At the fourth round of the season – the , Mercedes struggled to be at the forefront, with Bottas and Hamilton qualifying only 3rd and 4th respectively as Ferrari locked out the front-row of the grid, the worst qualifying result since the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix. In the race, Bottas grabbed the lead at the start in Sochi and pulled away through a mighty first stint, but then came under increasing pressure as Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel closed rapidly in the closing stages. Bottas held off Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by six tenths of a second, to secure his maiden victory in his Formula 1 career. On the other hand, Hamilton continued to struggle on pace, hampered by overheating issues, during the whole course of the race, finishing fourth. Having completed one-fifth of the season, Mercedes took back the lead in the Constructors' Championship by just a solitary point over their closest rivals, Ferrari.