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Lewis Hamilton wins Russian Grand Prix in 1-2 victory for Mercedes

SOCHI, Russia — Lewis Hamilton coasted to a comfortable victory and led a Mercedes one-two finish at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday to tighten his grip on a sixth World Championship. In a calamitous few laps for Ferrari, the Italian team threw away a possible one-two finish of its own after Sebastian Vettel broke down and Charles Leclerc dropped from first to third. Valtteri Bottas followed teammate Hamilton home at the Sochi Autodrome as Mercedes secured the full quota of points. Hamilton now leads Bottas in the championship by 73 points. Leclerc is 107 points behind the British driver. Max Verstappen finished fourth ahead of Red Bull teammate Alex Albon, who started last after he crashed out during qualifying. "What an effort, guys," said a jubilant Hamilton on the radio after the race. "What an incredible job. That is exactly what we needed. We never give up." Ferrari had already got themselves into a needless mess before Vettel retired with an engine failure on lap 28. Vettel got the jump on pole-sitter Leclerc on the long drag down to the second corner but a curious pre-race arrangement had Leclerc calling for the roles to be reversed. It appears that the team had agreed that if Vettel benefited from Leclerc's slipstream and moved ahead of the Frenchman off the start line, he would have to concede the position. Ferrari were on the radio to tell Vettel to let Leclerc by, but the four-time world champion resisted the order. Leclerc protested over the radio. "You put me behind and I respected everything," he said. "We will talk later." The Ferrari pit wall were on to Vettel again, but again the German refused to let his teammate pass, fearing that he would be exposed to Hamilton in third place if he slowed down. Leclerc was the first to stop on lap 22, but instead of calling in Vettel the next time around Vettel was left on old tires as his teammate put in several fast laps on his fresh tires. Four laps after Leclerc pitted, Vettel was eventually called in and by the time he emerged he had fallen behind his teammate and into second place. Just moments later disaster struck as Vettel broke down with an engine failure. It was then to get worse for the Scuderia. With Vettel's broken down machine in a precarious position, the virtual safety car was deployed to slow down the field, allowing Hamilton, who had yet to pit, a free stop for tires and the lead of the race. George Russell then crashed out in his Williams and the full safety car was deployed.

Autoblog drives to the Arctic Circle

In Which Mercedes' Sprinter Becomes A Long-Distance Sherpa
In the wintery wilds of northern Alaska, even the cute little critters want to kill you.
As I am about to nod off on my long leg flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage ahead of driving to the Arctic Circle, the friendly twenty-something Alaskan knitting furiously in the seat next to me pauses and says, "When you're driving up there, don't open your windows." In the dead of winter? I hadn't planned on cruising alfresco, but her warning to keep the glazing snugged against the weatherstripping is one I would take to heart. She continues: "If you leave 'em open, a fox is liable to jump right in. There are lots of rabid foxes up there, and they leap into your car and just Go. To. Town." And here I was, thinking that a curious bear or maybe an ill-placed moose in the road was going to be my biggest potential four-legged threat. In the wintery wilds of northern Alaska, even the cute little critters want to kill you.

F1 cancels season-opening Australian Grand Prix over coronavirus

Workers pack up in pit lane after the cancellation of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, Friday. / AP   MELBOURNE, Australia — As thousands of fans queued to get into the Australian Grand Prix, seemingly unperturbed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Formula One teams and drivers were packing up to leave. The rapid spread of the virus left organizers with little choice Friday but to cancel the season-opening race, particularly after McLaren withdrew because a team member tested positive for the COVID-19 illness and following heavy criticism from six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The two practice sessions that usually showcase what the teams have been improving in the off-season were less than two hours from starting when the decision was publicly announced. Principals of nine F1 teams and organizers met overnight and “concluded with a majority view of the teams that the race should not go ahead," a joint statement by FIA, motorsport's governing body, local organizers and F1 said. “It's been a very fluid situation," F1 chairman Chase Carey said. “We're all disappointed not to have it, but I think we've made the decision we had to make." “It's not like it came out of the blue," Carey told a news conference beside the F1 paddock that ended in light rain. “A week ago, when teams started traveling here, we felt it was the right decision (to stage the race). Clearly the situation changed in the interim." Practice, qualifying and Sunday's race were all scrapped, casting doubt over the Bahrain Grand Prix which is scheduled to be held next week and the Vietnamese GP, scheduled for April 5. Authorities in Bahrain have already said no fans will be allowed into the circuit. Carey said a decision on whether or not to go ahead with the the race would be made in coming days. The Chinese GP has already been postponed from April. Hamilton used the first official news conference with F1 drivers in Melbourne to say he was shocked that organizers planned to proceed with the Australian Grand Prix, which regularly attracts more than 300,000 people over four days. McLaren's decision to withdraw was ultimately the catalyst for the cancellation. That person and 14 other McLaren team members have been placed in quarantine in a Melbourne hotel for 14 days. Hamilton's Mercedes-AMG Petronas team said it sent a letter to the FIA and F1 requesting the cancellation and had commenced preparations to leave before the decision was publicly announced.