Following a thrilling Singapore Grand Prix, Formula One quickly headed north to Sochi Autodrom for the 2019 Russian Grand Prix, where Mercedes were hoping to revive their fortunes.
The Silver Arrows have enjoyed a miserable return from their summer break as Ferrari won the last three races, making this track a must win particularly given that no team other than them have won around here before.
Away from the front, there were plenty of other dramas unfolding as several teams jostle for fourth in the Constructors standings, so here’s how every team fared this weekend.
Mercedes
Embed from Getty ImagesRace results: Lewis Hamilton – 1st, Valtteri Bottas – 2nd
If there’s a track this autumn which Mercedes needed to win to reinstall confidence then this had to be that track, given their 100% race win record around Sochi although they didn’t have it all their own way.
Both drivers struggled throughout practice which was quite rare to see but come qualifying, Hamilton managed to pull off an stunning lap to pip Vettel to second which would prove important given that he was starting on the mediums unlike the two Ferraris.
I won’t be the first to say that both Hamilton and Bottas had poor starts but Mercedes had actually made the correct decision to start on mediums, as it meant that the race eventually came to them as those on softs pitted before Sebastian Vettel’s retirement caused a Virtual Safety Car, giving them a free double stack stop.
That ultimately proved crucial because Hamilton was able to beautifully control the race to the checkered flag, whilst Bottas used the corner exits perfectly to fend off the charging Leclerc who eventually had to give up his challenge.
In summary, Mercedes got lucky this weekend but there is still work to do because they are seemingly lacking straight line speed, unless they’re sandbagging to avoid possible penalties in remaining races.
Ferrari
Embed from Getty ImagesRace results: Charles Leclerc – 3rd, Sebastian Vettel – Retired
The best place to start with Ferrari is Charles Leclerc because he was again absolutely dominant this weekend, only to be robbed of victory by farcical behaviour from Vettel.
One thing which we have clearly learned from Leclerc this weekend is that he is definitely going to be a key player throughout the coming years, simply because he was absolutely dominant on one lap pace again although his race pace will improve with experience.
Speaking of experience, Vettel currently seems to be second-best at Maranello now but is wisely using his experience to set his car up to be competitive in the races rather than qualifying, as demonstrated by his stronger race pace than Leclerc and beneficial slipstream at the start.
He however should of learned from his team order antics at Red Bull and been wiser in playing the team game and let Leclerc back through into the lead, given that he had the superior pace so would of eventually gotten back past in a straight racing fight.
Karma is therefore the only way to sum up Vettel’s retirement with a MGU-K issue because it also wrecked Leclerc’s race, in allowing Mercedes to snatch the win and one-two finish despite a brilliant fight from the Monegasque.
Ferrari therefore should spend the next week focusing on pulling their drivers into line, particularly given that the next few races will require better teamwork because they will favour Red Bull more than the Scuderia or Mercedes.
Red Bull
Race results: Max Verstappen – 4th, Alexander Albon – 5th
Both drivers came into this weekend with five place grid penalties for power unit upgrades, which meant that their race pace was going to be more crucial than qualifying on a unfavourable track for their cars.
Verstappen however didn’t let those challenges stop him with a strong Friday in which he topped FP2 before slipping into Mercedes’ clutches on Saturday, but we will never know what he could of done from fourth on the grid in between the two Silver Arrows, given how the race unfolded.
We however must applaud Verstappen for playing the long game early on in the race when stuck behind Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, before eventually unleashing his true pace to settle for a solid fourth placed finish.
Albon meanwhile showed that he isn’t immune from the mistakes which plagued his predecessor – Pierre Gasly as he made an error at Turn 14 to spin out of qualifying early on.
There is however one huge difference between Albon and Gasly in that the Thai was able to produce a strategic yet clever drive from the pitlane to finish fifth, which I don’t think Gasly would of been able to do.
Red Bull therefore should be chuffed with how their weekend has gone and Team Principal – Christian Horner described the results as “maximum achievable…” which is a fair assessment of their race given their circumstances.
McLaren
Race results: Carlos Sainz – 6th, Lando Norris – 8th
This has actually been a tougher weekend for McLaren than what their race results suggest because they have had to work all weekend for their first double points finish since Hungary.
Friday practice was pretty much a disaster with both drivers lacking performance throughout both sessions, only to then show their true pace on Saturday as Sainz eventually edged Nico Hulkenberg as best of the rest in qualifying.
Both drivers then maximised their starts on the softs to challenge Mercedes early on, before eventually settling for two great point paying positions although a great pit stop by Haas allowed Magnussen to jump Norris and split the McLarens.
Norris then seemingly struggled with the mediums in comparison to Sainz as Perez and Albon then passed him, only for a five second time penalty for Magnussen to elevate the Brit into eighth, which was a lucky result whilst fending off Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll.
I therefore have to say that this has been a tough weekend of hard work which was deservingly rewarded with 12 valuable points for their constructor fight with Renault for fourth.
