Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg yesterday chalked up his seventh win in a row at the Russian Grand Prix with teammate Lewis Hamilton fighting back from 10th on the grid to seal a Mercedes one-two finish.
In a race that started with chaos, Rosberg had an untroubled afternoon from pole to chequered flag for his 18th career win.
The German equaled the achievement of compatriot Michael Schumacher in winning seven successive races, with only Sebastian Vettel — nine in 2013 with Red Bull — and the late Italian Alberto Ascari ahead of them.
Hamilton was 25 seconds behind Rosberg with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finishing third after winning a battle with fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas, who started on the front row, in the Williams.
Rosberg, who won the last three races of last year and now the first four of this year, leads triple world champion Hamilton by 43 points in the standings with 17 races remaining.
Earlier, Ferrari’s Vettel crashed out of the race after a first-lap collision with the Red Bull of Daniil Kyvat.
Vettel’s Ferrari appeared to suffer a puncture and spun into the barriers on lap three after Kyvat went into the back of him twice.
The incident is expected to fuel the bad blood between the pair after Vettel accused the Russian of being “a madman” after a first-corner incident in the Chinese Grand Prix.
“Somebody hit me on turn one, then the same guy hit me on turn three, honestly, what are we doing here?” an exasperated Vettel said over the team radio, before adding an expletive.
He cut a forlorn figure, picking up the front wing of his stricken Ferrari and sticking it in the cockpit before commandeering a scooter and riding it back to the pits.
Back in the pits he told Sky Sports television: “I got a big hit, lucky not to spin on turn two, then got another hit and couldn’t avoid hitting the barrier. These things happen, doesn’t help me because I’m here and the race is still happening.”
Kyvat picked up a 10-second drive through penalty as punishment for his wayward driving.
Vettel has not enjoyed the best of starts this year, his Bahrain Grand Prix hopes going up in smoke before the race even got underway when his Ferrari packed up on the warm-up lap.
Also out in separate incidents on a chaotic first lap were Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and Manor’s Indonesian rookie Rio Haryanto.
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