[Porcupine]

Another thing worth mentioning now is that with a 50 point advantage and 5 races to go, merely winning every single race is no longer enough for Vettel. Assuming no DNFs for Hamilton, and a 7-point difference between first and second on the podium and 10-points from first to third, if Vettel wins every race, Hamilton has to finish every race in third position in order for Vettel to just tie the tally on points. It's now out of Vettel's control it would seem, and Mercedes just needs to deliver reliability.

[Vid6639]

What a brilliant race and great driving by Lewis.

The highlight of today's race was the absolutely brilliant overtake by Lewis Hamilton of Valterri Bottas at turn 13 on lap 25. Never seen such an amazing overtaking manoeuvre...Well done Lewis. It was almost like Valtteri was standing still and had no clue Lewis had passed him.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

What a brilliant race and great driving by Lewis.

The highlight of today's race was the absolutely brilliant overtake by Lewis Hamilton of Valterri Bottas at turn 13 on lap 25. Never seen such an amazing overtaking manoeuvre...Well done Lewis. It was almost like Valtteri was standing still and had no clue Lewis had passed him.

I'm an unabashed Lewis fan, but I have to agree. Allowing Lewis by may have been a good call on team orders, but not having Bottas take it back was quite unnecessary. I know the mathematics is important in the additional 5 points gained by Lewis, but it's not as if he's not going to come first or second in the remaining races. Bottas may be the number two, but this is the kind of thing that festers in the mind.

[Mohan Mathew A]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

What a brilliant race and great driving by Lewis.

The highlight of today's race was the absolutely brilliant overtake by Lewis Hamilton of Valterri Bottas at turn 13 on lap 25. Never seen such an amazing overtaking manoeuvre...Well done Lewis. It was almost like Valtteri was standing still and had no clue Lewis had passed him.

Bottas obviously wanted to make it unambiguously clear and make a clear statement. Even the radio exchange on lap 51/52 was to further drive the point. Mercedes should have swapped back like Force India.

Takes away from the win.

What a drive by Verstappen, he was driving as if permanently on boost. That guy is a great talent, but sometimes, I suppose, his instincts get the better of him. I am sure he will mature

[F150]

Brilliant drive by Verstappen. The kid has great potential and I am willing to support him instead of Ferrari if REDBULL will be in the mix of things in 2019 with the Honda engine.

Vettel looked helpless and I think he has given up. I didnt expect Lewis to take back the 2nd place so quickly. Very unhappy with Ferrari, yet another year of disappointment.

[drmohitg]

I feel they should come up with some regulation prohibiting such meek position exchanges in the name of team play. I am so glad that he made it clear on the radio.

[nair]

Originally Posted by F150

Vettel looked helpless and I think he has given up. I didnt expect Lewis to take back the 2nd place so quickly. Very unhappy with Ferrari, yet another year of disappointment.

Ya my joy at the pitstop undercut by Ferrari was so short lived as LH came roaring back. That move was indicative of the type of season Mercedes and Ferrari has been having so far.

Not very amused at the way Lewis was handed the lead to the grand prix and it seems like he too is not that pleased about all this.

Wonder why Ferrari was so much far from Mercedes's pace the entire weekend. Does this performance upgrade of Merc mean game over for Ferrari(most would argue its already too late for the prancing horse)?

Max's drive was phenomenal, the way he cut through the field was a sight to behold. I hope RBR gives him a championship package soon. Max and LeClerc are the future of F1 and I am eagerly looking forward to how these two fare in 2019.

[F150]

Originally Posted by nair

Does this performance upgrade of Merc mean game over for Ferrari(most would argue its already too late for the prancing horse)?

I personally think that the game was over when Vettel squandered 25 points in Germany.
Ferrari failed to provide the lead to Vettel in Monza.
There is no coming back from here unless LH crashes out of the race.

[nair]

Originally Posted by F150

There is no coming back from here unless LH crashes out of the race.

Not just one but two. That cushion was ensured after the Merc team orders. Anyway, even Vettel was like yeah, the Mercedes strategy made sense.

[FURY_44]

As a Lewis fan, I think what Mercedes did was unacceptable. He could have settled for second and still would have won the championship while Ferrari seems to have given up.

Bottas clearly beat him in quali and held onto the lead at the start and was doing a commendable job in maintaining lead after the pit stops, he was destroyed after the race finish. I don't know how Merc will repay him, maybe by letting him win a couple of races in the remaining rounds.

[narayans80]

Barring the entertainment Max provided, it was such a boring race. After the RBRs settled into 5th and 6th it was a procession till the end. I don't know why Mercedes felt they needed 50 points (against 43) to defend Vettel in 5 races, when they've worked with much smaller margins.

Its not like Bottas' seat is secure, he has just one more season to prove himself or Ocon takes his seat in 2020, and yet they blow up the only race he was in a position to win it.

[RM Motorsports]

Russian Grand Prix: Race Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnRCF08PwIU

[KiloAlpha]

Originally Posted by Porcupine

Another thing worth mentioning now is that with a 50 point advantage and 5 races to go, merely winning every single race is no longer enough for Vettel. Assuming no DNFs for Hamilton, and a 7-point difference between first and second on the podium and 10-points from first to third, if Vettel wins every race, Hamilton has to finish every race in third position in order for Vettel to just tie the tally on points. It's now out of Vettel's control it would seem, and Mercedes just needs to deliver reliability.

From here on, if Vettel wins every race and Lewis is 3rd in every race, then they tie on points. Vettel will still win the championship on the basis of more races won - Vettel would have won 10 races, to Hamilton's 8.

So to win a championship, Vettel needs to win in all remaining races, and Ferrari needs to make sure Kimi finishes 2nd and keeps Hamilton behind him.

Tough.

[Makin Rulesz]

Originally Posted by FURY_44

As a Lewis fan, I think what Mercedes did was unacceptable. He could have settled for second and still would have won the championship while Ferrari seems to have given up.

Bottas clearly beat him in quali and held onto the lead at the start and was doing a commendable job in maintaining lead after the pit stops, he was destroyed after the race finish. I don't know how Merc will repay him, maybe by letting him win a couple of races in the remaining rounds.

I too am not happy with the way Mercedes handled the team orders, but I don't think Bottas was quicker than Lewis on race day. Though he kept the lead after first corner, he could not pull away or shake off Lewis who was consistently tailing him within less than 2 secs throughout. I am sure if they were allowed to race on track, Lewis would have overtook him.
Bottas is no match to Hamilton on the same spec car like the way Rosberg did. If you see his performance this year, he is barely holding on to the third position in overall points table without a single win. He lacks that extra to make him a serious contender for world championship and might end up as perfect "wingman" as long as he is teammate to Lewis.

[GTO]

Just to clarify before you read my post, the last driver I supported was a certain Schumacher. Since, I've watched every race as a neutral fan.

But Vettel lost a bit of my respect yesterday.

Last year, he rammed his car into Hamilton:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOI2It_W3No

This year, he has made his share of mistakes. But the worst was his lame + dangerous attempt at blocking Hamilton yesterday. I'm so glad Hamilton took him right after:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zX-sZGLl_k