Valtteri Bottas emerged victorious in the 2017 Formula One Russian Grand Prix

Valtteri Bottas emerged victorious in the 2017 Formula One Russian  Grand Prix. The event marked the second win of Mercedes AMG Petronas  this season and the Finn’s first win in his F1 career. Bottas overcame four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari  who was expected to win the race following his impressive showing during  the practices in Sochi and in the qualifying race  wherein he landed the pole position. Three-time world champion Lewis  Hamilton sadly fell in the fourth place, failing to overtake the veteran  and 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari. Bottas was elated in his triumphant finish after more than 80 career  starts. His fellow drivers showed strong support in his achievement too. Vettel, despite being foiled by Williams’ Felipe Massa from a  potential victory in the final leg of the race, congratulated Bottas and  told in an interview,  “He is the man of the race today.” On the other hand, the  Finn’s partner, Hamilton, shook hands with him and both shared a hug. Bottas time in the race was 1:28:08.743. Vettel followed in 0.617  seconds. Raikkonen was 11 seconds behind the winner while Hamilton fell  behind his teammate by 36.32 seconds. Vettel remains the leader in the 2017 F1 Driver Standings after the  Russian GP with 86 points. Hamilton is second with 73 points. Bottas  increases the gap between him and Raikkonen with his 63 points compared  to his countryman’s 49 points. The fifth position belongs to Red Bull’s  rising star Max Verstappen who has 35 points. For now, Ferrari and Mercedes each has two wins this season. The  change in landscape is certainly a major treat to fans as the races are  no longer just fought between two drivers with the same team, which was  exactly the case since Mercedes started its dominance in the sport in  2014.