It meant that while Hamilton was presented with a special fur hat for the podium presentation, Rosberg was contemplating a fight with Vettel for second place in the championship. I feel like I have solidified my spot in the team in terms of delivering what they had expected and hoped.
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Raikkonen was demoted to eighth, handing the title to Mercedes at the same track as they won it a year ago.
Raikkonen however was hauled in front of the stewards after the race in the wake of his last-lap collision with Valtteri Bottas and was subsequently hit with a 30-second timed penalty.
If the cards fall in his favour Hamilton can clinch the title in the next race in the United States on October 25.
Easier said as the victor, of course, but it was Rosberg himself who made the first move towards reconciliation past year, seeking out Hamilton with a congratulatory handshake immediately after his rival’s title success in Abu Dhabi.
With team-mate Lewis Hamilton going on to take the chequered flag, Rosberg now trails the Briton by 73 points in the drivers’ standings with only 100 to play for.
“I was thinking this is great, and we were going to put on a good show”, said Hamilton, after collecting the trophy from Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The race saw two safety cars.
Closer inspection revealed that the enthusiastic Hamilton merely caught the back of Putin’s jacket with bubbly as the race benefactor left the stage, but that didn’t stop the 63-year-old’s reputation as a tough leader becoming the butt of a number of online jokes.
“Bouncing back is never a problem for me”, he said.
“He is very disappointed, but he is a racing driver and knows these things can happen, but he will keep on fighting”. Lewis Hamilton wins, Red Bull struggle and Ferrari come close but aren’t quite there.
After five laps of safety auto running, any concerns about fuel were well and truly gone, and there was also plenty of life left in the tyres.
Hamilton won more races compared to any other British driver in the history of Formula 1 One and now tied for fourth position with Sebastian Vettel on the all-time wins list, with 42 wins.
For the Russians, the race was hailed as “one of the most dramatic of the season” on the circuit’s official website.
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A little over 24 hours after Carlos Sainz was airlifted to hospital following his crash in practice, Grosjean was in the wall at turn three.
