From Monza, Italy the F1 tour travelled to Sochi, Russia. Sochi Autodrom is situated in the Olympic Park of Adler on the coast of the Black Sea. The venue is known for the longest acceleration into Turn 1, which is as long as 890 metres, being the longest one on the F1 calendar.
FP3 was cancelled due to heavy rain in Sochi, but luckily the rain had stopped before qualifying got underway. Intermediates were the tyre choice for the afternoon. In Q1 Verstappen didn't set a lap time at all. The Dutchman had been penalised for the collision with Hamilton in Monza with a 3-place grid penalty. In addition to this, the Red Bull driver was set to start to the race from the back of the grid due to an engine change. However, Verstappen isn't alone with his fate, as Ferrari's Leclerc and Williams' Latifi have also taken grid penalties for an engine change.
Mercedes were strongly expected to take pole and even front row lockout, as 84 % of all laps completed in Sochi have been led by a Mercedes driver. Hamilton and Bottas were topping the timesheets in the first two sessions, and Hamilton laid his hands on provisional pole as well. But the shootout for pole turned out a jaw-dropping surprise. Williams' Russell was the first driver to switch to the slicks, as there were 5.5 minutes remaining in the clock of the final session. Everyone followed Russell's example.
Hamilton made a costly mistake when entering the pits; slippery conditions caught him by surprise, and the Briton hit the left-side wall, damaging his front wing. Mercedes had planned a double stop for their drivers, so Bottas had to wait for Hamilton to get a new front wing and fresh slicks, before the Finn had his slicks fit on the car. Unfortunately the waiting time had crucial effect on the tyre temperatures and made improving lap time a mission impossible. Ferrari's Sainz took various risks on his last flyer, and they paid off. The Spaniard went on top of the standings! However, McLaren's Norris was on flames on the new slicks and deprived his ex teammate of the pole position. So Norris claimed his maiden pole, and Carlos, too took his career best grid slot qualifying on the front row. Williams' Russell stood brilliantly out of the crowd as well, qualifying surprise third! Hamilton was left fourth in the end, with Ricciardo 5th, Alonso 6th and Bottas 7th. Aston Martin's Stroll, Red Bull's Perez and Alpine's Ocon rounded out the top ten. The qualifying result let us anticipate a thriller of a race.
Drivers had a free choice of tyres, as Q2 had been completed on the intermediate tyres. Alonso was the only driver in top ten to start to the race on the hard rubber; all others opted for the medium compound. The back of the grid was extremely interesting, as several top drivers had been hit with engine penalties. Bottas, who had suffered a grid penalty already in Monza, faced another one in Sochi and was dropped down to P16. Ferrari ace Leclerc started to the race from P19 and Verstappen from P20, both on the hard Pirellis, similar to Bottas.
Norris on pole got a decent start, but Sainz benefitted significantly from tow and managed to take the lead. Hamilton, on the other hand, took a poor start, which dropped him down to P7. Leclerc had taken a magical start from P19, gaining seven places right away. Verstappen hadn't it as easy as Charles, and he was only in P16 on the opening lap. By lap 10 Norris had made it within striking distance from Sainz, whilst Russell had proved unable to match the top two's pace.
Whilst Aston Martin's Stroll opened the pit stop roulette, Norris attacked his ex teammate in the DRS zone, depriving the Spaniard of his lead. Now Norris was absolutely living his dream! Meanwhile, Verstappen had already made his way to the top ten by overtaking Aston Martin's Vettel. Although the world title candidates Hamilton and Verstappen had started to the race on different tyre compounds, they both pitted on lap 27. Verstappen rejoined the track on fresh mediums in P6, whilst Hamilton opted for a fresh set of hard Pirellis, rejoining the track in P3. The rivals were separated by five seconds only. Race leader Norris pitted a couple of laps later for hard Pirellis as well. Red Bull's Perez and Alpine's Alonso had a double lead in the race, until they did their mandatory pit stops.
With some ten laps to go, many drivers were informed on the team radio, that there would be light rain coming in 5 or 10 minutes. On lap 46 the threat escalated, as the fans in the grandstands were putting rain coats on and opening umbrellas. Conditions changed quickly. Everyone else pitted for intermediates except for Norris in the lead. The Briton stubbornly refused to come into the pits, as he desperately wanted to take his maiden win in F1. This decision had dramatic consequences. Hamilton, who had pitted for intermediates, was now 25 seconds down on Norris. But the gap was shrinking rapidly in just blink of an eye. There were huge sprays coming from the behind of the cars, and Norris was like sliding on ice, desperately trying to keep his McLaren between the white lines. As the rain intensified, Norris went off on his out-worn slicks and had to face the fact: he had to come in, if he wanted to finish the race. Just barely he managed to bring his car into the pits, but the pouring rain flushed his maiden victory down the drain. Norris rejoined the track in P8, with just two laps to go.
Hamilton, who had seemed to be stuck behind Ricciardo at the beginning of the race, had made the right call at the right time and crossed the finish line as race winner for the historical 100th time in his career. Verstappen had made impossible possible by making his way from P20 to P2! This was definitely more than damage limitation after the grid penalty for the engine change. Sainz drove his SF1000 brilliantly, bringing his Prancing Horse to the chequered flag in P3. A podium finish was well-deserved indeed. Ricciardo finished 4th and Bottas 5th, with Alonso 6th. Norris managed to overtake Kimi Räikkönen in the last minute, which was hardly of any comfort for the bitterly disappointed Briton.
The situation between the world title candidates couldn't be any more exciting. By winning the Russian GP Hamilton took over the lead in the drivers' championship standings by two points. Mercedes, however, have already a 33-point lead over Red Bull in the constructors' standings. The boiling hot championship battle will continue in Istanbul, Turkey in a fortnight. Hopefully there will be more success to come for the Red Team! Forza Ferrari!
With passion for racing red,
Iina Huhmarniemi
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