Kimi Raikkonen has been handed a post-race thirty-second penalty for causing a collision with Valtteri Bottas on the final lap of the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom, with the Mercedes team now confirmed as Constructors champions as a result. With the Ferrari coming from a long way back, however, Bottas was unaware of the move, and as he turned in Raikkonen’s front-left tyre tagged his rear, pitching the Williams into the barriers and out of the race.
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“All through the race the vehicle was behaving well, especially after the pit stop, but then I was stuck behind other cars and had no speed on the straight, so it was hard to get past”, reflected Raikkonen.
Hamilton’s victory means he can seal a second consecutive drivers’ title at the next race in Austin, Texas on 25 October, if he out-scores Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by nine points and his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by two in the US.
The subsequent penalty added 30secs to Raikkonen’s race time, enough to drop him three positions to eighth, where his points haul proved insufficient to help Ferrari deny Mercedes the 2015 constructors’ crown. “I passed him once before there and I was trying to pass. But I am not a steward”. Once I made a decision to try I couldn’t pull back. “It was a racing accident so I don’t see any reason why it can be considered as it was considered”.
“It’s very disappointing, obviously – I was running third on the final lap, I should be on the podium, but I’m here and with zero points”.
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“I tried to turn as much inside as I could but there was nowhere to go and we collided”.
