Nico Rosberg wins seventh straight F1 Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg led from the start as he recorded his seventh successive Formula One victory at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday.

World championship leader Rosberg was in charge throughout and never came under serious pressure from the remainder of the field, making it four wins from four this season.

The German's quick start saw his Mercedes get clear of the drama that ensued behind him on the opening lap, with the safety car quickly deployed.

After Daniil Kvyat's aggressive driving irked Sebastian Vettel last time out in China, the Russian provoked a similar reaction when he made contact with the rear of the Ferrari twice on the opening lap to send the German careening into the wall.

One of the beneficiaries of the contact was defending champion Lewis Hamilton, whose luck turned after electrical issues in qualifying forced him to start from 10th.

Hamilton showed great composure to work his way up to second, but he was unable to stop Rosberg from finishing at the top of the podium for the first time at Sochi, with the surviving Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen rounding off the top three.

FIRST GRAND SLAM FOR ROSBERG

VETTEL AND KVYAT CLASH AGAIN

TYRE GAMBLE FAILS TO PAY OFF FOR RED BULL

MCLAREN, RENAULT GET OFF THE MARK

IN THE POINTS

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +25.022secs 3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +31.998s 4. Valteri Bottas (Williams) +50.217s 5. Felipe Massa (Williams) +1.14.427s 6. Fernando Alonso (McLaren) +1 lap 7. Kevin Magnussen (Renault) +1 lap 8. Romain Grosjean (Haas) +1 lap 9. Sergio Perez (Force India) +1 lap 10. Jenson Button (McLaren) +1 lap

TITLE STANDINGS

1. Nico Rosberg 100 2. Lewis Hamilton 57 (+43) 3. Kimi Raikkonen 43 (+57) 4. Daniel Ricciardo 36 (+64) 5. Sebastian Vettel 33 (+67)

1. Mercedes 157 2. Ferrari 76 (+81) 3. Red Bull 57 (+100) 4. Williams 51 (+106) 5. Haas 22 (+135)

NEXT UP

Hamilton will be desperate to put aside the issues plaguing his car so far this season and close the gap to team-mate Rosberg when F1 heads to Spain in two weeks. However, the German triumphed in Catalunya in 2015 and will be hoping to do so again to extend his winning streak to eight races.