Putin shares awkward conversation with Bottas and Vettel after Russian GP

Valtteri Bottas might have thought his hardest task of the day was holding off Sebastian Vettel to win his first ever Formula One race at the Russian Grand Prix.

But that was before the Mercedes driver had to engage in conversation with Vladimir Putin post-race along with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

The Russian president addressed all three in a room shortly before the podium ceremony, where through a translator he expressed his happiness at seeing attendances increase for the event since its 2014 inception.

We are getting more and more fans in Formula One,’ Putin started. ‘And I already told my colleague that all the hotels are booked in Sochi for now.

Bottas briefly intervened by saying ‘build more hotels’ before the Russian president continued his point by saying: ‘But unlike other countries that have long had a scene of the F1 events, we now witness the growing number of fans.’

After Vettel commented on seeing a visible increase in attendance and a brief moment of awkward silence, Putin congratulated then shook the hand of all three drivers before walking away with his entourage.

The four were soon reunited on the podium as Bottas was presented with the winners’ trophy by Putin following a race where the Finn laid down his bid for a championship challenge.

STANDINGS AFTER FOUR RACES

DRIVER	TEAM	WINS	POINTS
1. Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	2	86
2. Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1	73
3. Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1	63
4. Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	0	49

Putin watched the action from inside the Sochi Autodrom as Bottas overtook both Ferraris at the start to snatch the lead before going on to control the race on the way to his maiden grand prix win.

The Finn, expected to play second fiddle to Lewis Hamilton this term, had a much more enjoyable afternoon than his team-mate who could only struggle to fourth place.

Despite finishing second, Vettel increased his lead at the top of the standings over Hamilton to 13 points after four races.

Source: Vladimir Putin speaks to Valtteri Bottas at Russian GP | Daily Mail Online