[See image gallery at www.grandprix247.com]
Ah, Russia… Home of vodka, babushka dolls, and Donald Trump’s sex tape – not to mention the Russian Grand Prix.
A relatively new race on the calendar, Sochi is yet to really leave its mark on F1, although with the ongoing tussle between Ferrari and Mercedes, perhaps that changes this year.
Starting with a camera shot of Jos Verstappen in the pits, Friday practice at the Sochi Autodrom similarly gave us the promise of a fight simmering just beneath the surface. Heading into the weekend all indications pointed to Mercedes returning to the top on a circuit that emphasises engine power, instead, we saw Ferrari take charge right out of the gate.
Topping the timesheets for both FP1 and FP2, Ferrari seemed to have if not parity on pure horsepower, better traction under braking to make up the difference.
Drivers were getting caught out left-and-right on Friday, but while the Ferrari quickly settled in to hitting its marks, Mercedes never seemed to gain a similar level of comfort, suffering numerous offs – particularly for Lewis Hamilton – through both sessions.
Still, it’s hard to bet against the Silver Arrows and their magical engine boost button on Saturday, but more than any race before this season, they’ve got some serious work to do.
Behind the top two teams, it was much of the same story for Red Bull, who finished a distant third, their day getting worse with Max Verstappen losing power in the latter stages of FP2. Unless they can borrow some hackers from Vladimir Putin, they’ll be hard pressed to make any headway come Sunday. Barcelona can’t come soon enough.
As for your regularly scheduled Honda engine failure, this week’s edition came at the very end of FP1, with Stoffel Vandoorne’s McLaren needing multiple component replacements that have now triggered a 15-place grid penalty.
Funnily enough, rumours of Sauber moving from year-old Ferrari engines to Honda next year continue to gain pace, which is the F1 equivalent of dumping your boring girlfriend for a drug-addled former supermodel. Best of luck to them.
Also nice to get a Sergey Sirotkin sighting. A man whose been linked to a race seat longer than most drivers actually have them, his session didn’t get much further than the pit-lane. See-ya next year, Sergey!
And on a final note, the outpouring of support from both teams and drivers for Billy Monger and Gonzalo Busurto Movilla was fantastic to see. The way the F1 community comes together to support its fellow racers big-and-small is something truly special indeed.
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
No comments:
Post a Comment