Renault
Embed from Getty ImagesRace results: Nico Hulkenberg – 10th, Daniel Ricciardo – Retired
This has been a surprise weekend by Renault’s standards because Hulkenberg who could be without a drive at end of season, surprisingly dominated Ricciardo throughout the weekend.
Ricciardo in fact had a rare off weekend from start to finish with a mistake at the end of FP1 as he spun backwards into the barrier, from which he never really recovered in terms of performance before eventually retiring from the race with damage sustained in a first lap collision.
Hulkenberg meanwhile was up towards the top midfield end all weekend but a poor start on Sunday meant that a point was all that he could muster despite challenging Norris towards the end.
Renault must surely consider this weekend a huge opportunity lost in their Constructor fight with McLaren.
Toro Rosso
Embed from Getty ImagesRace results: Daniil Kvyat – 12th, Pierre Gasly – 14th
This has been a solid if unspectacular weekend for Toro Rosso and Pierre Gasly, although Kvyat did produce a great show in front of his home fans.
The Russian had a back row start for exceeding his power unit component allowance, which was further compounded by technical issues in FP1 and FP3 with the latter resulting in a complete power unit change and him missing qualifying.
Kvyat then produced a brilliant drive via a two stop alternative strategy of hard to two sets of soft tyres as he managed to see off Gasly and the two Alfa Romeos to finish 12th in the race, which is great credit to him and the team.
Ultimately the team has gathered valuable data despite earning no points and with the new Honda upgrades looking good, Japan should be a promising weekend for Toro Rosso.
Racing Point
Embed from Getty ImagesRace results: Sergio Perez – 7th, Lance Stroll – 11th
This surely has to be up there as one of Force India’s most strongest weekends of the season so far with both drivers firmly in the midfield throughout every session.
Qualifying however remains a slight weakness but both drivers did make individual mistakes, which cost them a Q3 appearance but in turn allowed them to go for clever split strategies on new tyres, which Perez maximised best to go from softs to mediums.
Stroll meanwhile continues to be second best but did a great job to nearly snatch the final point from Hulkenberg, which unluckily proved just too difficult to achieve but he was in good spirits after the race, saying; “… there are plenty of positives to take away, but we just have to keep it going until the end of the season.”
I do agree with what Stroll said post race because there were plenty of positives throughout the weekend, and their fight for sixth with Toro Rosso is definitely going to Abu Dhabi given that just three points separate both teams.
Racing Point therefore should consider this a great weekend with potential to improve further, particularly from Stroll if he is to start matching Perez in terms of performance.
Alfa Romeo
Embed from Getty ImagesRace results: Kimi Raikkonen – 13th, Antonio Giovinazzi – 15th
There isn’t much to say here other than this has been Alfa Romeo’s worst weekend in a long while.
Giovinazzi however enjoyed a decent Saturday in which he reversed a 0.6s deficit from Friday Practice to finish FP3 a second ahead of Raikkonen, before then beating him again in qualifying after a final corner error put the Finnish driver out in Q1.
Raceday however was poor with neither driver making any impression after Giovinazzi got tangled with Grosjean and Ricciardo on the opening lap to sustain damage, although he did finish the race unlike them, albeit behind Raikkonen who had an unusually quiet race fighting the Toro Rosso drivers for pride.
Japan should therefore hopefully be a better circuit for their car with three different but technically demanding sectors.
Haas
Embed from Getty ImagesRace results: Kevin Magnussen – 9th, Romain Grosjean – Retired
Having suffered the pain of Singapore, this weekend was a better showing with both cars firmly in the midfield mix this time around, even if Friday was relatively quiet before turning up the wick with a solid Saturday showing.
Grosjean however was unlucky to get shunted out of the race on the opening lap by Giovinazzi, who had been hit down his right by Ricciardo to send him slamming into the helpless Frenchman.
Magnussen meanwhile maximised a strong start to get up into the top ten before an excellent pit stop managed to enable him to do the undercut on McLaren’s Norris during a Virtual Safety Car, only for a harsh five second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage to cost him eighth in the end.
Russia however should be viewed as a morale booster at Haas who should hopefully be more competitive in Japan next time out.
Williams
Embed from Getty ImagesRace results: George Russell – Retired, Robert Kubica – Retired
What a disastrous weekend it has been for Williams because not only were they still distant from the midfield, they suffered their first double race retirement since Germany last season.
Russell however continues to impressive in comparison to the more experienced Kubica, finishing FP2 & 3 over a second ahead of his teammate before bettering him in qualifying and for much of the race until a likely brake issue curtailed his running.
Williams therefore were correct to retire Kubica too for safety reasons on top of conserving parts for the remaining flyaway races, which could be crucial if we get crazy wet races where points become a possibility for the team if can avoid crashing.
There is consequently very little else to say about Williams’ weekend other than they probably should focus on next year’s car now and test potential parts in coming races, ready for next season.
If missed the opening 15 rounds of this season, get up to date with our race reviews below along with our half-term report.
- Australia
- Bahrain
- China
- Azerbaijan
- Spain
- Monaco
- Canada
- France
- Austria
- Great Britain
- Germany
- Hungary
- Half-Term Report
- Belgium
- Italy
- Singapore
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