After an enthralling Italian Grand Prix which saw Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren take belated wins and title rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton coming to blows again, it is time to go racing once more. Join The Roar for live blog coverage of the Russian Grand Prix from 9:50pm (AEST).
At the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, the Sochi Autodrom has been a fortress for reigning world champions Mercedes who have been undefeated since the first race at the start of the hybrid-turbo era.
Mercedes come to this 5.8km circuit with the opportunity to capitalise on their championship rivals Red Bull, as standings leader Verstappen is poised to start from the back of the grid after having taken on a fourth power unit.
Valtteri Bottas, who’s been winless since this round last year, has shown again why he loves Sochi. He’s driving with a weight off his shoulders about his future in the sport, however, it has been made clear that if needed to, he will let teammate Hamilton take the win.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, however, mastered the changing conditions during qualifying to claim his maiden pole position ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and another excellent run from George Russell to put his Williams into third.
Hamilton will start from fourth behind this young trio, having made a mistake in the pit lane during Q3 by making contact with the wall. He will be hoping to make his way past the likes the Russell, Sainz and Norris, although the McLaren on pole will prove difficult.
And with big names such as Verstappen and Charles Leclerc starting at the back of the grid due to grid penalties, how much can they limit the damage by climbing up the order? Points may be the only remedy for the championship-leading Dutchman.
Sochi is a track that seldom puts on a show and with the lack of any tyre degradation, a plain sailing one-stop race appears to be on the cards again. If there were to be any action, it usually occurs on the first lap heading into the tight right-hander.
With qualifying having been run on intermediate tyres, it means that if the race starts in the dry – that it will give drivers a free choice of starting compound.
It truly is one of the most open Russian Grand Prix in years and you can join in on The Roar for live blog coverage from 9:50 pm AEST as we get set for another unpredictable race.
Lights out: 10pm (AEST)
Venue: Sochi Autodrom, Russia
TV: Fox Sports
Online: Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go
1. Lando Norris (McLaren), 2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 3. George Russell (Williams), 4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 5. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), 6. Fernando Alonso (Alpine), 7. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), 8. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 9. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 10. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 11. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), 12. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), 13. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), 14. Nicholas Latifi (Williams), 15. Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo), 16. Mick Schumacher (Haas), 17. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo), 18. Nikita Mazepin (Haas), 19. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 20. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
cillianoc
Roar Rookie
You'd have to feel for Lando. It certainly felt like a case of naivety to want to stay out, but I feel Mclaren really should have made the instruction, regardless of the trust in the driver's on-track feel. With more wins under his belt, he might have given the correct instruction to the pit wall, but his illustrious first win was so tantalizingly close. A completely human outcome I would say. Nevertheless he showed so much poise throughout the race, and more-so than others in the new talent crop bar Max, showed he truly has what it takes to be a future World Champion. Though I'm not a fan, a big congrats to Hamilton. He really is one of the best ever, however hard it is to admit it. Brilliant driver, brilliant team. Cheers for the efforts Jawad. :thumbup:
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
It's a two point swing again in the standings in favour of Lewis Hamilton, but Max Verstappen and Red Bull will be feeling good about how they limitated the damage in this race. Though many will feel devastated for Lando Norris, who up until the end of the race performed admirably again. His time will certainly come for winning in F1. Other than that, thank you for joining me for the Russian Grand Prix on The Roar. I will be back in a fortnight's time for the Turkish Grand Prix at the popular Istanbul Park circuit, so until then thanks and goodnight.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 246.5 - Lewis Hamilton 244.5 - Max Verstappen 151 - Valtteri Bottas 139 - Sergio Perez 120 - Lando Norris 112.5 - Carlos Sainz 104 - Charles Leclerc 95 -- Daniel Ricciardo 66 -- Pierre Gasly 58 -- Fernando Alonso 45 -- Esteban Ocon 35 -- Sebastian Vettel 24 -- Lance Stroll 18 -- Yuki Tsunoda 16 -- George Russell 7 --- Nicholas Latifi 6 --- Kimi Räikkönen 1 --- Antonio Giovinazzi 0 --- Mick Schumacher 0 --- Robert Kubica 0 --- Nikita Mazepin
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 397.5 - Mercedes AMG 364.5 - Red Bull Racing Honda 234 - McLaren Mercedes 216.5 - Ferrari 103 - Alpine 84 -- Scuderia AlphaTauri 59 -- Aston Martin Racing 23 -- Williams Mercedes 7 --- Alfa Romeo Racing 0 --- Haas Ferrari
