Valtteri Bottas topped the timesheets twice in Sochi, while spins and mistakes reigned throughout the grid. Daniel Riccardo broke into the top 3 twice, piling pressure on the Red Bulls and McLarens.
Friday Report:
It was not quite business as usual for the Mercedes duo, as neither driver seemed truly comfortable in either session. Bottas managed a clean run during FP1 going 0.5s clear, but later destroyed his tyres with a huge lock up. This hampered the rest of his running. However, the Finn set the pace again in FP2, despite running wide on his flying lap. Hamilton only managed 19th during FP1 after issues with the soft tyres. He would later bounce back to 0.2s away from 1st in FP2, but had to abandon his fastest run.
Verstappen appears to have a fight on his hands for the final podium position as he was pipped to 3rd in FP1 and slipped to 7th in FP2. Albon managed 8th then 12th. This will have been surprising to the Red Bull team as it was expected that the high downforce track would suit elements of their RB16.
Renault have made heads turn however, with Ricciardo taking an impressive 2nd and 3rd over the two sessions. Following the Tuscan GP, it would be easy to expect anything except a podium will be a disappointment for the McLaren-bound Australian. Ocon managed a respectable 6th and 9th, but continues to be outpaced by Ricciardo.
Next up is the midfield battle, and it seems that McLaren may have the upper hand. Racing Point took a strong 4th and 5th in FP1, but McLaren held the positions in FP2, a second quicker than the efforts of the pink team. It wasn’t all flawless running for McLaren however, as Sainz crashed in FP1, tearing off his rear wing. This would only bring out the VSC, but it did end his running.
Ferrari were just behind this pack and, despite leading the beginning of the race last year, look likely to score points. 9th and 11th in FP1 as well as 8th and 10th in FP2, putting them against the high flying Alpha Tauris. Kvyat took the highest finish with 7th in FP1 while Gasly finished 10th. They weren’t quite able to match this performance in the second session, and the drivers switched to take 11th and 13th. Expect a battle between these two teams for the final championship points.
And, bringing up the rear, were Alfa Romeo, Haas and Williams. Alfa Romeo took the highest placed finishes, but are contesting with a very strong looking Williams. In FP2 Raikkonen managed the fastest time, placing him in 14th while Latifi and Russell followed respectively. This was an improvement for Latifi, whose crash brought out the Red Flag in FP1. Haas continue to go backwards and there is an argument that they might be the slowest team this weekend.
So, as with many races in 2020, Russia has the potential to throw some unpredictability our way. Hamilton appears slightly off form, Verstappen doesn’t have 3rd settled and there may be some upsets down the lower end of the grid. With Sochi being known for uneventful races, it’s about time that the Russian track gave us a race to remember.
Featured Image Credit: @F1 Official Twitter
