Russian Grand Prix – Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was made to regret losing the lead to eventual race-winner Valtteri Bottas at the start of the race.
Despite having a reasonable getaway from the grid, Vettel was unable to stop Mercedes’ Bottas from taking the lead of the race before turn two.
With Bottas showing strong pace, Ferrari were forced to try a slightly longer first tyre stint in order to have fresher tyres in the second stint.
Following the pit stop, Vettel was able to gradually close the gap to Bottas, but the Finn was too quick to be caught by the championship leader.
Speaking after the race, Vettel was left wondering whether or not his start could’ve been better.
“I think my getaway was ok. Maybe I could have been a bit more aggressive,” conceded Vettel.
“There was a delay in turning the lights off, so that I didn’t get a proper reading of how the grid was. Still, I had a good start but we had a strong head wind all day and Bottas could get a massive tow, so there was nothing I could do.
“Valtteri had a great race. He drove better than the rest of us so he deserved to win. Towards the end I was flat out, I had a feeling that I could get into DRS distance, maybe on the back straight, put some pressure on him and, who knows, lead him into a mistake, but he made none.
Vettel was left frustrated in the final few laps when a misunderstanding with Williams’ Felipe Massa meant he was delayed in lapping the Brazilian.
“What happened with Massa was just a bit of a misunderstanding, I wasn’t sure where he was going, but I did not lose the race at that point.”
Despite finishing second, Vettel extended his lead over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to thirteen points.
