The best Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix took place in Sochi last week. At least the most fun. Although the first two places were taken by the leaders of the season, their path to success turned out to be very tricky.
Hamilton flopped but floated out
With Mercedes having never lost at Sochi, the Russian track was considered the most convenient stage in the season for Lewis Hamilton to gain an advantage over Max Verstappen in the championship, as the circuit’s configuration is designed for German cars. An added benefit for Hamilton was announced on Friday as it became known that Verstappen would be sent to the last row of the starting field because of changing his engine.
It seemed that Lewis had all the cards in his hands - get ahead of weak opponents and become the leaders of the championship. But the seven-time champion decided not to simplify his life! Qualifying in Sochi has long been in jeopardy due to Saturday downpour, but just before the session, the rain stopped. The first segments were on intermediate tires, but in the middle of the final stage, George Russell from Williams took the risk of switching to slicks. After him all the others rushed into the pits, but Hamilton was among the last. In addition, at the entrance to the pit lane, Lewis butted a wall and broke the front fender. As a result, he simply did not have enough time to warm up the smooth tires on a wet track, and he finished only fourth, losing to his teammate for the 2022 season, Russell, as well as Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris.
As if that was not enough, Hamilton also failed the start. More precisely, the world champion started just great and tried to coast along the inner trajectory from fourth place to become the leader in the first corner. But his maneuver was noticed and stopped by Norris, causing Hamilton to sharply hit the brakes and roll back to P7. Then there was a painful stretch behind Daniel Ricciardo, and only after the pit stops Hamilton was finally able to roll out. The Briton's pace was incredible; he began to break through one rival after another and ended up in second place. Hamilton monstrously rolled on the leading Norris and a few laps before the finish began attacks for the lead. But then it started to rain.
Hamilton didn’t immediately dare to change dry tyres to intermediate ones, but he did it. But Norris decided to stay on the track. Lewis's decision turned out to be correct. He not only won the 100th race in his career, but also finished almost a minute ahead of his closest pursuer. And he became the leader of the championship.
Verstappen played 18 positions per race
Verstappen was initially in a difficult position. Not only is Sochi the fortress of Mercedes, but also the Dutchman had to lose three positions at the start for a collision with Hamilton in Italy. As a result, already on Friday in Red Bull they decided to go to the start in the tail and supply Verstappen with a new engine. So and so it would have to be done at least once before the end of the season. At the same time, Red Bull, of course, counted on a breakthrough. At some point, it even seemed that it would happen. Verstappen from the start broke through to 12th place, and then, due to the tougher rubber, became the sixth when the opponents were making pit stops.
After changing tires, the (then) leader of the season again flew out of the top 10, but with a series of overtakes climbed to seventh place. He even stayed sixth, but lost the fight with Fernando Alonso. And then it started raining, and Verstappen was one of the first to pick up new tires. This allowed him to fly up five positions at once. Yes, he still lost to Hamilton in the race and lost the championship lead. But he reduced the defeat to a minimum and will come to Turkey, only two points behind Lewis.
Worst decision of Norris' career
Lando Norris had a perfect weekend in Sochi. Excluding the last five laps of the race. The Briton was quick in training, and in qualifying he changed dry tyres in time and gave the best lap, taking the first pole in his career. In the race, he missed Sainz at the start, but stayed close to his Ferrari, waited for tyre wear and took back the first place. Then Norris tactically outplayed the opponent, managing to save the tyres. And closer to the finish line withstood several attacks from Hamilton. And even Hamilton himself admitted that he would hardly have passed a young compatriot on a dry track.
However, then Norris was mistaken. When the team first called the pilot to the pits for intermediate tires, he refused. The second time, he yelled rudely at the engineer. Norris made the wrong decision and then stubbornly refused to admit it. Norris flew off the track, his slicks not the right tyre, and as a result he had to box but it was already too late. His first pole position in a soggy Sochi turned into an unfortunate seventh place.
Undulating Sainz
The top three at the finish line was closed by Sainz, for whom the race in Sochi was a series of ups and downs on the Black Sea waves. As already mentioned, at the start he took the lead, but then quickly killed the tyres and returned the position to Norris. The Spaniard also had to be among the first to make a pit stop, which threw him beyond the top ten.
In addition, Ferrari hesitated when changing tyres, and on the way out of the boxes, Sainz rested on Valtteri Bottas. The Spaniard spent more than 10 laps behind the Finn, and finally, being in front, got stuck behind Pierre Gasly. Nevertheless, when the whole wave of pit stops passed, Sainz was in the top three. He no longer pretended to win, but besides Norris he lost only to Hamilton.
However, shortly before the finish line, Carlos lost tires, and he gave the third place to Cheko Perez. But then it started to rain successfully, and the Spaniard made a timely pit stop. All the pilots changed positions ... and Sainz was third again! So he closed the Sochi podium, despite all the swings.
Soggy Sochi was good for some drivers but not for others. As we head into another race week, anticipating the Turkish Grand Prix, Hamilton leads the championship only two points ahead of Verstappen. Will the weather in Turkey be more forgiving than Russia? And who will come out on top?
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