As Formula 1 tracks go, Sochi Autodrom could hardly be more different to the championship’s last venue, Mugello.
Where Mugello crested and plunged, Sochi is flat; Mugello offered a mix of medium-to-high speed bends, Sochi is largely 90-degree turns; Mugello had vast gravel traps awaiting the incautious, Sochi has extensive asphalt run-offs (although, as Carlos Sainz Jnr and Nicholas Latifi showed today, its unforgiving barriers are reachable).But there is one key aspect in which they are very similar, which will have a crucial bearing on Sunday’s race and possibly Saturday’s qualifying session. The run from the starting line to the first corner is very long.
As we all know, current F1 cars are very draggy. That’s how at this race in 2017 Valtteri Bottas was able to go from third to first at the start, passing the Ferraris which had locked out the front row of the grid. That’s why Ferrari tied themselves in all kind of knots last year trying to co-ordinate their drivers and see off the threat from their slipstreaming rivals.
Barring some unexpected drama, Mercedes don’t have to worry about the two red cars – or indeed any other cars – keeping them from the front row on Saturday. As ever, Sochi looks like a bogey track for Red Bull. The Renault-powered cars led the opposition on Friday, but over a second off the W11s.
So Bottas and Lewis Hamilton are likely to have the front row to themselves. Ordinarily whichever of them is ahead could expect to have a significant advantage. But given the long run to turn two at Sochi, that might not be the case.
In three of the last four races, Hamilton has denied Bottas pole position by less than seven-hundredths of a second. Bottas has looked in great shape this weekend on a track where he has historically gone well.
What an irony it would be if he finally beats Hamilton to pole position at the one track where he doesn’t necessarily want it. And what an even greater irony it would be if he were to make another of his recent poor starts from pole, lose the lead to Hamilton, then slipstream back ahead of him again…
“I think Sergio [Perez] was a lot more comfortable with the car to start with,” said technical director Andrew Green.
“Lance wasn’t that uncomfortable with the car, he was just more uncomfortable with the way he was driving. Whenever we asked him about the car, he said ‘the car’s OK, I just can’t put a lap together, I just need more time to think about this’. There was a bit of over-driving going on, for sure on that side. I think Sergio was a bit more relaxed and just went in and progressively built up, I think Lance might have gone in a bit too quick.”
Between those four teams, the fight at the front end of the midfield looks riveting. But Mercedes remain as strong as ever, and on the evidence of day one at Sochi it’s hard to imagine we’re going to see anything other than a continuation of their unbeaten streak at this track on Sunday.
Which of their drivers takes the big trophy could well come down to which one of them doesn’t get pole position.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Combined practice times
Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | Total laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’34.923 | 1’33.519 | 50 |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’37.716 | 1’33.786 | 51 |
3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’35.430 | 1’34.577 | 49 |
4 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’36.970 | 1’34.723 | 44 |
5 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’37.110 | 1’34.847 | 61 |
6 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’35.796 | 1’34.890 | 58 |
7 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’35.577 | 1’35.048 | 52 |
8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’36.896 | 1’35.052 | 58 |
9 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1’36.061 | 1’35.139 | 51 |
10 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’36.323 | 1’35.183 | 58 |
11 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’36.706 | 1’35.210 | 60 |
12 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’36.254 | 1’35.242 | 55 |
13 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’36.230 | 1’35.461 | 59 |
14 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’37.230 | 1’35.516 | 56 |
15 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’37.784 | 1’35.563 | 42 |
16 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’37.595 | 1’35.575 | 54 |
17 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’35.965 | 1’35.627 | 55 |
18 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’37.430 | 1’35.729 | 54 |
19 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’37.201 | 1’36.053 | 53 |
20 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’37.649 | 1’36.858 | 56 |
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Teams’ progress vs 2019
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2020 Russian Grand Prix
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Zann (@zann)
25th September 2020, 22:40
I reckon Lewis has to go for pole no 96 and deal with the race on race day. He has 8 chances to get to 100 this year, I don’t see him giving one up.
Sham (@sham)
26th September 2020, 8:45
I think you take each session as it comes and try your hardest. Trying to get second is a dangerous game that could leave you further down.
If Hamilton is second at turn two, I still can’t see Bottas beating him.
If Bottas is second at turn two, the race for the win is over – barring misfortune or mistakes.
Bottas is a beaten man this year, fast but just not there in the race. Whatever the reason, he hasn’t been able to match Hamilton in any race after Hamilton got into his stride.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
25th September 2020, 23:33
I am sure Lewis can wun from pole..
Bottas is also overdue on a victory. He needs to make a series of wins to have a chance next year.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
26th September 2020, 4:52
Many people said it was within RP’s right to kept Perez out of the loop in his last races with the team.
Now it’s look like Sergio started to withhold his insights on how to attack the apexes. Otmar should be smarter and should’ve known by blatantly prioritized Stroll, backlash like this would happen.
BOSS
26th September 2020, 5:01
Go Lewis go!
Balue (@balue)
26th September 2020, 5:19
It’s Bottas’ luck to be good at a track where pole is a disatvantage.
But why isn’t the grid more spread if this is known to be unsporting?
Jere (@jerejj)
26th September 2020, 7:21
In 2017 and last season, this might’ve been the case, not for the rest of the previous events. The pole-sitter didn’t lose the lead into T2 in 2014, ’15, ’16, and ’18. In the inaugural race, Rosberg from P2 got side-by-side and slightly ahead only to lose out entirely by going off the track. The point is that being on pole on tracks where the run to the first braking zone is long or long-ish isn’t necessarily always a disadvantage.
StephenH
26th September 2020, 9:53
Then why not move the grid a few hundred yards down the track?
It’s not like the haven’t got the room at Sochi.
Ham4Life
26th September 2020, 10:21
Hamilton has demonstrated what happens when you give people of colour an opportunity. Lewis lived with prejudice all his life and still excelled. Black excellence! Go Ham. You will win again this weekend starting 1st or 2nd.