Sunday was the 4th of the 20 races in F1 this season. It was held in Socchi, Russia, which has turned into quite an athletic locale. It is actively working to host a whole host (?see what I did there) of games and contests, including soccer, basketball – and a world F1.<\/p>\n
This is the 3rd year Sochi has been the site of a F1 race. The previous 2 were all Mercedes, with the silver cars holding the front row and Lewis Hamilton winning both races. But the season to date has held promise of new competition and so it was at Sochi.<\/p>\n
For the first time since 2006 I believe Ferrari held the front row, Sebastien Vettel qualifying for the pole and his teammate, the Finn Kimi Raikkonen, the number two spot. Lewis Hamilton qualified a distant 5th, while HIS teammate, also a Finn, Valtteri Bottas, qualified 3rd. Hamilton was to have engine issues all race.<\/p>\n
Socchi is a rather tight course so position on the track is very important. Strategy is less of an issue as it is mostly a one-stop race. The course is such that the first and second corners are not much of a corner, but the third is a killer. So the race at the start is to get to corner 3 first. From such a commanding position one can then dominate the race.<\/p>\n
Ferrari had been faster all weekend in quals and practice, so the red front line was not really surprising. Vettel is a 4-time world champion, so sitting on the pole in the fastest car was also not surprising.<\/p>\n
But the start was. When the lights went green, Bottas charged up from his 3rd position past Raikkonen and shortly past Vettel to reach Turn 3 first. And that was the race. They ran 58 laps, had one tire change, and Vettel got to less than a second behind Bottas in the final several laps, allowing the use of DRM (Drag Reduction Mechanism) but to no avail. Bottas won.<\/p>\n
This is Bottas’ first F1 win. He was previously Formula 3 champion, and has raced in a total of 80 races. Last race he showed he had the speed to take the pole, and even this time had he strung together all his best segment times he would have had the pole, but still he won. One can now expect that Mercedes will have a great lineup to run against Ferrari, which has shown such improvement this year. And as seems to be his wont, Raikkonen took fastest lap – but to no advancement. He seems to get fastest lap on numerous occasions but still remains 2nd fiddle to Vettel in the race, and that does not seem to be team orders.<\/p>\n
Spanish GP next I believe. The Circus in back in Europe.<\/p>\n
Sunday was the 4th of the 20 races in F1 this season. It was held in Socchi, Russia, which has turned into quite an athletic locale. It is actively working to host a whole host (?see what I did there) of games and contests, including soccer, basketball – and a world F1.<\/p>\n
This is the 3rd year Sochi has been the site of a F1 race. The previous 2 were all Mercedes, with the silver cars holding the front row and Lewis Hamilton winning both races. But the season to date has held promise of new competition and so it was at Sochi.<\/p>\n
For the first time since 2006 I believe Ferrari held the front row, Sebastien Vettel qualifying for the pole and his teammate, the Finn Kimi … Continue reading