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT A correct strategic decision amongst the wet weather chaos at the end of the Russian Grand Prix, saw Lewis Hamilton claim his 100th win in Formula One becoming the first driver to do so. Fighting pole sitter Lando Norris as the track conditions changed to wet at the end of the race, Mercedes made the crucial call to bring in their driver for intermediate tyres – while the McLaren driver stayed out. On the penultimate lap Norris was caught out in the slippery conditions on his slick tyres, while Hamilton was able to cruise on by to take the lead. Elevated up into the top three was also Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Sainz initially led the race from Norris in the opening stint, however with his medium tyres graining was forced to take an early first stop – dropping the Ferrari out of the points. Norris then was the effective leader, as his teammate Daniel Ricciardo held Hamilton behind. Drivers such as Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc all led but started the race on the hard tyre. Mercedes brought in Hamilton before Norris for the hard compound, though the McLaren still led. Verstappen meanwhile in his charge from the rear of the field after starting with a grid penalty had plateaued in the second stint. Though when the rain hit, the race was turned on its head and Verstappen, Sainz and Ricciardo all made the key decision to switch over to intermediates. As did Valtteri Bottas, who was able to turn a nothing result from outside the points into fifth. A season best result for Kimi Räikkönen in eighth was welcome after his return to racing, following a two-race break due to testing positive to Covid-19. The Finn beating out Perez and George Russell who rounded out the points. The Aston Martins when the rain hit ended up in the wars which each other, as Lance Stroll almost put Sebastian Vettel into the wall – before getting tangled with Pierre Gasly who finished behind the duo. Winning his first race since the British Grand Prix has put Hamilton back into the lead of the championship, but by only two points over Verstappen – who’s comeback to second minimised the damage in a race where things could’ve ended up much worse.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
POST RACE INTERVIEWS - Hosted by Damon Hill HAMILTON - "It's taken a long time to get to 100 and I wasn't sure if it was going to come." "Lando was doing such a great job." "The team made a great call at the end there." "It would have been tough to get past Lando." VERSTAPPEN - "It was pretty tricky on the in-lap to make the call." "To come from last to second is very very good." "The race wasn't easy, it was difficult to pass." "When I woke up this morning I did not expect this result." SAINZ - "First of all I got a good launch, then unfortunately graining came and I suffered a lot." "
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 53-LAP RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX 1 L. Hamilton 2 M. Verstappen 3 C. Sainz 4 D. Ricciardo 5 V. Bottas 6 F. Alonso 7 L. Norris (Fastest Lap) 8 K. Räikkönen 9 S. Perez 10 G. Russell 11 L. Stroll 12 S. Vettel 13 P. Gasly 14 E. Ocon 15 C. Leclerc 16 A. Giovinazzi 17 Y. Tsunoda 18 N. Mazepin RET N. Latifi RET M. Schumacher
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX AND BECOMES THE FIRST DRIVER IN F1 TO REACH 100 WINS Max Verstappen benefits from all the wet weather chaos to minimise the damage in the championship and finish second. While Carlos Sainz adds another trophy to the cabinet at Ferrari, recovering to third after losing out with an early stop.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 53/53: FINAL LAP There'll be a penalty for Lando as well for going across the pit-lane entry line and crossing back. Yikes it has gone from bad to worse for the young Briton.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 52/53: Norris at last makes it back to the pits and will drop out of podium contention. Verstappen and Sainz are elevated now onto the podium places, as Hamilton now leads by almost a minute.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 51/53: And Hamilton takes the lead of the race, while Lando goes off the track. Verstappen up to third now.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 51/53: Hamilton will have Lando covered if he does decide to pit now, but it looks as if McLaren has committed to persist in these conditions. But it is so treacherous now out there, he can't keep the car on track!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 50/53: So hard to predict what is going to happen here! There is still slippery parts on the track, but then elsewhere is pretty dry.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 50/53: Hamilton pits but Lando stays out!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 49/53: Norris and Hamilton both stay out despite the Mercedes mechanics being out in the pits ready for him. Drama between the Aston teammates as Stroll almost puts Vettel into the wall. Verstappen, Sainz and Ricciardo all in for inters.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 48/53: It is getting worse now as both leaders tread these conditions very carefully. There will be a hive of activity in the pits now to get the inters on!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 47/53: There was a brief moment for Lando going off track through the wet and this invited Hamilton into contention.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 47/53: Sainz on the radio to Ferrari telling them to get the intermediate tyres ready. This is going to be a frantic finish if the track does get wet.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 46/53: Still no benefit of DRS for Hamilton on Norris, while we sees spectators in the grandstands pull up the brollies. He'll be pioneering then at the front will young Lando!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 45/53: Leclerc passes Stroll for eighth as well. Perez through on Ricciardo and into fourth. He is 3.3 seconds behind Sainz for a shot at the podium.