Hamilton had "no doubt" he could win before problem
Lewis Hamilton says he had no doubts that victory in the Russian Grand Prix was within reach before being slowed by a water pressure problem.
Photo by: XPB Images
Hamilton started the race from 10th after an engine problem on Saturday, but was quickly up to fourth place after the first-lap incidents.
He did not take long to move up to second behind teammate Nico Rosberg, and managed to reduce a 14-second gap to just around seven seconds.
However, Rosberg picked up the pace and - as Hamilton suffered water pressure issues - the German controlled the race for another dominant win.
"There wasn't a doubt in my mind I could win it," said Hamilton, who went to finish second.
"I had the pace but I had a problem with the engine again, so I had to back off."
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the team had concerns about both cars during the race and claimed it was a relief to get them to the end.
"We had worries with both of the cars, also Nico's car, so we're happy that we finished," he said.
"We had a water leak problem on Lewis's car, which stabilised towards the end. The other car, we had some strange signals coming from the power unit."
Wolff is convinced Hamilton's streak of problems will come to an end eventually.
"Lewis will get the break eventually, he was going fast," he said. "We just need to sort it out, so we can give him a car which he can push until the end – same for Nico."
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