Low tyre wear and high fuel consumption is expected to give the Russian Grand Prix a different feel to recent races.
On the first day of running at Sochi Autodrom teams found the stop-start nature of the track may make it more challenging to complete the 53-lap, 310-kilometre race distance without depleting their 100kg fuel allowance.
“It appears to be quite demanding in terms of fuel,” said Sergio Perez, “which will have implications for the strategy”.
Another dimension to this problem is the quality of the track surface. New tracks are often low on grip, but drivers found they could push harder than expected. Accelerating sooner and braking later means more fuel is used.
Kevin Magnussen said the track “has quite a lot of grip – the surface is pretty good.”
“It appears to suit the Pirelli tyres,” he added, “so that makes it quite enjoyable to drive.”
“Also, the [soft tyres] seem to last pretty well, so we might see not a lot of pit-stops in the race.” Pirelli are expecting drivers to make two pit stops but some may find they are able to get away with just one. Force India, who have often pursued alternative strategies this year did the bulk of their Friday running on the medium while others preferred the sort.
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery noted that the surface will change quickly as more rubber goes down. “We’re facing a high degree of track evolution, which is normal for a new circuit,” he said, “and this may yet alter the overall picture of tyre behaviour”.
Although Fernando Alonso took advantage of the ever-improving track conditions to set the third-fastest time in his Ferrari, the McLaren drivers were usually their closest rivals on Friday. However this track seems likely to suit their fellow Mercedes users Williams even more on race day, as their car has proved particularly economical with its fuel.
Mercedes, however, are clearly the team to beat as usual. The two title rivals in the W05s have been neck-and-neck for most of the season, so it was a surprise to see the gap between the pair grow to almost a full second. Nico Rosberg ascribed this to a radical car set-up which did not pay off.
“The team decided to go two different ways in terms of set-up,” he said. “I took a very creative set-up for my car in the second practice session, which didn’t work out.”
“So we will go back to the conservative way for tomorrow, because we saw that Lewis [Hamilton] was very quick with that.”
Longest stint comparison – second practice
This chart shows all the drivers’ lap times (in seconds) during their longest unbroken stint:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | |
Sebastian Vettel | 106.064 | 104.991 | 105.423 | 105.73 | |||||||||||
Daniel Ricciardo | 105.159 | 105.569 | 105.736 | 105.911 | 105.796 | 105.317 | 106.88 | 105.707 | 104.845 | 104.993 | |||||
Lewis Hamilton | 104.783 | 104.671 | 117.429 | 104.932 | 104.439 | 103.764 | 103.894 | ||||||||
Nico Rosberg | 105.014 | 105.301 | 104.708 | 104.695 | 104.777 | 104.545 | 105.05 | 106.722 | |||||||
Fernando Alonso | 101.404 | 114.653 | 107.719 | 100.889 | 108.974 | 106.866 | 100.504 | ||||||||
Kimi Raikkonen | 105.813 | 105.635 | 105.295 | 104.994 | 104.829 | 105.966 | 110.732 | ||||||||
Romain Grosjean | 106.49 | 105.863 | 105.981 | 107.04 | 105.942 | 105.775 | 106.314 | ||||||||
Pastor Maldonado | 108.398 | 107.59 | 107.054 | 106.15 | 106.24 | 106.736 | 106.288 | 109.881 | 106.757 | 106.261 | 106.052 | 106.184 | |||
Jenson Button | 105.022 | 105.34 | 105.417 | 105.471 | 105.423 | 105.028 | 104.653 | 104.245 | 108.413 | ||||||
Kevin Magnussen | 105.265 | 105.388 | 104.789 | 104.973 | 105.321 | 106.197 | 104.849 | 105.393 | 104.954 | 105.408 | 104.444 | ||||
Nico Hulkenberg | 105.417 | 108.632 | 105.727 | 104.894 | 105.804 | 104.786 | 105.677 | 105.241 | 105.396 | 106.607 | |||||
Sergio Perez | 105.889 | 105.035 | 105.69 | 107.027 | 105.339 | 104.885 | 105.059 | 104.588 | |||||||
Adrian Sutil | 107.52 | 105.797 | 107.009 | 106.321 | 106.199 | 105.982 | 106.427 | 106.817 | 106.288 | 106.594 | |||||
Esteban Gutierrez | 108.267 | 108.558 | 107.666 | 107.024 | 107.157 | 107.83 | 106.564 | 107.505 | 109.642 | 106.261 | 107.363 | 110.331 | 106.384 | ||
Jean-Eric Vergne | 105.491 | 116.009 | 104.316 | 114.843 | 103.641 | 112.126 | 103.111 | 123.069 | 102.676 | 111.698 | 102.238 | ||||
Daniil Kvyat | 101.697 | 115.304 | 101.741 | 120.206 | 101.108 | 112.061 | 101.306 | ||||||||
Felipe Massa | 102.198 | 121.039 | 101.722 | 118.46 | 100.959 | 118.375 | 100.731 | ||||||||
Valtteri Bottas | 101.543 | 101.962 | 110.001 | 101.628 | 101.388 | 101.365 | 110.502 | 100.573 | |||||||
Max Chilton | 112.269 | 109.985 | 109.253 | 110.583 | 109.329 | ||||||||||
Marcus Ericsson | 115.783 | 106.98 | 106.357 | 119.101 | 106.379 | ||||||||||
Kamui Kobayashi | 111.082 | 107.861 | 107.832 | 107.398 | 109.765 | 107.462 | 109.786 | 107.037 | 111.863 |
Sector times and ultimate lap times – second practice
Pos | No. | Driver | Car | S1 | S2 | S3 | Ultimate | Gap | Deficit to best |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 35.488 (1) | 34.628 (1) | 29.434 (1) | 1’39.550 | 0.080 | |
2 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 35.708 (5) | 34.666 (2) | 29.747 (2) | 1’40.121 | 0.571 | 0.421 |
3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 35.553 (2) | 34.963 (7) | 29.952 (4) | 1’40.468 | 0.918 | 0.036 |
4 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 35.733 (7) | 34.853 (5) | 29.908 (3) | 1’40.494 | 0.944 | 0.000 |
5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 35.656 (3) | 34.821 (3) | 30.072 (7) | 1’40.549 | 0.999 | 0.024 |
6 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | 35.729 (6) | 34.840 (4) | 30.014 (5) | 1’40.583 | 1.033 | 0.525 |
7 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 35.761 (8) | 34.872 (6) | 30.085 (9) | 1’40.718 | 1.168 | 0.000 |
8 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 35.703 (4) | 34.972 (8) | 30.056 (6) | 1’40.731 | 1.181 | 0.000 |
