5-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
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.
Race
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
*
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
*
Competitors marked with an asterisk still had a mathematical chance of winning the Championship.
See also
*
2018 Sochi Formula 2 round
*
2018 Sochi GP3 Series round
References
{{F1GP 10-19
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
Russian Grand Prix
Russian Grand Prix
The Russian Grand Prix (russian: Гран-при России, Gran-pri Rossii) was an annual motor racing event held at Sochi Autodrom – a permanent circuit built around the Olympic Park in Sochi – as part of the Formula One World Champio ...