The Russian GP weekend brings back so many immemorial moments from last year, when I got the unforgettable chance to witness the F1 action at the paddock and Ferrari garage. I will never forget the day, when I had the chance to sit down with the Ferrari star driver Sebastian Vettel and interview him for my blog… It was a miraculous moment, a dream come true. Now I'm living in a whole different world. A fortnight ago I was extremely happy, as my youngest son was recovering from the cancer treatments and he kept feeling better every day. Now my world has turned around again, as my middle son has just been diagnosed with cancer. I can't believe this is true! I must be going through a terrible nightmare… How is it possible, that two children in the same family get cancer? I guess it's more likely to win in a lottery than to get a cancer diagnosis twice in the same family during one year! So not even Formula 1 made my day too bright today. However, I desperately needed something else than cancer to think about… Even for a fleeting moment.
Q1 saw everyone come out on the pink-walled hyper-soft Pirellis. The first segment revealed interesting details in terms of the pecking order of the top teams. Mercedes turned out the leading team, as Hamilton went fastest, with teammate Bottas half a second off the Briton. The Red Bull drivers decided to do one attempt only, at the very end of the session. The Red Bull duo's pace was very competitive, as Verstappen was third and teammate Ricciardo fourth. I have to say Ferrari's pace seemed quite worrying, as Sebastian in sixth was full one second off Hamilton's pace! Kimi's P5 wasn't too convincing, either. There were no surprises in terms of the drop out zone. Toro Rosso's Hartley, the McLaren duo of Alonso and Vandoorne and the Williams duo of Sirotkin and Stroll were eliminated from Q2.
Like expected, both Mercedes and Ferrari sent their drivers out on the purple-marked ultra-soft tyres. The two top teams were rolling the dice strategically to see if they could squeak through the segment on the more hardy tyres and gain an advantage in the race. Hamilton continued where he had left off in the first segment, setting the fastest lap time in Q2 as well. This time Bottas was closer, only 0.149s shy of his teammate. Sebastian was third and Kimi fourth, these two being separated by two hundredths of a second only. Q2 saw the Red Bull drivers and Toro Rosso's Gasly not bother to go out at all, as all three of them were to face a grid penalty due to power unit element changes. Also the Renault drivers Hulkenberg and Sainz opted to give the segment a miss, to allow them a free tyre choice in the race. This meant, that drivers like Sauber's Ericsson got a free pass through to Q3. The Mercedes and the Ferraris came out on the hyper-softs at the end of the session. Hamilton set the screens purple in the first two sectors but slowed down in the final sector. Neither one of these top four drivers improved his lap time in the end. Sauber's Leclerc was impressively the best of the rest, claiming P5 in the second segment.
Although Hamilton had set the benchmark in Q1 and Q2, the last segment belonged to Bottas. The Finn laid down a marker early in the final segment, going fastest in the first runs. Hamilton got extremely close, as the British title contender was only four thousandths of a second down on the flying Finn. Ferrari proved unable to match the pace of the Silver Arrows. Sebastian in third was massive six tenths shy of Bottas, followed by teammate Kimi. The shootout for pole was down to the Mercedes teammates. Hamilton blitzed the first sector but ran wide through Turn 7 and had to abort the lap. Bottas has never been outqualified by a teammate at Sochi, not this time either! Bottas snatched over a tenth off his own benchmark, snatching his second pole of the season. Hamilton made it a front row lock-out for the Silver Arrows. Sebastian had a tame first sector on his final run, and the German was a full half second off the ultimate pace. Kimi, on the other hand, made a mistake in the final sector of his last run. The Iceman locked the second row for the Scuderia. In the final results Haas' Magnussen was the best of the midfield, claiming P5. Force India's Ocon qualified 6th and Sauber's Leclerc 7th. Perez was 8th in the sister Force India, with Haas' Grosjean and Sauber's Ericsson completing the top ten respectively.
Last year, in front of my very eyes, Bottas managed to snatch the lead from P3. I hope it's an omen for tomorrow! Sebastian has every opportunity to make it in the lead with a perfect start. The start will be his best chance, as overtaking isn't easy at Sochi Autodrom. The Red Bull duo of Ricciardo and Verstappen will start to the race from the back of the grid, most likely on the ultra-soft Pirellis. It's certainly interesting to see, how far up they will be able to climb during the race. It would be against the odds, was there not a safety car episode in the race. The pressure is all on Sebastian, as he desperately needs to finish the race ahead of Hamilton, to keep his championship hopes alive. I'm confident I'll see a strong fight from the Red Team tomorrow. I believe in Sebastian and Kimi -always. Go Sebastian! Go Kimi! Forza Ferrari!
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