F1 heads to the Sochi Autodrom this weekend for the 7th consecutive running of the Russian Grand Prix. One of four F1 circuits to be run at among former Olympic venues, Sochi is the only one which was a winter Olympics venue. Only 1.1 miles of this 3.6 mile Tilke-designed street circuit is shared with public roads and the race also holds the distinction of having the longest race distance of any Grand Prix at 309.745km. Since the inception of the Russian Grand Prix, no team other than Mercedes has won to-date.
Red Bull will enter the weekend on their back foot but ready to fight. Max Verstappen will be serving a 3 place grid penalty for the incident with Lewis Hamilton in Monza. Given this penalty and the history of Mercedes being strong here, don’t be surprised if the team incurs a further penalty by taking the opportunity to introduce a new power unit into Max’ pool. Look for a comeback drive that puts Max in high points-paying positions. Perez has a shot at a podium if he steps up to fill the gap left by Max. On the AlphaTauri side of the garage we can expect one car solidly in the points and the other just outside of a points-paying position.
Elsewhere on the grid, on pace, by the thinnest of margins we must go into the weekend expecting Mercedes to be the favorites based on history alone. For the next several positions look for team cars to be paired together. We can expect to see both McLarens fresh off a stellar performance in Italy. Following them should be both Ferrari cars. After that look for the pair of Alpines to be racing hard together. Next will come one of the Aston Martin cars looking to get in between the Alpines. Don’t be surprised if we see a Williams lurking just outside the points-paying positions. Look for a battle between the remaining Williams car and both Alfa Romeos. Finally the Haas duo will be racing each other at the back of the pack.
US TV SCHEDULE
Practice 1 – Friday, September 24 – 4.25AM – ESPN2
Practice 2 – Friday, September 24 – 7.55AM –
ESPNU
Practice 3 – Saturday, September 25 – 4.55AM – ESPN2
Qualifying – Saturday, September 25 – 7.55AM – ESPN2
Pit-Lane Live – Sunday, September 26 – 6.30AM – ESPN2
Race – Sunday, September 26 – 7.55AM – ESPN2
F1 Checkered Flag – Sunday September 26 – 10.00AM – ESPN3
CIRCUIT INFO
Direction: Clockwise
Turns: 19
Race laps: 53
Lap Distance: 5.848km (3.637 mi)
Race Distance: 310km
Longest Straight: 1073m
Top Speed: 336kph
Average Speed: 210kph
Altitude: 3m above sea level
Lap Record: 1:35.761, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2019
Downforce Level: Medium
Cooling Requirement: Low
Fuel Consumption: 1.84kg/lap
Typical Strategy: 1 Stop Race
Pitlane Length: 330m
Tyres: Hard (C3), Medium (C4), Soft (C5)
2020 RESULTS
Race Info.
Pole: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:31.304
Race laps: 53
Fast race lap: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 1:37.030
Podium
1. Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes
2. Max Verstappen – Red Bull
3. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
CURRENT STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 226.5
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 221.5
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 141
4. Lando Norris, McLaren, 132
5. Sergio Perez, Red Bull, 118
6. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 104
7. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 97.5
8. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, 83
9. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, 66
10. Fernando Alonso, Alpine, 50
11. Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 45
12. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, 35
13. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 24
14. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 18
15. George Russell, Williams, 15
16. Nicholas Latifi, Williams, 7
17. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo, 2
18. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo, 1
19. Mick Schumacher, Haas, 0
20. Robert Kubica, Alfa Romeo, 0
21. Nikita Mazepin, Haas, 0
Constructors
1. Mercedes, 362.5
2. Red Bull, 344.5
3. McLaren, 215
4. Ferrari, 201.5
5. Alpine, 95
6. AlphaTauri, 84
7. Aston Martin, 59
8. Williams, 22
9. Alfa Romeo, 3
10. Haas, 0
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