Welcome to 2020 Russian Grand Prix preview as Formula One heads to Sochi, Russia, for the tenth round of the 2020 season.
Lewis Hamilton enters this round as championship leader with a 55 point lead over Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, as the Brit seeks to equal Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 91 race victories this weekend after claiming his 90th win at Mugello a fortnight ago.
Further down the pack, McLaren have begun to build a gap over Racing Point and Renault in the battle for third in Constructors’ Championship but with braking and speed being two important elements of this Sochi Autodrom, reliability could very well become a factor throughout various championship battles this weekend.
Now, here is everything that you need to know ahead of 2020 Russian Grand Prix.
Track Guide
Circuit: Sochi Autodrom
Laps: 53
Race Distance: 309.745km
Tyre Compounds: C3, C4 & C5
Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (BST) |
| Friday 25 September | FP1 | 9:00am |
| Friday 25 September | FP2 | 1:00pm |
| Saturday 26 September | FP3 | 10:00am |
| Saturday 26 September | Qualifying | 1:00pm |
| Sunday 27 September | Race | 12:10pm |
Five Key Pointers
- Mercedes are yet to fail to win around Sochi Autodrom in six visits since it joined the F1 calendar in 2014.
- Sochi Autodrom offers low tyre degradation but with the C5 tyre compound coming to this race as the softest available compound, Qualifying could see a mixture of strategies play out in Q2 if that tyre proves to have a higher degradation than expected.
- Lewis Hamilton has finished off the podium in just one previous Russian GP (2017 when he finished fourth) as he looks to produce a record equalling 91st F1 victory.
- Ferrari powered cars are in for a rough weekend given the various straights around Sochi Autodrom which will hurt their lap times more than other teams.
- Keeping brakes in shape will be crucial to finishing the race after four of previous six trips to Russia saw at least one car retire with brake failure during the race.
Race Recaps
If missed any of the nine previous rounds of the 2020 season, please click on the links below to catch up on the missed action.