2018 Russian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton strengthened his grip on the 2018 F1 World Championship with victory in a Russian Grand Prix shaped by Mercedes team orders. Valtteri Bottas had taken pole and led the early stages, but yielded to his team-mate as Sebastian Vettel finished third in Sochi.

Pole position
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:31.387
Fastest lap
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:35.861 on lap 50
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Third	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
28 September 2018	Practice 1	11:00 – 12:30
28 September 2018	Practice 2	15:00 – 16:30
29 September 2018	Practice 3	12:00 – 13:00
29 September 2018	Qualifying	15:00 – 16:00
30 September 2018	Race	14:10

All times are local (UTC+03:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

The title fight arrived at the Sochi Autodrom with Lewis Hamilton holding a 40-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel. Mercedes had won every Russian Grand Prix since the event joined the calendar in 2014, while Valtteri Bottas returned to the scene of his maiden Formula 1 victory.

Race entries

The regular 20-driver field remained unchanged. Friday’s opening session featured Antonio Giovinazzi for Marcus Ericsson at Sauber, Lando Norris for Fernando Alonso at McLaren, Artem Markelov for Carlos Sainz at Renault and Nicholas Latifi for Sergio Perez at Racing Point Force India.

Free Practice

Sebastian Vettel set the opening pace with a 1:34.488, just 0.050 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton was third as Ferrari began the weekend on an encouraging note.

Mercedes moved to the front in FP2. Lewis Hamilton‘s 1:33.385 put him 0.199 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas, with Max Verstappen third and Daniel Ricciardo fourth.

Lewis Hamilton remained quickest on Saturday morning with a 1:33.067. Valtteri Bottas completed another Mercedes one-two, while Sebastian Vettel finished six-tenths away in third.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2018 Russian Grand Prix FP1, 28 September 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:34.488	19
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.050s	22
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.330s	23
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.511s	28
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.036s	11
6	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+1.175s	24
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.208s	19
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.708s	21
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.786s	18
10	36	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber	+2.224s	22
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.328s	23
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+2.456s	25
13	47	Lando Norris	McLaren	+2.534s	25
14	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.566s	24
15	46	Artem Markelov	Renault	+2.695s	22
16	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.699s	27
17	34	Nicholas Latifi	Racing Point Force India	+2.718s	24
18	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.737s	25
19	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+3.456s	28
20	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+4.649s	13

Free Practice 2 Classification

2018 Russian Grand Prix FP2, 28 September 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:33.385	35
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.199s	33
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.442s	32
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.459s	37
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.543s	33
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.003s	31
7	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	+1.737s	30
8	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.752s	28
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+1.762s	33
10	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.910s	35
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.946s	33
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.956s	37
13	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.047s	32
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.183s	35
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.526s	35
16	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.639s	29
17	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.689s	34
18	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+3.232s	31
19	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+3.476s	39
20	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+3.616s	35

Free Practice 3 Classification

2018 Russian Grand Prix FP3, 29 September 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:33.067	13
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.254s	16
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.600s	14
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.621s	11
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.870s	11
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.327s	14
7	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+1.561s	15
8	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+1.742s	16
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.753s	15
10	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	+1.849s	14
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.921s	13
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+2.058s	21
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.118s	18
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.146s	12
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.303s	16
16	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.966s	22
17	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+3.004s	16
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+3.207s	20
19	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+3.530s	14
20	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+3.925s	21

Qualifying

Valtteri Bottas delivered when it mattered, taking pole with a 1:31.387. Lewis Hamilton made a mistake at Turn 7 on his final attempt and had to settle for second, leaving Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen on the second row.

Grid penalties heavily influenced the session behind the leading teams. Red Bull Racing and Pierre Gasly did not set Q2 times, while Renault also chose not to run in that segment, preserving a free tyre choice for the race. Charles Leclerc led the midfield qualifiers in seventh.

Qualifying Classification

2018 Russian Grand Prix Qualifying, 29 September 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:32.964	1:32.744	1:31.387	18
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:32.410	1:32.595	1:31.532	18
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:33.476	1:33.045	1:31.943	19
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:33.341	1:33.065	1:32.237	18
5	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:34.078	1:33.747	1:33.181	15
6	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	1:34.290	1:33.596	1:33.413	17
7	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:33.924	1:33.488	1:33.419	17
8	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	1:34.084	1:33.923	1:33.563	16
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:34.022	1:33.517	1:33.704	17
10	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:34.170	1:33.995	1:35.196	17
11	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:33.048	No time	—	5
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:33.247	No time	—	4
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:34.383	No time	—	8
14	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:34.626	No time	—	6
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:34.655	No time	—	6
16	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:35.037	—	—	7
17	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:35.504	—	—	6
18	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:35.612	—	—	6
19	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:35.977	—	—	6
20	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:36.437	—	—	7

Max Verstappen 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 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 received a 35-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.

Brendon Hartley received a 40-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.

Fernando Alonso received a 30-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.

Stoffel Vandoorne received a 5-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

What happened in the 2018 Russian Grand Prix?

