Mercedes sees strong Verstappen: 'Be at our best for chance of title'

Toto Wolff made a correct prediction during the race. Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line first at the Russian Grand Prix and Valtteri Bottas eventually finished fifth after his engine change meant he started from the back of the grid on P16.

Mercedes can be satisfied with the result, as Hamilton is back in the lead in the championship and also in the constructors' championship they increase their lead over Red Bull Racing. In the team's official press release, Andrew Shovlin talks about their race.

"We'd managed to get Lewis up to second and it would have been a straight fight with Lando in the dry but we were actually hoping for the rain as it felt like that would be our best chance of making it to the top step. Valtteri was further back at the time it started so we decided to switch to intermediates early and that paid off, gaining some good points in the process."

Mercedes know they have to watch out

The gap in the championship is only small, so despite their lead, Mercedes know they have to be careful and give everything. The gap between Hamilton and Max Verstappen is just two points.

"Overall, a solid team performance and it's put us back in front in both championships so we're happy with that but Max covered very well today from a PU penalty, finishing just one place behind, so we know we need to....be at our very best in the coming races to have a chance of bringing the Championships home", says Shovlin.