Russian GP quali : What a thriller!!
Russian GP is considered a very dry track with no action expected. The qualifying session at least was such a thriller. The top three were the usual contenders – Lewis, Max, and Valtteri – but the story of how they made it to the podium is anything but straight forward.
Russian GP pole goes to Lewis
You always expect both the Mercedes boys to make it to the Q3 easily. However things turned out to be very different for Race leader Lewis Hamilton. One thing lead to another in such a way that Lewis was about to miss qualifying into Q3, unthinkable for the six time world champion.
The first hot lap run in Q2 for Lewis was deleted as he went outside the track limits at the final turn. Never happened with Lewis in all the three practice session but only when it actually mattered. Still not a big deal. Lewis wanted to immediately go for another lap but his team called him in for a change of tires. By the time Lewis was out again, Vettel spun and had a crash. This resulted in a red flag and the session was stopped. There was just 2:15 minutes left in the session and all the drivers had to rush back out once the session started again. Lewis was behind all the other drivers and he barely crossed the starting line with less than a second left for the chequered flag.
Lewis being Lewis did not make any mistakes from then. He put in a decent lap to move into Q3. His first hot lap was good enough to put him on pole. The second hot lap was a scorcher, even better than the first and ensuring he was miles ahead of the rest.
Valtteri Bottas : Faltered when it mattered
Valtteri and the Russian GP normally go well together. He scored his first win here and almost won another time before team orders were given to swap places with Lewis. Valtteri was ahead in all the three practice sessions and even in Q1 and Q2 but failed when it really mattered. To rub salt in the wound, Max pipped him to take P2.
However all is not lost. Valtteri and Max are on mediums with Lewis on softs. Drag effect will come into picture with a very long straight. Valtteri has a good shot at getting a sling.
Good session for Max. Not so much for Albon
Max must be very happy with occupying the front row. He looked a bit of out of touch in all the practice sessions but got it all together when it mattered. He must be really looking forward to get the slip stream of Lewis and lead the race.
Teammate Alex Albon however seemed to have struggled with the balance in all the sessions. He barely scraped through to Q3 and will be starting P10.
Sergio packs a solid punch. Lance out in Q2
Sergio looks dejected after being thrown out of the Racing Point team, very much like Vettel and Ferrari. Unlike Vettel, Sergio want to put his heart in all remaining races left. Teammate Lance got the new upgrades here at the Russian GP, as he is ahead in the points table. This despite the fact that the parts scarcity is there because of Lance’s crash at Mugello. The Mexican put his everything when it mattered and will be starting from the second row of the grid at P4.
Lance unfortunately could not do much even with the upgrades. His car had engine heating issues after the session re-started in Q2 and had to step out of the car. He will be starting P13, much much behind his team mate.
Oh Ferrari! 2020 is not for you
Fortune and luck seem to have left Ferrari in 2020. Murphy is in full flow.
Ferrari got the aero upgrades here but they did little to help improve the team’s performance. The heart of the problem is their engine and there is isn’t much they can do about it. Still they looked decent enough to crack the top 10.
Alas that did not happen. Vettel spun in Q2, breaking his front wing and bringing out the red flag. He will be starting P15.
Teammate Charles Leclerc barely escaped from the aftermath of Vettel’s crash. He looked good to get into Q3 but barely missed it, starting at P11, as Lewis put in a hot lap and jumped in Q3, just in the nick of time.
Renault and McLaren are looking good for tomorrow.
Both Renault and McLaren had good practice sessions. Daniel Ricciardo looked in fine touch, extracting the max from his car. He will be starting P5 with teammate Esteban Ocon at P7.
Between them will be the future Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz at P6. Lando did a decent job and he will be staring P8.
Gasly did a good job, coming in at P9 ahead of Alex Albon, again.
One more person to punch above his weight was George Russell. He got into Q2 after a long time. Ferrari powered HAAS and Alpha Romeo are the back benchers.
Russian GP Quali Classification :-
With Lewis on the softs but Valtteri and Max on the mediums, expect a thrilling start to the Russian GP!!