Tag Archives: Russian Grand Prix

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Russia — Results & aftermath

Rosberg reigns supreme in Russia to continue undefeated 2016 start; Hamilton battles back for 2nd; Raikkonen salvages 3rd for Ferrari after Vettel knocked out in first-lap crash

Nico Rosberg continued a flawless start to his 2016 Formula 1 season with his fourth consecutive victory in four races. The Mercedes driver and championship points leader started from pole in Russia and sped away as the lights went out, never to be touched by the chaos that unfolded behind him. No one could challenge his lead the rest of the race and he solidified his status as this year’s driver to beat. Not coincidental to the supremely confident start to his season, Rosberg’s win in Sochi was his seventh victory overall dating to last season, making him only the fourth driver in F1 history to achieve such a feat. The German contender, who is seeking his first-ever Drivers’ title, now has a daunting 43-point lead over his closest pursuer, teammate and archival Lewis Hamilton.

Pictures via GrandPrix247.com

Pictures via GrandPrix247.com

But Hamilton managed a gritty drive of his own after engine troubles in qualifying relegated him to P10 on the starting grid. The current consecutive World Champ clawed his way through the field, exhibiting just enough patience to leaven his usual aggression and fight toward the front, finishing and impressive P2. Again, however, there were some problems with Hamilton’s engine even amidst his impressive comeback run and he was forced to back off his pursuit of Rosberg with a water pressure issue. If Hamilton can get any luck going his way it’s clear that he is still a match for anyone on track, including his teammate. But with as well as Rosberg is driving and how fortune seems to have turned its favor upon him, Hamilton needs for his team to quickly bulletproof his Silver Arrow if he is to pose any real threat going forward and contend for victories on even footing.

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Ferrari had yet another frustrating, topsy-turvy day. Their ace, Sebastian Vettel, who qualified P2, received a 5-spot grid penalty for a gearbox change, meaning he had to start back in P7. And being pushed into the midfield cost Vettel dearly when the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat punted his Ferrari from behind not once but twice as they made their way through the opening corners. Continue reading →

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Russia — Qualifying results

Mercedes yin-yang: Rosberg’s charmed start continues with pole while Hamilton again hobbled by engine trouble; Ferrari’s Vettel qualifies P2 but dropped down 5-spots due to gearbox change; Williams’ Bottas impresses with speedy P3

The luck that seemed to cover Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton like a cloak on his way to two consecutive championships seems to have transferred entirely to his teammate and arch-rival Nico Rosberg in 2016. Thus far, Rosberg has had the charmed season with three straight victories to open his campaign, while Hamilton has been plagued by mechanical gremlins that have cost him valuable points. That dynamic continued in Saturday qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix from the gorgeous seaside Sochi Autodrom, with Rosberg grabbing pole by a large margin over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton having deja vu all over again with the same power plant problem that doomed him at the last race in China. In this case the issue arose after Hamilton had made it into Q3 so he will provisionally start from P10 on the grid. However, it remains to be seen if he will incur any additional engine change penalties that will push him further back (he was reprimanded for cutting a bollard in qualifying but received no further punishment for that). Either way, it will have to be another race of slicing and dicing for the reigning world champ, which he did beautifully in China to salvage a P7 finish after starting from dead last. Sochi, however, is not as optimal a passing track as Shanghai and also sees much less tire deg so don’t expect another crazy 5-stopper. Though Hamilton will surely give his best effort to claw his way to the front, it’s Rosberg who is clearly sitting in the catbird seat for Sunday.

