[5] The fifty-two lap race was held at the Sochi Autodrom, marking the fourth running of the Russian Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.

Sebastian Vettel started the race from pole, with his teammate Kimi Räikkönen in second in Ferrari's first front-row lockout since the 2008 French Grand Prix.

Alonso's McLaren teammate Stoffel Vandoorne had already been given a 15-place grid penalty, having exceeded the limit of four exchanges of power unit per driver and car throughout the season stipulated by the 2017 regulations.

Lapped traffic, particularly the delayed Williams of Massa, however, ultimately prevented him from overtaking the race leader, leading to a secure second place for the German.

[11] Non-finishers were Fernando Alonso, who failed to make it to the grid with a hybrid-charge failure, as well as Jolyon Palmer and Romain Grosjean who crashed on the first lap, causing a safety car deployment.

Felipe Massa was running in 6th when he obtained a slow puncture and had to pit for new tyres, falling to 9th behind the Force Indias of Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon as well as the Renault of Nico Hülkenberg.