2018 Russian Grand Prix

The 2018 Russian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 2018 VTB Russian Grand Prix) was the sixteenth race of the 2018 Formula One season, and the fifth time the Russian Grand Prix was held on the Formula One calendar. It was held between 28 September and 30 September 2018.
In qualifying, Valtteri Bottas took his sixth pole position, after Lewis Hamilton went wide on his final flying lap. Hamilton qualified second ahead of his championship rival Sebastian Vettel.
In the race, Bottas kept the lead at the start, while Vettel made a better start than Hamilton, but Hamilton used the slipstream from Bottas to stay ahead of Vettel. When Vettel and Hamilton pitted on laps 13 and 14 respectively, Hamilton ended up behind Vettel, but got back past Vettel at Turn 5 on lap 16. On lap 25, Bottas was given team orders to let Hamilton through after technical director James Allison noted a blister on Hamilton's tyres. Thus, Bottas slowed down at Turn 14 to let Hamilton overtake him for the effective lead. In the closing stages of the race, the team decided to have the drivers keep their positions rather than swapping them back, therefore allowing Hamilton to take his seventieth overall victory, and extend his championship lead to fifty points ahead of Vettel. Bottas came home in second while Vettel completed the podium.
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==Background==
==Entry list==
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport	 	W09 EQ Power+ 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport	 	W09 EQ Power+ 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF71H 	 	062 EVO 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF71H 	 	062 EVO 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	 	RB14 	 	TAG Heuer 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	 	RB14 	 	TAG Heuer 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Racing Point Force India F1 Team	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Racing Point Force India F1 Team	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW41 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW41 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
28 	Brendon Hartley 	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 	 	STR13 	 	RA618H 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 	 	STR13 	 	RA618H 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-18 	 	062 EVO 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-18 	 	062 EVO 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only 	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only
34 	Nicholas Latifi 	Racing Point Force India F1 Team	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
36 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
46 	Artem Markelov 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
47 	Lando Norris 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source
==Practice Overview==
===FP1===
===FP2===
===FP3===
===Practice Results===
No 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	 	FP2 	 	FP3 	 	 	 	 	 	
No 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	 	 	 	 	
2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	 	1:37.187	16 	1:36.617	18 	1:36.597	19 	 	 	 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:35.524	5 	1:33.844	4 	1:34.394	6 	 	 	 	 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:34.488	1 	1:33.928	5 	1:33.667	3 	 	 	 	 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:35.696	7 	1:34.388	6 	1:33.688	4 	 	 	 	 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	1:36.816	11 	1:35.911	15 	1:35.185	13 	 	 	 	 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	 	1:35.295	10 	1:35.370	15 	 	 	 	 	 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	1:36.944	12 	1:35.137	8 	1:35.125	12 	 	 	 	 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	1:35.122	7 	1:34.916	10 	 	 	 	 	 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	1:36.074	17 	1:36.992	20 	 	 	 	 	 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	1:37.054	14 	1:35.432	13 	1:34.628	7 	 	 	 	 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	 	1:39.137	20 	1:37.001	20 	1:36.274	18 	 	 	 	 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	1:36.196	8 	1:35.331	11 	1:34.820	9 	 	 	 	 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	1:36.274	9 	1:35.568	14 	1:35.213	14 	 	 	 	 	
28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	1:37.944	19 	1:36.024	16 	1:36.033	16 	 	 	 	 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	1:35.663	6 	1:35.147	9 	1:34.809	8 	 	 	 	 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	1:34.538	2 	1:33.827	3 	1:33.937	5 	 	 	 	 	
34 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	1:37.206	17 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	1:37.225	18 	1:36.861	19 	1:36.071	17 	 	 	 	 	
36 	Antonio Giovinazzi	 	1:36.712	10 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:34.818	3 	1:33.385	1 	1:33.067	1 	 	 	 	 	
46 	Artem Markelov 	 	1:37.183	15 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
47 	Lando Norris 	 	1:37.022	13 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	1:35.341	12 	1:34.988	11 	 	 	 	 	 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:34.999	4 	1:33.584	2 	1:33.321	2 	 	 	 	 	
Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	Grid
1 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	2 	1:32.964 	 	2 	1:32.744 	 	1 	1:31.387 	1
2 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	1 	1:32.410 	 	1 	1:32.595 	 	2 	1:31.532 	2
3 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	6 	1:33.476 	 	3 	1:33.045 	 	3 	1:31.943 	3
4 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	5 	1:33.341 	 	4 	1:33.065 	 	4 	1:32.237 	4
5 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	 	9 	1:34.078 	 	8 	1:33.747 	 	5 	1:33.181 	5
6 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	12 	1:34.290 	 	7 	1:33.596 	 	6 	1:33.413 	6
7 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	 	7 	1:33.924 	 	5 	1:33.488 	 	7 	1:33.419 	7
8 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	10 	1:34.084 	 	9 	1:33.923 	 	8 	1:33.563 	8
9 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	8 	1:34.022 	 	6 	1:33.517 	 	9 	1:33.704 	9
10 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	 	11 	1:34.170 	 	10 	1:33.995 	 	10 	1:35.196 	10
11 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	3 	1:33.048 	 	11 	no time 	 	 	 	19*
12 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	4 	1:33.247 	 	12 	no time 	 	 	 	18†
13 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	 	13 	1:34.383 	 	13 	no time 	 	 	 	17‡
14 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	14 	1:34.626 	 	14 	no time 	 	 	 	11
15 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	 	15 	1:34.655 	 	15 	no time 	 	 	 	12
16 	28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	 	16 	1:35.037 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20§
17 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	17 	1:35.504 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16**
18 	35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	 	18 	1:35.612 	 	 	 	 	 	 	13
19 	2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	 	 	19 	1:35.977 	 	 	 	 	 	 	15††
20 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	 	20 	1:36.437 	 	 	 	 	 	 	14
107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878	107% time: 1:38.878
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
** Verstappen was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth ICE, fourth turbocharger, fourth MGU-H, fourth MGU-K, third ES and third CE. He later received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change, and a three-place grid penalty for not slowing down under yellow flags during qualifying.
