Valtteri Bottas wins Russian GP as time penalty denies Hamilton's record bid

For so long the benchmark for almost flawless execution, it is almost disconcerting when the all-conquering Mercedes team are found floundering with what must be considered schoolboy errors. Expectations of celebrations for Lewis Hamilton in matching Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins at the Russian Grand Prix turned to bitter ashes, when he took penalties before even turning a wheel in anger.

His teammate, Valtteri Bottas, secured victory in Sochi and the Finn revelled in only his second win of the season. The mood across the garage could not have been more icy, however. A frustrated and disappointed Hamilton, who finished third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, was left complaining about the stewards and the FIA, convinced he and the team were being targeted because of their success.

Related: Bottas wins Russian GP as time penalty denies Hamilton's record bid – live!

Bottas took an easy win out front in what was a pedestrian affair on track once Hamilton had served his timed punishments during a pit stop that effectively neutered any potential fight between the two Mercedes drivers.

Hamilton was given two five-second penalties for making a practice start in the wrong area on his way to the grid. The first penalty was for the start and the second because in doing so he failed to drive at a constant speed in the pit exit on his reconnaissance lap.

Hamilton was clearly enormously frustrated and immediately expressed his belief that he was being unfairly targeted. “What happened?” he asked his team when they told him of the penalty imposed during lap seven. “Where’s that in the rule book? Anything to slow me down.”

The race director, Michael Masi, had made it clear in pre-race instructions the area where drivers could practice starts. “Practice starts may only be carried out on the right-hand side after the pit exit lights,” he noted. “Cars may not stop in the fast lane at any time the pit exit is open without a justifiable reason.”

Hamilton had done so for his practice start at the end of the pit exit slip road, past the curve of turn one and argued that he always goes further down to avoid areas where other drivers had laid down rubber.

The stewards deemed he had gone to far, compounding a similarly unusual operational error Mercedes made at Monza, where they called Hamilton in to pit when the pit lane was closed.

The team believe they were treated harshly but at very least there was poor decision-making in their interpretation of the rules. Hamilton’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington, had confirmed to the driver he could make the practice start at the end of the pit exit. The team principal, Toto Wolff, insisted they had interpreted the regulations correctly.

“The race director’s notes say that you must do the practice start after the lights on the right-hand side of the pit lane,” he said, noting this is what Hamilton did. “The verdict was he was not in the right place. There is no mention of what the right place is in the drivers’ notes or in the regulations so we disagree on that one. The other one was for not driving at a constant speed on the reconnaissance lap.”

Wolff would absolutely not discuss any apportioning of blame to either driver or team and said he would not appeal. “The errors happen together, its not a team error or a Lewis error,” he said. “I don’t want to point a finger at anybody. We need to learn from the incident, look at the procedures and the implementation. We will not blame a person we will target the problems.”

There was initially also the danger of further punishment. Hamilton was awarded two penalty points for the infractions and could have faced a one-race ban had he taken two more in the next four races. They were, however, later rescinded and replaced by a €25,000 fine for Mercedes because it was the team that had instructed him to practice the start in the incorrect area.

Certainly Hamilton, who has won five of the past six world championships, and Mercedes, who have won six consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ championship doubles, have enjoyed remarkable success but that they are being targeted in this case for doing so seems far-fetched indeed. Every other team followed race directions and executed practice starts as normal.

Bottas, to his credit, did what was required and took his ninth career win, and his second at Sochi, with control and composure, albeit unchallenged at the front. Once Hamilton had served his penalty he came through the field well to third but could make no further ground on Verstappen or the Finn. Bottas has narrowed the gap in the title fight to his teammate and is now 44 points Hamilton with seven races remaining.

The victory may have denied Hamilton’s attempt to match Schumacher but such is the British driver’s form this season, it is only a matter of time before he equals and surpasses the German. Records, however, will not be a consideration for the world champion or his team. Their distaste of such unforced errors is well-documented and they stand out because they are so rare. Bottas may find his celebrations somewhat lonely as Mercedes begin an extensive and painful debrief.

Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez was fourth and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth.

Charles Leclerc was sixth for Ferrari, with Esteban Ocon in seventh for Renault. AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat was in eighth with his teammate Pierre Gasly in ninth and Alexander Albon in 10th for McLaren.