Lewis Hamilton has one hand on the Formula One title after claiming his ninth victory of the season in Russia.
Here, we look back at five things we learned from Sunday's race.
HAMILTON ALMOST HOME AND HOSED
Hamilton can now become the first British driver to successfully defend his Formula One crown if he wins the next race in Austin and Sebastian Vettel, now his closest challenger after Nico Rosberg's retirement, finishes third or lower. Hamilton headed into this season fearing it would be impossible to reach the dizzy heights of last year's title triumph, but the fact he could seal the championship with three races to spare, shows he needn't have worried. With nine victories and 12 pole positions from 15 grands prix, Hamilton has been the class act of 2015, and a third world title, the same tally as his idol Ayrton Senna, beckons in America in a fortnight's time.
MISFORTUNE NOT TO BLAME FOR ROSBERG MISSING OUT
A despondent Rosberg claimed that luck has been against him this season on Sunday, and the German has a point. He endured not one, but two engine failures at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza last month, and was on course to win in Sochi on Sunday before he had to park his Mercedes with a sticky throttle. But bad luck is not the reason why Rosberg is out of the title race. He hasn't been able to match Hamilton this term, and when the Briton has faltered Rosberg has not been able to capitalise. Indeed Rosberg's season was epitomised in Hungary when he finished behind Hamilton despite his team-mate's error-strewn display. For the good of the sport however, let us hope he bounces back in 2016.
VETTEL EMERGING AS HAMILTON'S CHIEF RIVAL
Vettel is now Hamilton's biggest threat in the championship - and while his hopes of winning this year's title are highly improbable this could be the beginnings of a rivalry which extends into next term and beyond. Hamilton, 30, and Vettel, 28, are the two outstanding talents of their generation. The sport is crying out for a straight fight between the pair. Vettel, contesting his debut Ferrari campaign, was in a rather jolly mood after the race on Sunday. With the Russian grid girls gate-crashing the post-race press conference, Vettel said that Hamilton was staying at the nearby Radisson Hotel and, much to Hamilton's embarrassment, provided them with his room number.
FINNS GETTING TASTY
"What the f*** did he do? That was the question Valtteri Bottas, and indeed many observers in the paddock were asking, when Kimi Raikkonen crashed into the Williams driver on the final lap. The ill-advised move robbed Bottas of a podium and Raikkonen's subsequent timed penalty for his moment of madness handed the constructors' championship to Mercedes. The Silver Arrows will celebrate at their Brackley HQ on Monday with Hamilton jetting in from Sochi to get the party started.
SAINZ SHOWS IMMENSE BRAVERY
A mention must go to Carlos Sainz, the 21-year-old rookie who suffered a harrowing crash on Saturday. The Spaniard was airlifted to hospital, but returned to action a little over 24 hours later, and was set to finish a career-best seventh before he suffered a brake issue in the closing stages. It was an incredibly brave display given what he had been through on the previous day.
"At the end I decided to race. And what a race," Sainz tweeted.
Source: PA