9 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 36.150 (13) | 35.170 (10) | 30.076 (8) | 1’41.396 | 1.846 | 0.000 |
10 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 35.992 (9) | 35.211 (12) | 30.226 (11) | 1’41.429 | 1.879 | 0.201 |
11 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Renault | 36.070 (11) | 35.203 (11) | 30.172 (10) | 1’41.445 | 1.895 | 0.086 |
12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 36.037 (10) | 35.115 (9) | 30.439 (15) | 1’41.591 | 2.041 | 0.086 |
13 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 36.116 (12) | 35.533 (15) | 30.410 (14) | 1’42.059 | 2.509 | 0.031 |
14 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 36.313 (15) | 35.431 (13) | 30.317 (12) | 1’42.061 | 2.511 | 0.000 |
15 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 36.214 (14) | 35.519 (14) | 30.363 (13) | 1’42.096 | 2.546 | 0.137 |
16 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 36.685 (18) | 35.628 (16) | 30.579 (17) | 1’42.892 | 3.342 | 0.000 |
17 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 36.505 (16) | 35.705 (17) | 30.695 (18) | 1’42.905 | 3.355 | 0.000 |
18 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 36.681 (17) | 35.814 (18) | 30.560 (16) | 1’43.055 | 3.505 | 0.000 |
19 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham-Renault | 37.089 (21) | 36.122 (19) | 30.924 (19) | 1’44.135 | 4.585 | 0.000 |
20 | 4 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Ferrari | 36.992 (20) | 36.249 (20) | 31.289 (21) | 1’44.530 | 4.980 | 0.000 |
21 | 10 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham-Renault | 36.977 (19) | 36.613 (21) | 31.180 (20) | 1’44.770 | 5.220 | 0.182 |
Speed trap – second practice
# | Driver | Car | Engine | Max speed (kph) | Gap | |
1 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | Mercedes | 326 | |
2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | Mercedes | 325.2 | 0.8 |
3 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | Mercedes | 325.1 | 0.9 |
4 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | Mercedes | 324.8 | 1.2 |
5 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | Mercedes | 324.3 | 1.7 |
6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 323.6 | 2.4 |
7 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | Mercedes | 322.7 | 3.3 |
8 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | Renault | 322.4 | 3.6 |
9 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Renault | 321.7 | 4.3 |
10 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | Renault | 321.5 | 4.5 |
11 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | Mercedes | 321.4 | 4.6 |
12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | Ferrari | 320.6 | 5.4 |
13 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | Ferrari | 319.8 | 6.2 |
14 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | Renault | 319.8 | 6.2 |
15 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | Renault | 319.7 | 6.3 |
16 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber | Ferrari | 319.6 | 6.4 |
17 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | Renault | 318.2 | 7.8 |
18 | 10 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham | Renault | 317 | 9 |
19 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | Ferrari | 315.9 | 10.1 |
20 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham | Renault | 315.8 | 10.2 |
21 | 4 | Max Chilton | Marussia | Ferrari | 310.6 | 15.4 |
Complete practice times
Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | Total laps | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’42.376 | 1’39.630 | 52 | ||
2 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’43.026 | 1’40.494 | 60 | ||
3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’42.720 | 1’40.504 | 59 | ||
4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’42.311 | 1’40.542 | 59 | ||
5 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1’43.542 | 1’40.573 | 42 | ||
6 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’42.507 | 1’40.718 | 60 | ||
7 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’43.741 | 1’40.731 | 52 | ||
8 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’43.164 | 1’41.108 | 61 | ||
9 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’44.506 | 1’41.396 | 60 | ||
10 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’43.327 | 1’41.531 | 57 | ||
11 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’43.212 | 1’41.630 | 47 | ||
12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’43.976 | 1’41.677 | 48 | ||
13 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 1’43.821 | 1’42.061 | 50 | ||
14 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’43.129 | 1’42.090 | 55 | ||
15 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’44.625 | 1’42.233 | 57 | ||
16 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1’45.190 | 1’42.892 | 55 | ||
17 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1’44.876 | 1’42.905 | 59 | ||
18 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’43.055 | 33 | |||
19 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham-Renault | 1’46.922 | 1’44.135 | 40 | ||
20 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Ferrari | 1’47.284 | 1’44.530 | 55 | ||
21 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham-Renault | 1’44.952 | 27 | |||
22 | Sergey Sirotkin | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’45.032 | 22 | |||
23 | Roberto Merhi | Caterham-Renault | 1’46.782 | 18 |
2014 Russian Grand Prix
- Sponsor Watch: 2014 Russian & Japanese Grands Prix
- Three-in-a-row for Hamilton in Driver of the Weekend
- First Russian GP gets one of the lowest-ever ratings
- 2014 Russian Grand Prix fans’ video gallery
- 2014 Russian Grand Prix team radio transcript
Image © Red Bull/Getty
dan
10th October 2014, 18:42
click on Mag and Hamilton and the graph would have you think Mag is quicker lol.
