#Formula1 VTB #RussianGrandPrix 2020 Race Preview. #F1 #RussianGP

After Lewis Hamilton won a red-flagged and safety car inflicted Tuscan Grand Prix, round 10 of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship returns to the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia this weekend for the Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix 2020. This is the seventh edition of the Russian Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship.

 

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A look at the Sochi Autodrom

 

 

The Sochi Autodrom formerly known as the Sochi International Street Circuit and the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit is a street circuit located in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

 

The track is similar to that of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada and Sydney Olympic Park Circuit in Australia as it runs around a venue used for Olympic competition. Opened on September 21 2014 and designed by German Architect Hermann Tilke, the circuit was built around venues used for ice hockey, speed-skating, curling, short track etc. as well as the stadium in which the 2014 Winter Olympic Games open and closing ceremonies were held.

 

The layout itself has been likened to a mix between the Valencia Street Circuit and the Korean International Circuit which blends medium and low-speed corners with long fast sections, with the signature corner being the long, fast, left-hand arc around the Medal Arena. It is the third longest circuit on the Formula 1 behind the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and the Silverstone International Circuit in the UK. In their first visit to Sochi, the cars were hitting top speeds of 332kph on the 650 metre straight between the first and second turns with Lewis Hamilton averaging 213kph as he claimed pole for Mercedes.

 

The Sochi Autodrom is 5.848km (3.634 miles) in length with 19 corners and runs in a clockwise direction.

 

Race distance is 309.732km (192.459 miles) in length with 53 laps in total.

 

Lewis Hamilton holds the fastest lap record with a 1:35.761 set at last year’s Russian Grand Prix in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport F1 W10 EQ Power+.

 

Lewis Hamilton holds the record for most Russian Grand Prix victories with four to his name.

 

Mercedes are the most successful Constructor at the Russian Grand Prix with eight victories.

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Onboard Lap of the Sochi Autodrom

 

 

Here is an onboard pole lap of the Sochi Autodrom set at last year’s event by Charles Leclerc in his Scuderia Ferrari SF90. The Monegasque-youngster posted a 1:31.628. You can watch the video right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UYcI7nRQhc

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Last Five Russian GP Winners

 

 

2019: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2018: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2017: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1. 2016: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1. 2015: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1.

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Tyres

 

 

Pirelli will be bringing with them to Russia, the white side-walled P-Zero C3 Hards, the yellow-branded P-Zero C4 Medium tyres and the red-marked P-Zero C5 Soft tyres alongside the green-branded Intermediates and blue-marked Full Wet rubber in case of rain.

 

Drivers will have two sets of the softs, three sets of the mediums and eight sets of the softs.

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DRS Zones

As in 2019, there will be two DRS Zones. The first detection zone will be just after the start-finish straight with the activation point located just after Turn 1. The second detection zone will be before Turn 9, with the second activation point just after the same corner.

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Pitlane Speed Limits

Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.

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ICYMI: Tuscan GP Rewind – Hamilton claims victory in chaotic Tuscan GP

 

 

Lewis Hamilton clinched his 90^th-career victory in a hectic Tuscan GP, which was interrupted by two red flags and three safety cars.

 

 

The Briton finished ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon who claimed his maiden podium in a race that saw only 12 cars finish.

 

Despite losing the lead at the start of the Grand Prix, Hamilton managed to grab the place back from Bottas following the first red flag and kept calm to take his sixth victory of the season.

 

Hamilton extended his World Driver’s Championship lead to 55 points with eight races remaining, after pinching the fastest lap bonus point in the closing stages.

 

When the 59 lap Tuscan GP began, Bottas made a better run than pole-sitter Hamilton to take the lead into San Donato, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc jumped up to third as Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen fell back down the field, with the Dutchman reporting a lack of power.

 

Verstappen’s race ended early a corner later when he was hit from behind by Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen, sending the Honda-powered RB16 into the gravel and out of the Grand Prix. Last weekend’s Italian GP winner Pierre Gasly also retired at Luco (turn two) following a clash with Raikkonen’s Alfa C39 prior to the Finn’s contact with Verstappen, resulting in the first safety car deployment. Haas F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel were also caught up in the tangle but were able to continue.

 

Once the cars were removed, the safety car was brought in on the sixth lap, only to be deployed again moments later following a multi-car crash on the main-straight.

 

After Bottas opted to slow the field for the restart, several drivers in the field misjudged on when to hit the accelerator, which resulted in Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi running into the back of Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen.

 

The cars also collected McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, putting all four drivers out of the Tuscan GP and leaving debris scattered across the main-straight, which forced the race to be red-flagged.

 

The 25-minute delay followed before the race restarted on the tenth lap in a standing start on the grid, with 13 cars as Renault’s Esteban Ocon was forced to retire due to a brake problem.

 

Despite his brakes smoking on the grid, Hamilton was able to sweep around the outside of team-mate Bottas into San Donato to reclaim the lead of the race, with the two F1 W11 EQ Power+ racers pulling clear on the C2 yellow side-walled mediums.