Definitely facing a 5-spot penalty for changing a gearbox before quali, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel qualified P2 but will start from P7. His teammate Kimi Raikkonen posted the 4th fastest time and will start P3 after Vettel’s demotion and everyone above the German Ferrari driver also moves up a spot. Williams’ Valtteri Bottas had the team’s best qualifying effort this season after downforce upgrades on the car with a solid P3, so he’ll start P2, while his teammate Felipe Massa managed the 5th fastest lap and will start P4. Daniel Ricciardo of team Red Bull was quick enough for P6 and will start from 5th on the grid and Force India’s Sergio Perez was able to put in an excellent flyer for P7 and will start from 6th. That split the Red Bulls and leaves Russian-born Daniil Kvyat starting in P8 behind Vettel at his home Grand Prix. Rounding out the Top 10, Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen starts from P9.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Russian Grand Prix:

POS. NO. DRIVER TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 6 NICO ROSBERG  MERCEDES 1:36.119 1:35.337 1:35.417 16
2 5 SEBASTIAN VETTEL*  FERRARI 1:36.555 1:36.623 1:36.123 16
3 77 VALTTERI  BOTTAS  WILLIAMS 1:37.746 1:37.140 1:36.536 17
4 7 KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN  FERRARI 1:36.976 1:36.741 1:36.663 17
5 19 FELIPE MASSA  WILLIAMS 1:37.753 1:37.230 1:37.016 16
6 3 DANIEL RICCIARDO  RED BULL RACING 1:38.091 1:37.569 1:37.125 22
7 11 SERGIO PEREZ  FORCE INDIA 1:38.006 1:37.282 1:37.212 20
8 26 DANIIL KVYAT  RED BULL RACING 1:38.265 1:37.606 1:37.459 22
9 33 MAX VERSTAPPEN  TORO ROSSO 1:38.123 1:37.510 1:37.583 20
10 44 LEWIS HAMILTON  MERCEDES 1:36.006 1:35.820 13

*Vettel will start P7 after 5-spot grid penalty for gearbox change.

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on NBC Sports at the civilized hour of 8AM Eastern. Should make for some very entertaining and picturesque Sunday breakfast viewing.

2015 F1 Grand Prix of Russia — Results & aftermath

Hamilton surges to victory at Sochi while Rosberg DNFs — Mercedes secure Championship; Vettel P2 for Ferrari; Perez grabs miracle podium after Raikonnen takes out Bottas on final lap

Pictures via GrandPrix247.com

Pictures via GrandPrix247.com

In an action-packed Russian Grand Prix where unpredictability seemed the only sure thing, the one near-certainty of 2015 managed to come through yet again: a Lewis Hamilton win for the Mercedes factory team. After being out-qualified for the pole by his teammate and archival Nico Rosberg, everything broke the Englishman’s way on race day just as it has in 9 out of the 15 contests so far. Rosberg’s promising start proved illusory when it was doomed by terminal throttle problems that forced him to drop out on Lap 8. With only four more races remaining in the season, Rosberg, who had performed flawlessly all weekend, actually saw himself dropped to third in the Drivers’ points by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by day’s end. Hamilton, who proved effortlessly untouchable in the race and won by nearly 6 seconds, now leads Vettel by a commanding 66 points and Rosberg by 73. And after this dominant performance in Russia, a race he has now won for the first two years of its existence, Hamilton also seems assured of winning his second consecutive championship, further burnishing his status as one the all-time greats of the sport.

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Vettel started from fourth on the grid but inherited third when Rosberg dropped out. He was then able to jump the Williams of Valtteri Bottas for P2 after a sterling Ferrari pit stop on Lap 30. The wily German never looked back and while he didn’t have anything for Hamilton, the former 4-time World Champ secured another solid 2nd place finish in his impressive debut year with the Scuderia. Things did not go as well for Vettel’s Ferrari teammate, Kimi Raikonnen. Continue reading →

2015 F1 Grand Prix of Russia — Qualifying results

Rosberg pips Hamilton for Pole at Sochi as Mercedes record another front row lockout; Bottas a speedy P3 in the Williams machine

