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Russian GP stats: Lewis Hamilton's win keeps Mercedes perfect in Russia

ESPN takes a look at some of the best and quirkiest stats to come out of the Russian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton's controversial win at the Russian Grand Prix has seen him extend his championship lead over Sebastian Vettel to a season-high 50 points.

Teammate Valtteri Bottas had started from pole position and led in the early stages but when Vettel began to close on Hamilton for second place, Mercedes opted to implement team orders and switch its drivers around.

Hamilton went on to win comfortably while Bottas was forced to come home second, fighting off a mini Vettel attack late in the race.

Stat focus: Mercedes scores a handful in Sochi

Yes, it may have been laced with controversy and disappointment for one of their drivers, but Mercedes proved it is the king in Russia with yet another win at the Sochi Autodrom.

Since the Russian Grand Prix was added back to the calendar in 2014 -- the first year of the V6 turbo era -- the Silver Arrows have had an unblemished record, winning all five races. In fact, the German manufacturer even won the first two races held in Russia way back in 1913 and 1914.

Of the five wins scored between 2014 and 2018, Hamilton has three while Bottas and 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg both have one to their name.

Mercedes has also dominated the pole position count in Russia, claiming top billing in qualifying in four of the five races. The only exception was last year when Vettel pipped Bottas to pole by 0.059s.

Something you probably didn't know

As mentioned, Hamilton now has a monumental 50 point advantage over title rival Vettel in the drivers' championship.

The lead has been growing ever since Vettel crashed out of the German Grand Prix back in July and has now reached a mark that is essentially worth two full race wins.

With five races left in the 2018 season, and a seven point differential between first and second, it actually means Hamilton can still become world champion this year without taking another victory.

Hypothetically, if Vettel won every remaining race and Hamilton finished runner-up, the Mercedes driver would still reign supreme overall by 15 points.

But just imagine how it would look if Vettel led a Ferrari one-two in each of those five races while Hamilton was forced to come home third. The season would end with both drivers tied on 381 points but Vettel would get the championship courtesy of more wins throughout the season (10-8). So it's not completely out of Ferrari's hands just yet.

Fast facts:

2,000 - Hamilton has now scored a staggering 2,000 world championship points for Mercedes.

7 - The amount of times Charles Leclerc has finished in the points this year.

Verstappen - Despite starting P19, he led more laps than any other driver on Sunday in Sochi.

26 - The amount of places Red Bull's drivers made up during the Russian Grand Prix.

3 - After Toro Rosso's double DNF, only Ferrari, Renault and McLaren remain as the only teams not to have suffered one in 2018.