Apologetic Hamilton thanks Bottas

An apologetic Lewis Hamilton thanked Valtteri Bottas for heeding Mercedes team orders and allowing him to win the Russian Grand Prix. Hamilton opened up a 50-point lead over Sebastian Vettel with victory in Sochi, although he was arguably not the fastest car on-track.

Bottas qualified on pole and made a fine start to keep hold of P1, however he was ordered to move aside for Hamilton after the Brit picked up tyre damage in an intense battle with Sebastian Vettel around the pit-stops.

Hamilton took to team radio after crossing the finish line to say: "That doesn't feel great."

Bottas was audibly frustrated by Mercedes' refusal to swap the positions back for the end of the race and Hamilton understood his team-mate's emtions.

"It's actually quite a difficult day because Valtteri did a fantastic job all weekend and was a real gentleman to let me by," Hamilton said.

"He's now not fighting for the championship as where we are. It's just been such a great weekend for the team.

"The team have done such an exceptional job to have this advantage on Ferrari.

"To have a 1-2 usually you would be elated, but I can understand how difficult it was for Valtteri. He did a fantastic job today and deserved to win, but championship-wise as a team we're trying to win both championships and I think today it was a real team effort.

"Whilst it doesn't feel spectacular, I know he's going to do great in races to come."

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