Bottas back in Formula 1 title hunt after "overdue" win - Wolff

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff believes Valtteri Bottas is firmly back in the Formula 1 championship picture following his "overdue" victory in Russia.

Following his season-opening Austrian Grand Prix win, Bottas then endured a lean spell of eight races without taking the chequered flag, leaving him 55 points adrift of team-mate Lewis Hamilton heading into the event at the Sochi Autodrom.

But in claiming his ninth career victory and the point for fastest lap on Sunday, and with Hamilton down in third, the Finn has cut the lead to 44 points.

“I think Valtteri was overdue to win a race," said Wolff. "It was very close in several qualifying sessions. He was in the lead in Mugello and in that respect he deserved the win.

“He drove a great race, kept his cool and just cruised home. Valtteri is fully in the race for the championship."

Bottas assumed the race lead when Hamilton served a 10-second penalty for a pre-race infringement regarding practice starts outside of the designated area.

The 35-year-old also initially received two penalty points on his licence, although they were later rescinded by the stewards following a review.

The situation, though, has served as a wake-up call to Mercedes as to how "squeaky clean" the team must be moving forward.

"We need to get over the next races without a penalty," said Wolff.

"I think that for both of our drivers, Verstappen is still in the hunt, and I wouldn’t want any of them to miss a race because Valtteri and Lewis can win the championship.”

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