Rosberg error gifts Hamilton Russia victory
A fatal error on lap one from Nico Rosberg, gave Lewis Hamilton victory in the Russian Grand Prix.
Rosberg ran wide and ruined his tyres while trying to get past his team-mate. He needed to pit and was forced to drop to the back of the field. From there, Hamilton had an easy drive to win his fourth straight race.
A superb recovery drive saw Rosberg finish second, but the race was already lost. He finished ahead of Valtteri Bottas in third. The points were enough for Mercedes to confirm themselves as Constructors Champions.
The inaugural race in Russia will not be remembered too fondly. Tyre degradation was non-existent, highlighted by Rosberg who went to the end of the race after stopping on lap one.
Top 3 qualifiers 2014 Russia: 1. Hamilton 2. Rosberg 3. Bottas
It was a mixture of tyre management and consistent speed that allowed Rosberg to climb his way back through the pack as the rest of the field pitted.
At the start, some he dived up the inside of Hamilton but out-braked himself. He flat-spotted his tyres, meaning he had to pit.
He limited the damage that his earlier mistake threatened to cause, and a bold move on Bottas saw him move into second. Some blistering laps confirmed how little the tyres degraded, a negative feature of a tedious race.
Jenson Button drove solidly to come fourth, ahead of his team-mate Kevin Magnussen. It was a big result for McLaren, who have now moved ahead of Force India in the Constructors Championship.
Fernando Alonso held off Daniel Ricciardo to take sixth, with Sebastian Vettel back in eighth.
There was a lot of local disappointment as Daniil Kvyat couldn’t live up to the hype he generated after qualifying fifth. He fell down the order quickly, and ultimately came 14th.
See 2014 F1 drivers championship
See 2014 F1 constructors championship
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