The Russian GP at Sochi Autodrom always brings back so many unforgettable memories from the 2017 season, when I got the chance to spend four memorable days at the paddock, watching the free practice sessions at the Ferrari garage and interviewing Sebastian Vettel in front of the Ferrari motor home. It gives a wonderful personal touch to the F1 weekend, when you have actually made the track walk yourself!
The Ferraris came out on the medium compound at the beginning of the first session. Sebastian was pushing hard and made a mistake in the second sector, ending up wide at Turn 13, so the quadruple world champion was unable to set a competitive lap time. Teammate Charles, on the other hand, set the screens purple and went on the top. However, Hamilton snatched the top spot a moment later, due to his softer tyres. Red Bull's Verstappen proved strong as well, ending up only a tenth shy of Hamilton's benchmark. Sebastian was on his second flyer, as Red Bull's Albon hit the kerb and crashed into the tyre wall, which brought out the red flag. Sebastian's flyer was ruined, and the German was in P19, with 6:38 remaining in the clock. The red flag episode forced Sebastian to come out on the softs at the end of Q1. Sebastian's pace on the soft Pirellis was absolutely convincing, and he set the fastest lap time with a two-tenth margin to Hamilton. Both Verstappen and Leclerc sat out the second runs, as they had no need to improve. Unfortunately Kimi's pace at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo left a lot to hope for. The Iceman made a mistake on his last run, and the Finn was knocked out of Q2 by his teammate Giovinazzi, who was the last driver to make it into the second session. It was such a shame, that Kimi missed out on Q2 by 0.085s only! Toro Rosso's Kvyat didn't set a lap time at all, as the home hero had been handed multiple grid penalties for power unit element changes, and the Russian was to start from the back of the grid in front of his home crowd.
In terms of a single lap pace, Mercedes seemed to be the underdog compared to the Red Team. That's why the Silver Arrows opted for a different tyre strategy in Q2. Both Hamilton and Bottas came out on the medium rubber, whilst all others opted for the red-walled soft compound. Once again, Charles stamped his authority all over the place, pipping teammate Sebastian by seven tenths on his first run! Verstappen in third and Hamilton in fourth were separated by one thousandth of a second only, and Bottas in fifth was only about a hundredth of a second off his teammate. Everyone came out at the end of Q2, as the track conditions kept improving throughout the session. Sebastian managed to improve his lap time on his last flyer, but was still a tenth down on his pace-setting teammate. Mercedes teammates had difficulties to match the red cars' pace. Haas' Grosjean was responsible for the most positive surprise in Q2, as the Frenchman made it as high as P6, whilst teammate Magnussen was knocked out of Q3. Alongside with the Dane, out of Q3 were Toro Rosso's Gasly, the Racing Point duo of Perez and Stroll and Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi.
Charles continued his unbelievable form also in the last session. The Monegasque took provisional pole firmly in his hands, leaving Sebastian three tenths off the pace. Hamilton was half a second down on Charles, and teammate Bottas' gap to the provisional pole setter was massive eight tenths already. Verstappen in P4 was almost a second behind amazing Charles. At this point it seemed, that Ferrari were going to conquer the front row. Charles stroke again on his last flyer, slightly improving his lap time. Although Mercedes were struggling with their pace, Hamilton squeezed himself on the front row! Sebastian was left in P3 again, with two hundredths of a second shy of Hamilton. Once again Verstappen managed to out-qualify Bottas, who abandoned his last flyer due to a mistake of his own. However, the Dutchman's joy was only premature. Verstappen had been handed a 5-place grid penalty for a power unit element change, so he is dropped down to P9. Sainz qualified the best of the rest, and due to Verstappen's penalty the Spaniard will start to the race from P5. Renault's Hulkenberg will start alongside Sainz. McLaren's Norris and Haas' Grosjean will be on the fourth row, with Verstappen and Renault's Ricciardo completing the top ten.
The previous Ferrari driver, who scored four consecutive pole positions, was legendary Michael Schumacher back in 2001. These statistics tell a lot both about Charles' skills and the momentum, that he is having. The start straight into Turn 1 is extremely long at Sochi Autodrom, and Sebastian is passionate to challenge his teammate for the lead. The red-suited drivers will probably have a slight advantage on the Mercedes duo at the start, due to the soft tyres. Sochi offers plenty of chances for overtaking, so I'm sure tomorrow's race will be action-packed! I would love to see another 1-2 for Ferrari, preferably with Sebastian on the top step of the podium!
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