F1 News
Championship standings after Russian Grand Prix - Hamilton & Mercedes steer clear!
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
With just five races to go now in the 2019 Formula 1 season, the Mercedes one-two in Sochi at the Russian Grand Prix might well have been the hammer blow in the championship, with Lewis Hamilton, as well as the Silver Arrows, steering clear of the competition in their respective standings after a dip in form.
Russian Grand Prix recap
Sunday's race in Sochi started with Sebastian Vettel showing that Singapore wasn't just a one-off. The German shot off the line as if he had traction control when the lights went out and overtook both Hamilton as well as Charles Leclerc in the run to turn one.
The German pulled away but was reigned back in via pit stop, with Ferrari stopping Leclerc first so the Monegasque could get ahead of Vettel again when the 31-year-old would make his stop.
However, when Vettel came out of the pit, he suffered a mechanical issue and he had to retire from the race. It caused a VSC that Mercedes used to make their only stop, getting ahead of Leclerc as the Silver Arrows ended up with a Hamilton-led one-two once again.
With that one-two, it could mean this is the end of the championship in terms of the title fight, with Hamilton's advantage looking virtually insurmountable at this point with just five races to go.
2019 Formula 1 Drivers' championship (16/21)
| Driver | Team | Points | |
| 1. | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 322 |
| 2. | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 249 |
| 3. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 215 |
| 4. | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 212 |
| 5. | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 194 |
| 6. | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso / Red Bull Racing | 69 |
| 7. | Carlos Sainz Jr. | McLaren | 66 |
| 8. | Alexander Albon | Red Bull Racing / Toro Rosso | 52 |
| 9. | Lando Norris | McLaren | 35 |
| 10. | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 34 |
| 11. | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 34 |
| 12. | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 33 |
| 13. | Sergio Pérez | SportPesa Racing Point | 33 |
| 14. | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing | 31 |
| 15. | Kevin Magnussen | Haas F1 | 20 |
| 16. | Lance Stroll | SportPesa Racing Point | 19 |
| 17. | Romain Grosjean | Haas F1 | 8 |
| 18. | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing | 4 |
| 19. | Robert Kubica | Williams | 1 |
| 20. | George Russell | Williams | 0 |
2019 Formula 1 Constructors' championship (16/21)
| Team | Points | |
| 1. | Mercedes | 571 |
| 2. | Ferrari | 409 |
| 3. | Red Bull Racing | 311 |
| 4. | McLaren | 101 |
| 5. | Renault | 68 |
| 6. | Toro Rosso | 55 |
| 7. | Racing Point | 52 |
| 8. | Alfa Romeo Racing | 35 |
| 9. | Haas F1 | 28 |
| 10. | Williams | 1 |