With the season down to its last five races and Nico Rosberg’s Championship hopes slipping away, the German Mercedes driver put the bit between his teeth and out-qualified his teammate Lewis Hamilton for pole position in Russia. After poor weather and on track incidents interrupted all three practices leading up to Saturday Qualifying, Rosberg showed no ill effects from his limited track time on the still-new Sochi circuit and essentially ran perfect laps in all three sessions, coming out ahead of Hamilton by just .3 seconds. The current Championship points leader had to settle for P2 on the grid and will be hoping for a repeat of the same starting woes that foiled Rosberg two weeks ago at Suzuka in Japan or at least to jump him when the lights go out. One thing is for certain: even though Rosberg needs the win far more than Hamilton, the hyper-competitive Englishman can practically taste his second consecutive world title and will do everything possible in Sunday’s race to deny his teammate and only true challenger the victory. The opening lap should be epic.

Williams had a decidedly mixed day, with Valtteri Bottas providing the glass-half-full of it by saving his best lap for the tail end of Q3, besting the times of both Ferraris and taking P3 on the grid. The young Finnish phenom looked truly hooked up on the tricky Russian track and if anyone can spoil the Mercedes party tomorrow it could be him, particularly if the two Silver Arrows manage to take each other out. On the downside for Williams, veteran Felipe Massa could not get a clean lap away from traffic in Q2 and failed to make into the last round. The Brazillian will have to start from way back in 12th on the grid, making it more likely he could have another incident that leads to a poor finish for the third GP in a row. Massa DNF’ed after contact with Nico Hulkenberg in Singapore and struggled to a 17th place finish in Japan after early contact with Daniel Ricciardo.

Sebastian Vettel out-qualified Kimi Raikkonen in their two Ferraris, P4 to P5, and both will surely press hard to overtake Bottas, particularly if the rainy conditions that prevailed on Friday return on race day. Force India had a very promising effort, with Hulkenberg coming home 6th fastest and Sergio Perez P7. Romain Grosjean took P8 and the Frenchman is now confirmed to be leaving the uncertainty of beleaguered Lotus to become lead driver for the debut of new American team Haas F1 next year. Toro Rosso rookie Max Verstappen, who only just got his road car license the other week when he turned 18, made it up to P9 and veteran Daniel Ricciardo was P10 for the senior Red Bull team.

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Verstappen’s nearly-as-young teammate Carlos Sainz was involved in a very nasty shunt during Free Practice 3 on Saturday morning when a brake issue on his Toro Rosso caused him to lose control. He then bashed into the wall at Turn 13, breaking his front left suspension, and was a passenger as he went hurtling off into the barriers at a high rate of speed. The 21-year-old Spaniard was buried deep in the Tecpro blocks but gave the thumbs up sign while being stretchered away. Initial reports from the hospital indicated no serious injuries to Sainz, although he will remain there overnight for observation. It is unclear whether he or the car will be able to make the start tomorrow.

Top 10 Qualifiers for the Russian GP:

POS. NO. DRIVER TEAM TIME LAPS
1 6 NICO ROSBERG  MERCEDES 1:37.113 20
2 44 LEWIS HAMILTON  MERCEDES 1:37.433 18
3 77 VALTTERI  BOTTAS  WILLIAMS 1:37.912 26
4 5 SEBASTIAN VETTEL  FERRARI 1:37.965 15
5 7 KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN  FERRARI 1:38.348 18
6 27 NICO HULKENBERG  FORCE INDIA 1:38.659 21
7 11 SERGIO PEREZ  FORCE INDIA 1:38.691 19
8 8 ROMAIN GROSJEAN  LOTUS 1:38.787 19
9 33 MAX VERSTAPPEN  TORO ROSSO 1:38.924 23
10 3 DANIEL RICCIARDO  RED BULL RACING 1:39.728 18

Complete Qualifying results available at Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on NBCSN at 7AM Eastern here in the States. Look for some early fireworks as Hamilton tries to reassert his dominance over Rosberg in a hurry. If there’s one quality the great English champion lacks, it’s patience. Hope to see you then!