Mercedes' dominance in Russia sees the team emerge as champions

At 31 wins, Lewis Hamilton has equalled the record number of wins for a British driver set by Nigel Mansell after effortlessly clinching the top podium position at the inaugural Russian Grand Prix, while Nico Rosberg's first lap blunder saw the German executing a daunting task of completing the entirety of the race - in a sole set of medium tyres.

As the five red lights went off, Hamilton immediately charged to defend against Rosberg, but the latter took the lead into Turn 2.
However, the German carried too much speed and heavily locked up both front brakes of the Silver Arrows', eventually swinging wide out of the apex and into the ample run-off area.

His error caused his front tyres to be flat-spotted and caused him to suffer vibrations for the rest of the opening lap. He was forced to pit at the end of the first lap to replace his worn out rubber for a set of new medium compound ones.

Armed with fresh tyres and a dominant car, Rosberg drove flawlessly to ensure he secured the second spot on the podium - around 13.7 seconds behind his team mate.

The one-two finish is the German team's ninth this season which allowed them to clinch their first ever Constructors' Championships in 120 years of motorsport after accumulating a colossal 565 points - three races shy before the end of the season.

Valtteri Bottas was the only man who seemed capable of splitting the Mercedes, but that did not materialise after Rosberg aggressively overtook the Finn on lap 30.

Starting the race in seventh, Fernando Alonso finished a place higher, while in contrast, team mate Kimi Raikkonen finished a place lower in ninth after starting in eight.

Daniel Ricciardo, who suffered a poor getaway, eventually fought back to finish behind Alonso in seventh, while quadruple World Champion Sebastian Vettel finished a respectable eighth. Sergio Perez scored a sole point after finishing in tenth.

The F1 circus leaves Russia with Hamilton, at a slightly more comfortable 17 points ahead of Rosberg and a vast 92 points ahead of Ricciardo with 291, 274 and 199 points respectively.

Mercedes have ended Red Bull's four-year streak as Constructors' Champions with a massive 223 points lead after the latter managed to score 342 points thus far. Williams are third at 216 points while fabled team Scuderia Ferrari are fourth at 188. The high-octane racing action resumes in America on the 2^nd of November.