Kimi Räikkönen & Sebastian Vettel

Kimi Räikkönen & Sebastian Vettel

lauantai 26. syyskuuta 2020

Russian GP / Qualifying: Verstappen made it on the front row alongside Hamilton!

Formula 1 definitely brings joy into my weekend. I have been on a sick leave since Monday; I have found myself in a situation, where I have completely run out of energy and strength and where I don't feel well either physically or mentally. I still don't know, whether this is about burn out or depression or a combination of those two. It has been 1.5 years only since I lost my 16-year-old son Samuel, so instead of judging myself I'm trying to feel compassion for myself. I have tried to focus on things, that bring me joy, such as walking in the forest and swimming in the lake, which gets colder and colder every week. When I don't feel well, I tend to isolate myself from the outside world, but now I have consciously tried to see people and not to leave myself outside alone. I'm so happy, that it's Formula 1 weekend, which gives me other things to think about in this difficult time.

Russian GP weekend couldn't have come at a better time. Sochi brings back so many memories from 2017! In April 2017 life was perfect! I lived a four-day fairy-tale at the coast of the Black Sea. Those days and all those experiences and wonderful memories give me so much strength.

Qualifying was expected to be a Mercedes show, as Mercedes have won every race at Sochi. Bottas had shown top form in the free practice sessions, and the Finn went fastest at the beginning of the first session. Teammate Hamilton's lap time, on the other hand, was deleted due to exceeding the track limits at Turn 1. Perez in his "pink Mercedes" was second, followed by teammate Stroll and Red Bull's Verstappen. Against the odds, the Dutchman had set his lap time on the medium compound. Meanwhile, Leclerc jumped third, whilst teammate Sebastian was down in 7th, massive two seconds off the pace. Having completed a cool-down lap, Hamilton headed for another flyer, which saw him jump second in the standings. At the closing stages of Q1, everyone rushed out, trying to find an optimal track position for their last flyer. Kimi at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo made a mistake in Turn 1, spinning and losing the lap. Unfortunately the Iceman was out of Q2. There was a close fight for P3 in the end. First Renault's Ocon jumped third, but a short moment later AlphaTauri's Kvyat deprived the Frenchman of the third place. Charles, who didn't even come out at the end of the session, ended up 14th fastest. In spite of his second run, Sebastian was only able to make it P15, being the last driver to make it into Q2. In addition to both Alfa Romeos and both Haas, also Williams' Latifi got knocked out of the second session.

It was no surprise to see the Silver Arrows come out on the yellow-marked medium rubber. Expectedly, Verstappen opted for similar tyre strategy. This time it was Hamilton, who set the pace. McLaren's Sainz was a surprise second, as especially Bottas' middle sector had left a lot to hope for, and the Finn was nine tenths down on his teammate. At this point Norris in the sister McLaren was fourth and Ocon fifth. However, once again Hamilton's lap time was deleted due to not respecting the track limits -this time at Turn 18. Now there was Renault's Daniel Ricciardo on top of the standings! Ferrari's pace was everything but competitive, Charles being 9th and Sebastian 13th only. Verstappen, who had set his lap time on the mediums, was now in P7. It seemed, that the flying Dutchman was forced to switch to the softs for his second run. Bottas, on the other hand, made another flyer on the mediums, moving up to second. But last-minute drama brought a new twist to the otherwise predictable second session. On his second run, Sebastian lost the rear of his SF1000 in Turn 4, spinning and hitting the barriers. His front wing was smashed, and there was debris all over. Charles, who had been following his teammate closely, hit the debris and was about to hit his teammate's car! Red flags came out, with 2:15 remaining in the clock. At this point Hamilton had no time, and the reigning world champion was down in P15. With that little time left, it was surprising, how Hamilton stayed in the pit garage, whilst all his rival queued on the pit lane, waiting for the light to turn green. As the session was resumed, Hamilton was the last driver to head out! The Briton managed just barely to start his flyer in time. On the contrary to Sainz and Perez, who didn't reach the start line in time. On the soft Pirellis Hamilton had it easy to jump 4th, making his way into the final segment. Verstappen made a bold call to abort his last run on the soft tyres, to get the tyre advantage for tomorrow's race. His first run on the mediums entitled him to P9. It turned out to be another difficult day in the office for the Red Team, as in addition to Sebastian's shunt, Charles was the first driver to be eliminated from Q3. AlphaTauri's Kvyat and Williams' Russell were also out, accompanied by Racing Point's Stroll, whose "pink Mercedes" had been hit with a technical issue and who therefore had been unable to go for a second run. 

After the rhythm-braking second session, Hamilton was back on top form in Q3. And the margins were huge. The Briton took provisional pole by over seven tenths to his teammate! Valtteri told after qualifying, that he had had difficulties to get his tyres up to temperature on his first run. Verstappen was third and Ricciardo fourth. These ex teammates were separated by four thousandths of a second only. Perez was fifth for Racing Point, followed by Sainz (McLaren) and Ocon (Renault), who were also separated by a hundredth of a second only. It all came down to the second runs. Bottas managed to improve a little, but he still ended up half a second shy of his teammate's benchmark. And everyone, who follows F1 knows, that the end of Q3 means hammer time for Hamilton. The Briton absolutely nailed his second run, increasing the gap to Valtteri into over six tenths. Verstappen, too delivered at the end of the session, jumping second and making it on the front row for the first time in Sochi! Less than a tenth separated Max and Valtteri in the end. Perez completed the second row for Racing Point, which was an impressive result from the Mexican. The third row was conquered by Ricciardo and Sainz. Ocon qualified 7th in the sister Renault and Norris 8th in the sister McLaren. AlphaTauri's Gasly and Red Bull's Albon rounded out the top ten. Albon's result, P10 and 1.7s off the pace, is unacceptable, as Max has showed, what kind of potential the RB16 holds.

In Sochi if anywhere, pole is the most ungrateful place to start to the race. The straight into Turn 1 is the longest on the calendar, and the benefit from the tow has only increased this year. In addition to this, Hamilton is on more degradable tyre compound, as he starts to the race on the soft Pirellis, whilst Verstappen and Bottas are on more durable medium Pirellis. In 2017 Bottas had the most perfect acceleration from P3 into the lead. Will he be able to repeat it tomorrow? If Hamilton wins tomorrow, he'll equal Schumacher's record of most wins (91) in F1.

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