James Devon (@tata)
10th October 2014, 18:47
Indeed the track for now has slightly impressed but the D-day which is Sunday will be when the report cards will come in. Does Sochi have what it takes to produce an exciting race? It somehow looks like it but we have to wait a few more hours to find out.
I must say that I was impressed to see the turn up and vibe at the place – through a TV screen – even for FP sessions on Friday. I did not see the Russians as motor sport enthusiasts. I guess I was wrong.
‘I took a very creative set-up for my car in the second practice session, which didn’t work out.’- Nico R.
Is that code-speak for ‘Give me Hamilton’s car set-up’? So much for ‘super-intelligence’.
Now on a totally different matter directed at Keith Kollantine, over the years that I have been visiting this website – daily except on very rare occasions, there is one thing which has always slightly bothered me and I always thought it’s not good for your traffic. Why do links posted here open on the same tab your website is on when clicked on instead of the webpage opening on another tab?
It is frustrating because I have found myself to completely forget the article I was initially reading on F1fanatic before being led away by the new link.
I think you may have to look into it cos I would want to keep my web visitors glued to my pages if the site were mine.
I used to think you would fix this minor but irritating issue but with time…..I guess I had to ask.
Dan Brown (@danbrown180)
10th October 2014, 18:51
Just press shift and click :)
Himmat
10th October 2014, 19:57
Not SHIFT, but CTRL.
TdM
10th October 2014, 20:29
Or middle mouse button
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
10th October 2014, 20:26
@tata
Or just middle-click.
DaveW (@dmw)
10th October 2014, 19:05
If fuel is going to be the limiting factor in performance, these “long” runs of 5-10 laps are not that illuminating. If there are no SCs, there will be much Hammertime for Lewis and many Hoagys for Nico. Rosberg is still using much more fuel than Hamilton.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
10th October 2014, 19:26
I’m not really buying this fuel will play a significant role thing. It played in Melbourne, fine, but then again it was only a minor issue at the other ‘thirsty’ tracks, such as Sakhir, Montreal and Singapore. And as far as I know people said Sochi would be ‘close’ to Singapore, not being as outright demanding as Melbourne was.
anon
10th October 2014, 21:48
Then again, those races were also distorted by safety car periods – to a certain extent, the performance of Alonso and both Red Bull drivers in the opening stages of the race was slightly flattering given that all three of them were using their fuel at a faster rate than Hamilton was at that stage of the race.
Without safety cars intervening in all of those races, it is likely that you would have seen a more noticeable impact from drivers having to conserve fuel – much like in the 1980’s, where some drivers would use their fuel more rapidly in the opening stages and hope to open up a gap they could then manage, whilst others would be more conservative in the initial stages so they could use a higher engine setting in the closing laps of a race.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
10th October 2014, 23:02
Well, the SC argument definitely holds.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
10th October 2014, 19:21
I may consider putting Hulk in my predictions in that case. He always seemed to go well at Korea and this is almost identical. The Force India generally is excellent on its tyres and with the Merc engine the fuel consumption should theoretically be lower.
Michael C
10th October 2014, 19:50
Grid penalty.
Becken Lima (@becken-lima)
10th October 2014, 20:18
“…“I took a very creative set-up for my car in the second practice session, which didn’t work out.”
“So we will go back to the conservative way for tomorrow, because we saw that Lewis [Hamilton] was very quick with that…”
‘Being creative, means that Nico is pondering that, whatever approach he used last races, it didn´t work.
Arnold Triyudho Wardono (@ernietheracefan)
10th October 2014, 21:18
The solution is driving the F-e cars from the start of the race, then switch back to F1 cars in the first pit stop time..xD