And that is it for today. Thank you for following our live blog and make sure to read our race report. See you at the next race!
The top 10
Final Classification for the top 10:
1. Hamilton
2. Bottas
3. Leclerc
4. Verstappen
5. Albon
6. Sainz
7. Perez
8. Norris
9. Magnussen
10. Hulkenberg
Hamilton now extends his Championship lead. He has said this was an "incredible effort" as both Mercs drive in formation back to the pits.
Chequered Flag
Lewis Hamilton wins the Russian GP! Valtteri Bottas comes home in second with Charles Leclerc rounding off the top three
Lap 52 of 53
Leclerc says he will try for the fastest lap of the race, although Hamilton has just gone fastest by four tenths.
Lap 49 of 53
Alex Albon makes a great move on Carlos Sainz and moves into P5, a great recovery drive from the Red Bull driver.
Lap 43 of 53
Alex Albon moves into P6 following a great move under heavy braking on Magnussen.
Lap 42 of 53
Hamilton is now four seconds out in front and Leclerc is struggling to get past Bottas. Meanwhile Albon has run wide trying to get past Magnussen. Albon has had a good race so far moving from last to P7
Lap 37 of 53
It looks like Leclerc has backed off to cool his tyres. Meanwhile Hamilton is starting to build a gap out in front. The Toro Rosso's are also fighting each other hard and Gasly has come off worse, forced wide into turn one
Lap 35 of 53
Leclerc is so close to Bottas now. DRS now enabled so an overtake could be on the cards
Lap 33 of 53
Leclerc is giving it everything to get in front of Bottas! He is all over the back of the Finn
Safety car coming in
The safety car is coming in now
Leclerc pits
Leclerc has gone into the pits! He is on the soft tyres now. He drops back to third but now the top three are all on the same tyre compound. But this could be damage limitation from the Italian team.
Double DNF for Williams
Its a double disaster for Williams as Kubica now retires from the race.
Lap 29 of 53
George Russell has locked up and gone into the barrier. It looks as if something broke. Full safety car now out.
Mercedes take advantage of VSC
Hamilton has boxed and will get out ahead of Leclerc. It looks like this could be the win for Mercedes.
Vettel is out
VETTEL HAS RETIRED. The German has stopped the car after an MGU-K problem. What a disaster for Ferrari. Virtual safety car out now.
Lap 27 of 53
Leclerc gets out ahead of Vettel! But Vettel will be on fresher tyres now.
Lap 26 of 53
Daniel Ricciardo has retired from the race and has pulled into the garage. Meanwhile Vettel has been told to box.
Lap 25 of 53
Vettel says his rear tyres are falling off. But it looks like he will be staying out for a few more laps.
Lap 23 of 53
Meanwhile Hamilton has been told to extend his stint. Leclerc is coming up behind Bottas so its likely the Finn will hold him up...
Lap 23 of 53
Leclerc pits! He is going onto the medium tyres. Now Leclerc has to push and comes out in fourth.
Carlos Sainz pits to the medium tyres. It is close between him and Norris but the Spaniard is in front
Lap 21 of 53
Lando Norris comes into the pits. He has gone onto the medium tyres.
Lap 21 of 53
Hamilton says he is pushing but the Ferrari's are very fast. However if he can go long enough the Brit can use soft tyres to the end while Ferrari will likely be on mediums. Could be an exciting second half of the race.
Lap 18 of 53
The pit window is now open for drivers on softs. Leclerc has stayed out and is closing the gap to Vettel in front. It will be interesting to see who Ferrari pit first...
Lap 17 of 53
Hulkenberg has a poor stop after being dropped off the jacks, he is on the medium tyres now
Lap 17 of 53
Leclerc has been told to push. Maybe Leclerc will be coming into the pits at the end of this lap...
Lap 15 of 53
Hulkenberg pulls off a great move on Perez to take P8. Meanwhile Hamilton now sets the fastest lap of the race.
Lap 14 of 53
Leclerc seemingly starting to struggle on his tyres, but Vettel is really pulling away out in front, gap now 3.4 seconds.
Lap 12 of 53
Vettel is really starting to bolt out front. The gap between the two Ferrari drivers is 2.6 seconds and the German has set another fastest lap. Meanwhile Verstappen gets past Norris into turn one.
