6 Memorable Moments From The Russian Grand Prix

F1’s first race in Russia was far from a thriller, with Lewis Hamilton dominating the 53-lap event at the Sochi Autodrom to take his ninth win of the 2014 season. Nico Rosberg recovered from an error and pit stop on lap one to finish second.

Valtteri Bottas was third for Williams, with Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen scoring McLaren’s best result since the season opener in Australia in fourth and fifth. Here are six memorable moments from the race:

1. #ForzaJules

F1 drivers united before the start of the race to send their support to Jules Bianchi, who remains in a critical condition in hospital after his serious crash last weekend in Japan. Some admitted over the weekend that it had been tough to get back into the car after what happened.

The 2014 field gathered at the front of the grid, with the CGI message “Jules, we are all supporting you” being placed on the track. All of the drivers raced with stickers saying ‘Tous avec Jules’ (all with Jules) on their helmets.

2. A dramatic start

The start was fairly eventful, with Rosberg running side-by-side with Hamilton on the run to turn two. The German locked up and went straight on, taking to the run-off area with flat-spotted tyres. He had to pit at the end of lap one for fresh rubber and dropped to 20th place.

There was plenty of movement in the midfield, with home favourite Daniil Kvyat dropping back, his team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne rising to fifth and Magnussen jumping up to seventh.

3. Clumsy contact

It was a pretty clean F1 race, with very little contact between the drivers. The biggest collision involved Adrian Sutil and Romain Grosjean, with the latter being handed a five-second stop/go penalty.

4. Hamilton takes the victory

Hamilton was cruising in the final part of the race, eventually taking the chequered flag 15 seconds clear of Rosberg to win the first F1 race in Russia. It was his ninth victory of the season and the 31st of his career, meaning he now equals Nigel Mansell’s British F1 win record.

Rosberg recovered to second place, completing 52 laps on his set of medium compound tyres. Bottas closed to within five seconds of the Mercedes driver to finish third, with Button and Magnussen next up.

5. Awkward

The post-race podium room is often an awkward affair, but the presence of Russian president Vladimir Putin made this one perhaps the most excruciating to watch ever…

6. Mercedes takes the title

The 2014 constructors’ championship has been wrapped up by Mercedes, giving the Brackley-based outfit even more to celebrate in Sochi after its one-two finish. Mercedes needed to score 25 points in Russia to take the title, and scored the maximum available of 43.