Valtteri Bottas edges Sebastian Vettel to claim maiden F1 win

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas celebrates his Russian GP win

Valtteri Bottas claimed his maiden Formula One victory yesterday when he resisted intense pressure from championship leader Sebastian Vettel to triumph for Mercedes in a tense Russian GP.

The Finnish driver, starting from third place on the grid, grabbed the initiative at the start by powering past both Ferraris and into the lead.

Vettel finished second ahead of Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen who claimed his first podium finish since last year's Austrian GP. Max Verstappen finished fifth for Red Bull.

Sebastian surges ahead
The result lifted Vettel clear at the top of the drivers championship with 86 points ahead of Hamilton on 73 with Bottas up to third with 63 points. Mercedes lead the constructors title race with 136 points to Ferrari on 135 after four rounds of this year's championship.

Force India finish strong
Sahara Force India consolidated their fourth position in the team standings by collecting 14 points from the Russian Grand Prix with Sergio Perez finishing sixth ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon.

Perez had started ninth on the grid while Ocon was just behind him in the race. Force India now have opened up a 13-point lead over fifth placed Williams, who have 18 points, after Felipe Massa managed two points from the race with his ninth place finish. The other Williams driver Lance Stroll was not among points as he finished 11th, just outside the points bracket.