Russian Grand Prix 2017: Preview and Weekend Times

Opening hours

Friday April 28

Free 1: 10:00-11:30 (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Full broadcast at 14pm on RaiSport/Rai Sport HD

Free 2: 14:00-15:30 (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Full broadcast at 18pm on RaiSport/Rai Sport HD

Saturday April 29

Free 3: 11:00-12:00 (Sky Sport F1 HD)

Full broadcast at 15pm on RaiSport/Rai Sport HD

Qualifying: 14pm (Sky Sport F00 HD)

Full broadcast at 18pm on Rai40

Sunday April 30

Race: 14pm ̶ 00 laps ̶ 53km (Sky Sport F309,745 HD)

Full broadcast at 21pm on Rai10

* all times indicated refer to Italy: there is a 1 hour difference between Italy and Russia

Previous race

Ferrari has scored another winning shot at the start of the 2017 World Championship, with Sebastian Vettel on the top step of the podium in the third round in Bahrain. The Ferrari driver capitalized on a winning strategy with an excellent start, a safety car that this time played in favor of the Cavallino garage, and a single-seater that can now be loudly asserted to be on par with the sacred monsters of Brackley . The fight with Mercedes is officially open. The question is: will Russia give us a new two-way challenge, or will Red Bull, spotted filming in the dunes of Sakhir, also enter the fight?

Predictions from F1GrandPrix.it

It is the fourth time that the Circus lands in Sochi, on a track where Ferrari only reached the podium twice, and where the 2016 edition smiled more on Raikkonen than on Vettel. This year things could change, while we feel like saying that the Red will once again be in the front row battling it out with Mercedes. The Sochi track is gentle on the tires but requires a high aerodynamic load, which is why Red Bull is also expected. The engine also requires a considerable effort due to the very long straights: we will therefore have to see how the single-seaters will respond in terms of reliability. The challenge between Mercedes and Ferrari will certainly hold sway on this occasion too. We must ask ourselves, and hope, whether the protagonists will always be the "spearheads" of their respective teams or whether Bottas and Raikkonen will also play on equal terms with the big names.

Circuit

Name: Sochi Autodrom

Place: Sochi, Russia

Construction: the agreement to host the grand prix in Sochi was signed in 2010 between the group of companies formula 1 and the promoters of the GP, OJSC Center Omega, in the presence of Putin, who provided considerable support for the construction of the track and the Olympic town which hosted the winter games in 2014. The track was designed like many others by architect Hermann Tilke and has a capacity of around 55.000 seats, alternating fast sections with more technical ones. However, it is a semi-city route, which includes approximately two km of roads normally open to traffic.

Distance per lap: 5,848 km

Number of curves: 18, twelve on the right, six on the left

Direction of travel: clockwise

Technical data:

Aerodynamic Load:	Low	Medium	High
Throttle opening: 56% of the lap.
Fuel Consumption per Lap: 1,89 kg/rev.
Full speed: 330 km/h
Safety Car possibilities: Present in several = 50%
Travel time in the pit lane with stop: 29 seconds
Overtaking possibilities:	Easy-to-use	Medium	Difficult
Winners from Pole Position: 2, on two editions raced on this track
Worst Starting Position for a Winner: second (Hamilton 2015)

Characteristics of the Track: This circuit subjects the engine to high stress, as full throttle is required for approximately 60% of the lap. Furthermore, curve two subjects the engine fluids to a lateral acceleration of more than 3 g for more than six seconds. A high aerodynamic load is also required to allow the cars to remain glued to the asphalt in the numerous medium-high speed curves. On this track there are 62 gear changes per lap, approximately 3.286 in the entire GP. The hourly average is around 212 km/h.

Brakes:

Circuit Category:	Light	Medium	Hard
Number of Brakes: 12
Time Spent Braking: 19% of the lap
Energy Dissipated in Braking During the GP: 134 kWh
Total Load on the Brake Pedal during the GP: 71.020 kg
More challenging braking: the first braking at turn 2

Rubber:

Tires 2016:	ultrasoft	supersoft	Soft Drinks	Medium	Hard
Tire Stress	1	2	3	4	5
Lateral stresses	1	2	3	4	5
Abrasiveness Asphalt	1	2	3	4	5
Grip Asphalt	1	2	3	4	5
Total number of Pits 2016: 25
Winning Strategy 2016: Supersoft (21) -> Soft (32) Rosberg
Longest Stints 2016: Supersoft 27 Laps (Ericsson) – Soft 41 Laps (Sainz) – Medium 51 Laps (Kvyat)

DRS zone: on the straight before turn 2 (with detection point just after the last bend) and on the straight between turn 10 and turn 13 (with detection point just before turn 10).

