Russian GP – Mercedes mocks its rivals, a melancholy podium for Ferrari

From Russia with…bitterness. Powerless and annihilated in the face of the excessive power of Mercedes, defenseless in the face of such a display of unstoppable strength. The Russian GP gives us a Ferrari with bones and morale in pieces, disappointed and angry, unmotivated and at the total mercy of Mercedes, with that world dream that seems to be blaspheming just to say it now.

The Teutonic band jokes, does what it wants and plays the triumphal march in the defenseless silence of its rivals. Nico Rosberg he is a devil disguised as an angel, a clean face and the determination of a champion. Pole, victory, fastest lap and always in the lead. They call him Grand Chelem, he only succeeded the greatest, people like Clark, Senna, Schumacher. Rosberg is as underestimated as he is embittered by two years of defeats, his turning point coincides with the crisis of Lewis Hamilton. Already Lewis; the isolated (pop) star, the caballero de la sad figure who stands in a corner with headphones during the drivers' parade, a highly paid champion to whom Brackley does not recognize the status of first driver, quite the opposite. So many smiles for Rosberg, perfect image man, good guy, German who wins with a German car. Everything was perfect, like the 100 points in four races that landed Hamilton, unable to even pop the champagne on the podium for second place.

But the one who is worse off is there Ferrari. The brave but unlucky red-white. And yes, they tried it in Maranello. Sincere applause for the attempt. The single-seater is a new concept, from the aerodynamics to the PU. “Risk” is still the mantra of an Arrivabene diehard. All right except that the track was still, alas, merciless towards the Cavallino. There are all the ingredients to talk about a bad year, from constant reliability problems to misfortunes of various kinds. But it is a fact that Ferrari has nurtured an almost unachievable mid-winter dream and that indeed the gap with Mercedes on tracks like this one here - all engine-driven and where you have to push "hard" on the tires - is downright embarrassing. The fastest lap set by Rosberg on the last lap is a rather clear, if not destructive, message. Hell Mercedes, where hope now also lies.

It is a fact that for Ferrari, despite the clear skies of southern Russia, it also rained in the wet. Captain Sebastian Vettel in a handful of curves he was harassed, crucified, almost persecuted, by the blurred madness of an unrecognizable Kvyat. Double, shocking collision, with the Russian losing his bearings in his home GP, clouded by nervousness and pressure that have deep roots.

At twenty-two Daniil Kvyat he faced his home GP starting from a double basic misunderstanding: an announced, arrogant, only theoretical competitiveness of Red Bull and a seat that seems to slip out from under him. “This is how I treat my drivers, they have to be on their toes" congratulations to Dr. Marko, capable of "charging" kids and then burning them as if they were objects, mistaking human beings for pawns on a constantly evolving chessboard. Red Bull is also good at announcing themselves as anti-Mercedes in the first place, only to disappear as soon as they set foot on the track. Kvyat made a mistake, it was a black flag, but the one admired in Russia is a boy in confusion also and above all due to the inhuman pressure placed on him.

In a picture already tinged with melancholy red, it is a national sport to rage against it Kimi Raikkonen, the boiled meat from the next corner. It goes without saying that Kimi was actually not very reactive at the restart, making the wrong tactic against the Williams, but from then on the Finn did his best, outwitting his compatriot Bottas in the stopping game and taking Ferrari to the podium. Probably, excluding the blinkered critics, Raikkonen is the only happy note about this Ferrari. Concrete, capable of "replacing" Vettel when unfortunate circumstances require it, already on the podium twice in four races. Kimi is there, and it is ungenerous and unfair to continue to say that Ferrari races with only one driver. It's a leitmotiv cloying, not supported by facts.

In Russia we saw a juggling Williams, in England 2015 style, capable of dreaming and shutting down, but still bringing home concrete results. I revive Valtteri Bottas and regulate the evergreen Felipe Massa. However, he is a hero of the day - like Achilles who returns to battle after the death of Patroclus Fernando Alonso. Indomitable warrior capable of hoisting himself up to a noble sixth position with the little stuff that is McLaren-Honda, confirming in the race how much he still can and must give to F1.

However, McLaren is worth keeping an eye on, a radical project that follows paths unknown to others, almost mysterious. And after a year we moved from the Manor zone to the points zone (Button tenth). Points also for Kevin Magnussen (the first with Renault and of Renault, well done) and Romain Grosjean, a welcome return with the Haas-Ferrari surprise.

But the Russian GP left us ideas and stories to tell, certainly not emotions. The race ended on the twenty-fifth lap when all the big names had made their only pit stop. It's absurd to race on such monotonous basins with big, "hope-killing" ninety bends, even more absurd to do it with tires that don't degrade in the slightest. A hymn to unprecedented monotony, a procession that was liked only by those who led it from start to finish. To that Rosberg who laughs heartily and who never stops removing annoying Caribbean beach sand from his shoes.

Antonino Rendina

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