 

Ferrari’s Leclerc was able to hold onto third place on the restart, but soon faced intense pressure from his rivals behind as he struggled with straight-line speed. Racing Point’s Lance Stroll was able to grab the final podium place on the 18^th tour with an overtake on Leclerc, who then lost places in succession to Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull’s Albon and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, falling down to seventh before pitting for a set of C1 white-branded harder compounds.

 

Hamilton was at first able to keep a comfortable gap of two seconds to Bottas following the race resumption but saw his lead grow as the latter struggled with wear on his front tyres.

 

Bottas reported to his team to request the opposite tyres to team-mate Hamilton at the next pit-stop window in an attempt to cut the gap, which grew to more than seven seconds by the time he pitted on the 31^st lap for a set of hard rubber.

 

Mercedes told Hamilton it was pitting the Finn for safety reasons before stopping the Briton a lap later. Hamilton also put on the hards to match Bottas’ strategy and returned to the track over six seconds ahead.

 

In a battle for the final podium place, Renault performed the undercut on Stroll by pitting Ricciardo on the end of 27^th tour for a fresh set of C2 mediums. Racing Point reacted three laps after, but it was too late to keep the Canadian in-front as Ricciardo jumped ahead. Moving back up to third as Red Bull’s Albon stopped and fell back to fifth.

 

Anxiously wanting to protect their advantage and look after both cars, Mercedes told both Hamilton and Bottas with 20 laps left that they should stay off the kerbs and look after their tyres. Bottas said “a safety car would be nice right now”, having seen Hamilton’s gap stable at six seconds.

 

The Finn’s wish was granted five tours later when the safety car was deployed following a crash for BWT Racing Point’s Stroll at Arrabbiata 2, going off at high-speed into the barrier after his RP20 racer snapped onto the kerb. Although his Racing Point entry sustained heavy damage, Stroll was able to get out of the car unscathed and walked away from the incident, reporting a puncture.

 

Most of the drivers quickly opted to pit after the safety car was deployed by pitting for fresher rubber, with Hamilton keeping his advantage over Bottas despite stopping a lap later.

 

But the race was once again red-flagged for the second time on the 45^th lap so the barriers could be repaired at Arrabbiata 2, setting up a 13-lap dash to the finish with 12 cars still running, all who put on a set of C3 red-marked softs for the restart.

 

The third grid-standing start saw Bottas struggle once more, falling behind Ricciardo’s Renault on the run-down to San Donato as Hamilton moved clear in the lead. Bottas was able to take second place back a tour later, sweeping around the outside of Ricciardo’s R.S.20 racer, while Albon passed Perez for fourth as he pushed for his maiden podium in Formula 1.

 

Albon was able to close-in on Ricciardo two laps later, going side-by-side of the Australian around the outside at San Donato before sweeping by into third place. The Thai-Briton was given the push-hard to chase down Bottas, who was forced to pick up his pace in the Mercedes to react.

 

But Hamilton was able to match team-mate Bottas’ pace throughout the closing stages of the Grand Prix, eventually claiming the Tuscan GP victory by 4.880 seconds clear, claiming the fastest lap bonus point in the process.

 

Bottas came home second and in-front of Albon, who recorded his maiden Formula 1 podium.

 

Ricciardo equalled his best result since joining Renault taking fourth, falling short of his first podium since the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix and winning a podium bet with Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul.

 

Racing Point’s Perez completed the top five after a race-long fight with McLaren’s Lando Norris, which saw the Mexican pull clear after the final restart, leaving the Briton in sixth place at the line.

 

Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat scored his best result of the 2020 campaign, taking seventh, while Ferrari managed to gain a double-points finish in its 1000^th Grand Prix. Leclerc made three pit-stops as the Monegasque-youngster struggled with tyre wear but gained eighth place after Alfa Romeo Racing’s Raikkonen was handed a five-second timed penalty for crossing the pit-entry line, relegating the Finn to ninth.

 

Ferrari’s Vettel rounded out the top-ten, marking his first points finish since the Spanish Grand Prix after moving by Williams Racing’s George Russell at the final race restart.

 

Russell was on course for his maiden points finish in Formula 1 through most of the race, only to fall back in the closing stages and ended the Grand Prix in 11^th, equalling his best result in the sport.

 

Haas F1 Team’s Grosjean was the final finished taking 12^th and 10 seconds behind Russell.

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The Situation

 

 

Lewis Hamilton returns to Sochi sitting on top of the World Driver’s Championship with 190 points and a 55-point advantage over team-mate Valtteri Bottas who is second on 135 points while Max Verstappen are a further 80 behind the Briton in third.

 

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport return to Russia on top of the Constructors Championship with 325 points and a 152-point lead over nearest rivals Aston Martin Red Bull Racing who are second on 173 points while McLaren Racing are third on 106 points and a further 219 behind the Silver Arrows.

 

Click here for the 2020 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings

 

The Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix 2020 weekend kicks off Friday September 25 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday September 26 and the 53 lap Race Sunday September 27.

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