Bottas wins Russian GP, penalty thwarts record-chasing Hamilton

Valtteri Bottas claimed an easy win at the Russian Grand Prix after a time penalty ruined Lewis Hamilton's attempt to match Michael Schumacher's 91 career wins. 

Hamilton was penalised for two incidents which took place before the race had started, conducting two practice starts at the end of the pit-lane rather than in the designated area. Hamilton held the lead after starting from pole position but was handed a five-second penalty for either incident. 

When told about the penalty, an angry Hamilton labelled it "ridiculous" and asked where the infringement could be found in the rulebook. 

Once Hamilton had served the 10-second time penalty at his pit-stop, he was out of contention. Hamilton eventually told Mercedes to stop relaying him information about the race. 

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Bottas was unchallenged in the lead and finished comfortably clear of Max Verstappen. It is Bottas' first win since the opening race of the year, the Austrian Grand Prix.

Bottas echoed a previous radio message from 2019 after his victory, saying over the radio: "Nice moment to thank my critics -- to whom it may concern, f--- you!"

The win sees him take 11 points out of Hamilton's championship lead, although the margin out in front is still a very comfortable 44 points. 

It was another Russian Grand Prix lacking entertainment. A Safety Car was needed almost immediately, after Carlos Sainz hit the wall while rejoining the circuit at Turn 2 and Lance Stroll's Racing Point car was spun into the wall via contact with Charles Leclerc on the opening lap. Beyond that there was no major drama, with most of the close fights for position taking place in the middle and lower parts of the timing screen.