Hamilton dropped to seventh place when he was boxed in at the first corner but fought back and passed Lando Norris for the win when the McLaren driver stayed out on slick tires in late rain and slid off the track.
The McLaren driver set the pace with a time of 1 minute, 41.993 seconds in the dying seconds of the session after switching to slick tires as the racing line dried.
Max Verstappen was handed a three-place grid penalty for the Russian GP in Sochi after the stewards judged he was to blame for causing a collision with Lewis Hamilton at Monza.
Hamilton had been looking to match Michael Schumacher's record of 91 wins in Formula One but had to settle for third behind Bottas and Max Verstappen.
Hamilton charged to a track-record time of 1 minute, 31.304 seconds, beating the Red Bull of Max Verstappen by .563 for his fifth straight pole position.
Hamilton's time of 1 minute, 33.279 seconds was the fastest of the latest Formula One round so far and .776 better than his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who had been quickest in the first two sessions.
SOCHI, Russia: Lewis Hamilton cruised to victory in the inaugural Russian Grand Prix on Sunday, leading a 1-2 finish for Mercedes that clinched its first Formula One constructors' title. Nico Rosberg placed second despite having to
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