Lewis Hamilton wins Russian F1 Grand Prix amid Sebastien Vettel controversy over ‘disobeying team orders’

Lewis Hamilton’s march towards a sixth Formula 1 crown continued as he won the Sochi Grand Prix on Sunday after a controversial race in which Ferrari’s Sebastien Vettel appeared to disobey team orders.

Hamilton now leads the Formula 1 drivers’ championship by 73 points after he claimed victory in a race which will be defined by apparent in-fighting in the Ferrari camp, after Vettel refused team orders to allow teammate Charles Leclerc to pass him.

The pre-race plan was for Leclerc and Vettel to combine to present a barrier to Hamilton, who started second on the grid, from taking the lead. Leclerc fulfilled his end of the strategy but with Vettel in the lead, he refused orders to allow Leclerc to pass him.

After some mid-race tactics from the Ferrari team, Leclerc regained the lead when he was called for a pit stop four laps prior to Vettel.

However, Vettel’s car developed engine trouble on its first lap out of the pits which led to a Virtual Safety Car being instituted – the timing of which led to Hamilton, who had taken the lead following Ferrari’s pit stops, cementing his position at the head of the field.

There was further misfortune for Ferrari as an accident just as the VSC period was ending meant that the safety car was introduced to the track. It cost Leclerc his place in second, which was taken by Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. Both drivers went on to complete the race to claim the team’s first one-two finish since July.

Hamilton, who broke Michael Schumacher’s record for leading the most Grands Prix in history, can now claim the drivers’ championship two races from now in Mexico. Bottas remains in second ahead of Leclerc, while Vettel sits in fifth position in the standings.

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