Formula 1

F1: Hamilton victorious in dramatic Russian Grand Prix

Published Oct. 11, 2015 10:05 a.m. ET

Chase Wilhelm

Lewis Hamilton pushed himself ahead of Ayrton Senna on the Formula 1 all-time career wins list, earning his 42nd career victory with a dominating performance in the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom.

Hamilton came in to the race as the defending winner of the event after winning the inaugural event last year. The British driver is now tied with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in career wins.

Vettel finished second, earning his fourth-consecutive podium finish.

Force India's Sergio Perez claimed his first podium of the season, finishing third after starting the the race from seventh.

Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg started on pole and led the first six laps, but disaster struck after a stuck throttle forced him to limb back to the pit area. Rosberg was forced to retire from the race, virtually ending his hopes to win the championship this season.

Hamilton is now 66 points ahead of Vettel in the championship standings, and 73 points ahead of Rosberg.

The first safety car was deployed immediately after the start when Nico Hulkenberg spun on Lap 1, collecting Marcus Ericsson in the process.

Frenchman Romain Grosjean found trouble when a mechanical failure resulted in a heavy crash on Lap 12, which implemented the second safety car.

The final lap of the race provided some huge drama, when Williams driver Valterri Bottas and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen made contact while fighting for the podium.

Bottas and Raikkonen passed Perez, leaving it up to the two of them to settle third. Raikkonen found room on the inside of Bottas going into Turn 4, but the space quickly closed. Raikkonen's left front tire hit the right rear of Bottas' car, sending Bottas sliding into the barriers.

After a lengthly investigation by race marshals, Raikkonen received a 30-second race time penalty, dropping him from his orginal fifth place, down to eighth. Bottas was only able to salvage a 12th place result.

Click here for full race results.

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