*† Ricciardo was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fifth ICE, fifth turbocharger, fifth MGU-H and fifth MGU-K. He was later given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
*‡ Gasly was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his sixth ICE, sixth turbocharger, sixth MGU-H and fifth MGU-K.
*§ Hartley was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his seventh ICE, sixth and seventh turbocharger, sixth and seventh MGU-H, sixth MGU-K, and fourth CE.
*** Alonso was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth ICE, fourth turbocharger, fourth MGU-H, fourth MGU-K, third ES and third CE.
*†† Vandoorne was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
===Grid===
Source
** Vandoorne was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
*† Alonso was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth ICE, fourth turbocharger, fourth MGU-H, fourth MGU-K, third ES and third CE.
*‡ Gasly was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his sixth ICE, sixth turbocharger, sixth MGU-H and fifth MGU-K.
*§ Ricciardo was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fifth ICE, fifth turbocharger, fifth MGU-H and fifth MGU-K. He was later given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
*** Verstappen was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his fourth ICE, fourth turbocharger, fourth MGU-H, fourth MGU-K, third ES and third CE. He later received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change, and a three-place grid penalty for not slowing down under yellow flags during qualifying.
*†† Hartley was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his seventh ICE, sixth and seventh turbocharger, sixth and seventh MGU-H, sixth MGU-K, and fourth CE.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	53 	1h 27m 25.181s	2 	25
2 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	53 	+2.545s 	1 	18
3 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	53 	+7.487s 	3 	15
4 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	53 	+16.543s 	4 	12
5 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	53 	+31.016s 	19 	10
6 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	53 	+80.451s 	18 	8
7 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	53 	+98.390s 	7 	6
8 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	5 	4
9 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	6 	2
10 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	8 	1
11 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	9 	
12 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	12 	
13 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	10 	
14 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	16 	
15 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	14 	
16 	2 	Stoffel Vandoorne	 	51 	+2 Laps 	15 	
17 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	51 	+2 Laps 	11 	
18 	35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	51 	+2 Laps 	13 	
Ret 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	4 	Brakes 	17 	
Ret 	28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	4 	Brakes 	20 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
==Milestones==
*Sebastian Vettel's 215th entry (214th start).
*Valtteri Bottas's 15th front row start.
*Lewis Hamilton leads his 125th race.
*Lewis Hamilton's 130th podium.
* lead their 3500th lap.
*Kimi Räikkönen achieves his 200th points-finish.
*Sergio Pérez's 150th start (153rd entry).
*Fernando Alonso is on level with Jenson Button for the second highest number of entries, and takes the second highest number of starts ahead of Button and Michael Schumacher.
==Standings==
 
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	306 	
2 	Sebastian Vettel 	256 	
3 	Valtteri Bottas 	189 	1
4 	Kimi Räikkönen 	186 	1
5 	Max Verstappen 	158 	
6 	Daniel Ricciardo 	134 	
7 	Kevin Magnussen 	53 	2
8 	Nico Hülkenberg 	53 	1
9 	Fernando Alonso 	50 	1
10 	Esteban Ocon 	47 	1
11 	Sergio Pérez 	47 	1
12 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	38 	
13 	Pierre Gasly 	28 	
14 	Romain Grosjean 	27 	
15 	Charles Leclerc 	21 	
16 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	8 	
17 	Lance Stroll 	6 	
18 	Marcus Ericsson 	6 	
19 	Brendon Hartley 	2 	
20 	Sergey Sirotkin 	1 	
Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	495 	
2 	 	442 	
3 	 	292 	
4 	 	91 	
5 	 	80 	
6 	 	58 	
7 	 	35 	
8 	 	30 	
9 	 	27 	
10 	 	7 	
Only point scoring drivers are shown.
==Notes==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2018 Grands Prix
Category:Russian Grand Prix