Grand Prix 2020 Russian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

The 2020 Russian GP will be the 7th time the F1 circus has visited Sochi and on all previous occasions the race has been won by a driver in a Mercedes Benz. There were two previous Russian Grands Prix, way back in 1913 and 1914, and both of these were also won by a Benz. I suspect, barring some major incident or accident, we will see a Mercedes win in 2020 and most likely car 44.

Russia has tried to organise a GP in the modern era quite a few times before we got to Sochi. A street race around Moscow was mooted back in the 80's, the Moscow Raceway was completed in 2012 and a variety of different formula and motorcycle races were held but never F1. 2010 saw the first Russian driver in F1, when Vitaly Petrov drove for Renault, and this added impetus to getting a Russian event up and running.

Bernie Ecclestone wanted it either in Moscow or Sochi, host of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and so the Sochi Autodrom was born, set in the Olympic Park.

We have seen some wild incidents in the last two races. The start at Sochi has given us some moments, including the infamous "torpedo" involving Sebastian Vettel and Dani Kyvat. Unfortunately the rest of the races, with the exception of 2015, have been fairly processional and I have a feeling 2020 is likely to be the same. Perhaps Pirelli can bring some dodgy rubber along to equip the teams but after the problems encountered at many races this year I expect the Italian tyre company to be very conservative on a street circuit. Failing rubber and close walls do not good bed fellows make for F1 cars.

What else can I tell you? I'm told Sochi is a wonderful city and it is well worth visiting its historic monuments, including the fountain of Cupid in the Arboretum and the monument to Peter 1st in the seaport. Mount Akhun sits in the Khostinsky District of Sochi and is 663m high.

Enjoy
 
That pointless penalty ruined the race. With Lewis starting on soft tires it was going to be a very interesting race. Instead they chose to pre decide the outcome to punish a driver for an action which have him no competitive advantage.
 
That is what it looked like with the Alpha Tauri s forming a train whilst Red Bulls bolted.

I don't know if Bottas was aware but he gave Verstappen a tow

However Hamilton is on the sorts so will not scamper away compared to Bottas and Verstappen on medium
 
I understood the time penalties but points should be reserved for dickhead driving which this wasn’t so not surprised they rescinded and opted for team fine given they said he was allowed. Just a shame they gave the points in the first place.
Max said it was harsh so it must have been.
 
i thought was alright & by no means the worse race of the season. was thriller in comparison to Spain & Belgium. same as most GPs it was intriguing & ran out of steam with 15laps to go

it slam dunk on safety grounds. but its not Lewis Hamilton fault. its the Mercedes pitwall. who should spend next 2 weeks reading the rulebook as thats twice lewis has asked. only to get penalised because mercedes were wrong. but you cant be doing starts there. i saw the onboard & you got cars doing 150mph out of the pits. & thats a potential webber heikki 2010 crash 2 cars out before the starts

 
Penalty for Ricciardo seemed very harsh to me. On that corner the driver is expected to know that they're not going to make the apex and therefore decide to go straight on and around the bollard, but when it's a lockup situation the instinct must be to try to wrestle it through - they have very little time to make that judgement.

Still he didn't complain so maybe it's just me. Issuing penalties is just about the only thing keeping fans energised at the moment.
 
Bottas' comments and behaviour after this race are cringeworthy and the signs of frustration and desperation.
shouldve been to my critics. in 1 of the most dominant cars in F1 history. ive finally won more races this season than gasly has in a alpha tauri
 
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Bottas' comments and behaviour after this race are cringeworthy and the signs of frustration and desperation.

I don't understand his issue. There are worse places to be than the number two driver in the fastest team. Barrichello should give him a call.
 
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