Lap 11 of 53
Verstappen is trying to set up a pass on Lando Norris, he is getting ever closer to the McLaren
Lap 10 of 53
Leclerc has been told the switch will happen later...
Ferrari have now told Vettel to continue his pace out in front and has been told they are moving to plan c. Meanwhile Hamilton is just in touching distance of the Ferrari's so doing a switch would be tricky.
Lap 8 of 53
Verstappen passes Perez into turn 4 and moves into P7.
Ferrari team order war
Vettel says he cannot let Leclerc by at the moment and still remains a second in front of his team-mate. Leclerc has protested over the radio that he is not being let by
Lap 7 of 53
Valtteri Bottas passes Carlos Sainz and is now into P4.
L
Sebastian Vettel will be letting Leclerc by on the next lap, Ferrari have told Leclerc. However, Vettel is saying Ferrari should continue as they are and break away.
Lap 5 of 53
Ferrari are starting to pull away from Hamilton. Bear in mind however they are on the faster tyre. Vettel has just set the fastest lap of the race.
Lap 4 of 53
This is very interesting. Currently Mercedes are coming under pressure from both McLaren drivers. They are showing good pace.
We are racing again
Vettel bolts and from the restart and we are underway again!
Lap 3 of 53
Safety car is coming in this lap. Meanwhile Leclerc told the swap will happen later in the race. Interesting
Kimi Raikkonen jumps the start
Replays have shown Kimi Raikkonen jumped the start. He will be facing a penalty.
Kubica in the pits
Robert Kubica has pitted on his Williams at the end of lap one to fit hard tyres. Looks like he will be going to the end.
Safety car
A safety car has been called. Romain Grosjean has crashed into the barrier and Daniel Ricciardo has a puncture. The two came together heading into turn 4. Giovinazzi was caught in the middle of the two.
LIGHTS OUT
Sebastian Vettel leads following the first lap. Charles Leclerc got a great start but Vettel's was even better and leads the race.
Formation lap underway
The lights have gone green for the formation lap. Leclerc leads the field away as the drivers start to warm their tyres.
Max Verstappen tells Sky Sports Red Bull will be focussing on doing their own race today.
The Dutchman starts in ninth after taking a penalty for the race. He qualified in fourth yesterday.
10 minutes to lights out
Only 10 minutes to go now until lights out. A reminder of the top 5 before the action gets underway.
P1 - Charles Leclerc
P2 - Lewis Hamilton
P3 - Sebastian Vettel
P4 - Valtteri Bottas
P5 - Carlos Sainz
Musician John Newman thinks Hamilton will be chasing down the Ferrari's during today's race.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said he felt the Ferrari's would fly down the straights but the Brit will be giving it his all to challenge the prancing horse.
Drivers head out onto the track
The pit lane is open and drivers are heading out onto the track.
40 Minutes until lights out
Only 40 minutes to go now until the start of the Russian Grand Prix. With Ferrari and Charles Leclerc starting on pole, they have a good chance of beating Mercedes for the fourth successive race for the first time since 2013.
Tune in here
Do not miss a detail of the Russian Grand Prix with the live updates and commentaries of the race from VAVEL.
The grid
The grid for Sunday's race is as follows;
LEC, HAM, VET, BOT, SAI, HUL, NOR, GRO, VER, RIC, PER, GIO, MAG, STR, RAI, GAS, RUS, KUB, ALB, KYV.
Red Bull penalty crisis
Both Red Bull drivers will be starting further down the order due to engine penalties despite Max Verstappen going fourth fastest, although Alex Albon was out in Q1 following a crash.
It means Valtteri Bottas will move up to fourth, with Carlos Sainz starting an impressive fifth for McLaren.
Leclerc on pole!
The Monegasque has been on fire since the summer break, scoring four poles in a row, the first Ferrari driver to do so since Michael Schumacher.
But ahead of the race, Leclerc said: "We need to keep our feet on the ground.
"At the moment we have a good momentum and have some really good performances but at the end, it doesn't change."
Sochi breakdown
Circuit length: 5.848km
Laps: 53
First Grand Prix: 2014
Race lap record: 1.35.861, Valtteri Bottas
2018 winner: Lewis Hamilton
Welcome!
Racing is set to get underway tomorrow at 12:10 BST.
We'll have live updates during the course of tomorrow afternoon as the action unfolds!