Hamilton’s fightback allowed him to limit the damage of Rosberg’s seventh straight victory – the German now sits on 100 points, with Hamilton second in the championship on 57.
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The Olympic city hosts the Grand Prix for the third time after Russian Federation secured the right to annually hold the championship’s stage from 2014 to 2020 on October 14, 2010.
The track width varies from 13 metres at its narrowest point to 15 metres at the start-finish line.
The race was Vettel’s second blank in four this season, the German failing to start in Bahrain after his car’s engine blew on the formation lap.
Finn Valtteri Bottas of Williams outpaced compatriot Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari to qualify third – and start second alongside Rosberg.
While Rosberg qualified on pole position with a lap so much quicker than the rest that he was out of his auto before the end of the session, team mate Lewis Hamilton suffered engine problems for the second successive race weekend.
Indeed Hamilton was just over seven seconds adrift of Rosberg when he was informed of a problem with his engine.
After he had cooled down he said when asked about Kvyat “I don’t dislike him. As far as I’m aware, he didn’t have a problem that was going to stop him finishing”, said the Briton, who finished runner-up 25 seconds behind.
Putin handed the Russian Grand Prix cup to the race victor, the German race vehicle driver Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton’s cause was helped by a Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel crashing out on the first lap after two separate clashes with Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat.
Kvyat, the home favourite, thumped into the back of Vettel at turn two before crashing into him again moments later. “Honestly, what are we doing here?” he lamented in an expletive-filled rant over team radio. “It’s great stuff but I just enjoy winning and I enjoyed winning today”.
By the end of lap four, he eased past the Williams of Felipe Massa for fourth before overtaking the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen three laps later.
Denmark’s Kevin Magnussen took Renault’s first points of the season in seventh place with Frenchman Romain Grosjean continuing his remarkable form with newcomers Haas in eighth place.
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A virtual safety vehicle was then deployed to clean up Vettel’s Ferrari, and in avoiding the first-lap chaos – which also ended Nico Hulkenberg’s race and saw his Force India team-mate Sergio Perez sustain a puncture – Hamilton had moved up to fifth.
