Russian GP 2014: Grading Race on Strategy, Overtaking, Shocks and Drama

Sunday afternoon saw Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton win the inaugural Russian Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg, with Valtteri Bottas in the Williams coming home in third place.

And here we grade the race at the sun-drenched Sochi Autodrom from A to D in terms of strategy, overtaking, shocks and drama.

Strategy: B

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There was both an unexpected and unscheduled early pit stop by Rosberg to change to the harder medium tyres after his first-lap error when locking up his front wheels while attempting to overtake Hamilton for the lead, with the Mercedes driver then rejoining in last as a result.

However, much to his rivals’ great surprise, Rosberg was incredibly able to run until the end of the race on that same set of tyres.

Meanwhile, a slow pit stop by the Ferrari team on Lap 26 cost Fernando Alonso a possible podium finish, with the Spaniard going on to end the contest down in sixth place.

Overtaking: D

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Having previously treated the season to a feast of daring passing moves, Sunday’s grand prix was unfortunately lacking in any such drama whatsoever.

Rosberg did, though, manage to make his way up from last place at the end of the first lap to third following the first round of pit stops after brilliantly carving his way through from the back of the field.

And then the Mercedes driver capped off an impressive afternoon by producing a neat overtaking manoeuvre on the inside at Turn 2 to get past second-placed Bottas in what was undoubtedly the most entertaining moment of the entire race.

Drama: D

Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press

Again, compared to many of the earlier incident-packed races that we have seen this year, there were few noteworthy incidents at the Sochi Autodrom involving either technical issues or (luckily) crashes that may have necessitated the deployment of a safety car.

In fact, perhaps the most eye-catching moment in the grand prix actually came right at the very start, when second-placed Rosberg managed to pull alongside pole-sitter Hamilton before attempting to pass his Mercedes team-mate at Turn 2.

However, the German then made a mistake after breaking too late into that corner and locking up both his front wheels, forcing him to take the escape road. While he did then re-emerge in the lead, Rosberg was immediately forced to yield first place back to Hamilton after gaining an unfair advantage by going off the track.

Shocks: D

Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press

Other than a disappointing afternoon for Daniil Kvyat in what was the Toro Rosso driver’s home grand prix—the Russian could only manage a 14th-place finish despite starting in an encouraging fifth position—there were no real surprises to report in Sochi, as the top four on the grid all finished in that same order.

Overall: D

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The first-ever Russian GP will, truth be told, not live long in the memory, as Hamilton led from start to finish as the Briton cruised to his ninth win of the year and fourth victory in a row, the second time he has achieved that feat already in 2014.

As a result, the 29-year-old now heads to Austin in three weeks’ time for the United States GP with a 17-point advantage over team-mate Rosberg in the race for the drivers’ title, although with only three races left in this campaign.

Meanwhile, yet another Mercedes Benz one-two in Sochi handed the team their first-ever constructors’ championship after second-placed Red Bull failed to finish within 19 points of their rivals.

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