Valtteri Bottas held the lead at the start, with Lewis Hamilton keeping Sebastian Vettel behind despite an early challenge. Mercedes had secured the opening advantage, but Ferrari remained close enough to make the pit stops matter.

Sebastian Vettel briefly jumped Lewis Hamilton during the stops. Hamilton responded on track, attacking his title rival and taking the position back at Turn 4 rather than allowing Ferrari to disrupt Mercedes‘ afternoon.

Max Verstappen supplied much of the early entertainment. Starting 19th after penalties, he swept through the field and reached fifth before running a long first stint that put him into the lead as the front-runners stopped.

The decisive Mercedes instruction came on lap 26. With Lewis Hamilton suffering tyre blistering and Sebastian Vettel close behind, Valtteri Bottas was told to let his team-mate through at Turn 13. Max Verstappen was still ahead on his alternative strategy, but the swap determined which Mercedes would inherit the lead.

Once Max Verstappen made his stop, Lewis Hamilton was on course for victory. Valtteri Bottas remained second, Sebastian Vettel took third and Kimi Räikkönen finished fourth, ahead of the two Red Bull Racing drivers.

Charles Leclerc delivered another strong seventh place for Sauber, followed by Kevin Magnussen, Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez. Both Toro Rosso cars retired with brake problems. Hamilton’s eighth victory of the season extended his championship lead to 50 points, although the team orders left Bottas with a difficult result to accept.

2018 Russian Grand Prix race results

The 2018 Russian Grand Prix was held on 30 September 2018, with a scheduled start of 14:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	1:27:25.181	25
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	53	+2.545s	18
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	53	+7.487s	15
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	53	+16.543s	12
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	53	+31.016s	10
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	53	+80.451s	8
7	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	53	+98.390s	6
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	52	+1 lap	4
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	52	+1 lap	2
10	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	52	+1 lap	1
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	52	+1 lap	0
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	52	+1 lap	0
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	52	+1 lap	0
14	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	52	+1 lap	0
15	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	52	+1 lap	0
16	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	51	+2 laps	0
17	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	51	+2 laps	0
18	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	51	+2 laps	0
Ret	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	4	Brakes	0
Ret	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	4	Brakes	0

2018 Russian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	50	15:36:10	1:35.861	219.617
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	50	15:36:08	1:35.916	219.492
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	50	15:36:14	1:35.990	219.322
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	45	15:28:30	1:36.283	218.655
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	41	15:22:39	1:36.345	218.514
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	47	15:31:30	1:36.611	217.913
7	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	39	15:20:22	1:37.931	214.975
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	52	15:41:12	1:38.015	214.791
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	52	15:40:56	1:38.107	214.590
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	46	15:31:39	1:38.244	214.290
11	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	47	15:33:05	1:38.300	214.168
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	52	15:41:16	1:38.366	214.025
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	52	15:41:40	1:39.108	212.422
14	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	44	15:28:53	1:39.435	211.724
15	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	44	15:28:52	1:39.590	211.394
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	35	15:14:01	1:39.731	211.095
17	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	43	15:27:38	1:39.838	210.869
18	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	41	15:24:13	1:39.922	210.692
19	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	3	14:18:59	1:44.071	202.292
20	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	2	14:17:14	1:45.852	198.889

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h. No championship point was awarded for fastest lap in 2018.

2018 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2018 Russian Grand Prix.

2018 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	306
2	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	256
3	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	189
4	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Ferrari	186
5	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	158
6	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Red Bull Racing	134
7	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	53
8	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Renault	53
9	Fernando Alonso	ESP	McLaren	50
10	Sergio Perez	MEX	Force India / Racing Point Force India	47
11	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Force India / Racing Point Force India	47
12	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Renault	38
13	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Toro Rosso	28
14	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	27
15	Charles Leclerc	MON	Sauber	21
16	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	McLaren	8
17	Lance Stroll	CAN	Williams	6
18	Marcus Ericsson	SWE	Sauber	6
19	Brendon Hartley	NZL	Toro Rosso	2
20	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Williams	1

2018 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	495
2	Ferrari	442
3	Red Bull Racing	292
4	Renault	91
5	Haas	80
6	McLaren	58
7	Racing Point Force India	35
8	Toro Rosso	30
9	Sauber	27
10	Williams	7
EX	Force India	0

The original Force India entry was excluded from the championship before the Belgian Grand Prix and its 59 constructors’ points were forfeited. Racing Point Force India entered as a new constructor from Belgium; the drivers retained their points.

2018 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2018 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	25 March
2	2018 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	8 April
3	2018 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	15 April
4	2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	29 April
5	2018 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
6	2018 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
7	2018 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
8	2018 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	24 June
9	2018 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	1 July
10	2018 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
11	2018 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	22 July
12	2018 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 July
13	2018 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	26 August
14	2018 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	2 September
15	2018 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	16 September
16	2018 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	30 September
17	2018 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	7 October
18	2018 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	21 October
19	2018 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	28 October
20	2018 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	11 November
21	2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	25 November