Previous Editions

2014 edition: on Friday morning, at the end of the first free practice, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) finishes with the best time ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and from Jenson Button (McLaren – Mercedes), in the afternoon it was the Anglo-Caribbean who set the best time. Finally, in FP3 on Saturday morning, Hamilton always prevailed ahead of Rosberg and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari). Qualifying: Hamilton dominates in Q1, Q2 and of course Q3, obtaining 38th^a career pole ahead of his teammate, followed by Bottas, Button, Kvyat, Magnussen (then dropped 5 positions due to the gearbox replacement), Ricciardo, Alonso, Rӓikkӧnen and Vergne to close the top ten. Race: ready to go and Rosberg immediately tries a desperate attack to take the lead but goes very far, flattening the front tyres, effectively excluding himself from the fight for the victory as he is forced to return to the pits to change the set, with him also Felipe Massa. Behind the leader we now find Bottas, Button and Alonso, who are unable to close the gap. Behind Vergne he loses three positions while both Rosberg and Massa begin to make up position after position, so much so that by the 20th lap the German is already in the points while the other drivers have made their first stop, opened by Ricciardo on the twelfth lap. At the 26th^a Stop again for Alonso who loses precious time due to a problem fixing a wheel, Bottas takes advantage while Hamilton firmly maintains the lead. In the meantime, Rosberg managed to grab seventh place and continues his furious climb. Mercedes' superiority is so evident that Nico can afford not to make a second stop and thus move into second position ahead of Bottas, who however manages to set the fastest lap at the end of the race for the first time in F1. The situation up front doesn't change and after 53 laps Lewis Hamilton wins, bringing his lead to +17 over Rosberg, second step of the podium; Valtteri Bottas third. Thanks to this result, Mercedes wins the constructors' title for the first time in its F1 career.

2015 edition: Before even hitting the track, some agreements are made official. Manor confirms that from 2016 it will mount Mercedes power units as part of the mechanics Williams and Petronas fuel. There McLaren sign with Jenson Button another year behind the wheel, there Renault sign a letter of intent with Lotus for the acquisition of the team at the end of the season. Thus Friday arrives: in FP1 we have three Germans at the top, with Nico Hülkenberg (Force India) ahead of Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari). In FP2 the two Williams of Massa and Bottas always finishing with Vettel. Saturday: in the last free practices Nico Rosberg sets the best time ahead of Bottas and teammate Hamilton. Qualifying: Carlos Sainz Jr. does not take part following an accident in FP3. In Q1, Q2 and Q3 Nico Rosberg is always the best, winning the eighteenth pole ahead of Hamilton, Bottas, the two Ferraris, the two Force India, Grosjean, Verstappen and Ricciardo close the top 10. Race: poleman Nico Rosberg maintains the lead of the race, defending himself from Lewis Hamilton's attack, Valtteri Bottas is third, ahead of compatriot Kimi Räikkönen, who passes Sebastian Vettel. Shortly afterwards Räikkönen also overtakes Bottas, snatching third place from him. However, the safety car comes in following a contact between Hülkenberg and Ericsson. At the restart Bottas regains third place, while Rosberg's race ends on lap 7 due to a broken accelerator, Hamilton takes the lead. On the twelfth lap Romain Grosjean loses control of his Lotus, and crashes into the barriers: the safety car is sent back onto the track and remains there for four laps, during which the drivers make stops. However, we have to wait another twenty laps to witness some important overtaking, as Vettel firmly takes second position, while behind Sergio Pérez he finds the two Finns close behind, all fighting for the lowest step of the podium. On the fifty-second lap the Mexican, having trouble with his tyres, was passed and gradually lost ground. The battle between Bottas and Räikkönen begins, ending with a collision between the two on the last lap. Hamilton thus went on to win ahead of Vettel and an incredulous Pérez, who thanked the two Nordics who were now out of the race.

2016 edition: In Free Practice 1 on Friday, Nico Rosberg opened the proceedings with the best time ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, followed in fourth place by the faithful Kimi. The Red brings an engine update that seems to bring it closer to the Silver Arrows. In the afternoon, however, it was Hamilton who showed off himself, ending the first day in the lead, with Vettel and Rosberg behind him. The German's Ferrari, despite second place, raised the white flag 30 minutes before the start of the second session due to an electrical problem. Raikkonen does not move from fourth place, while Red Bull and Williams chase the leading group. Free Practice 3 still sees Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel as protagonists, respectively in this order, with Kimi once again bringing up the rear of the leading group. Qualifying: the battle in Q1 was immediately close between the two Silver Arrows, with Rosberg ultimately gaining the upper hand ahead of his teammate, Vettel and Raikkonen, while Sauber, Renault and Manor were the first to abandon the field. In Q2 the situation did not change, with Hamilton however being recalled by the stewards for not having returned to the track correctly after a long period during Q1. The Briton was not punished but at the start of Q3 his power unit withdrew and Nico Rosberg was given the green light. The German easily took pole position ahead of Bottas, Raikkonen, Massa, Ricciardo, Perez and Vettel, the latter relegated from second to seventh position due to the gearbox replacement following the accident with Raikkonen at the start of the Chinese GP. Race: Start with a bang in Sochi, with Nico Rosberg who sprints from pole undisturbed, while all hell immediately breaks loose behind him at the first corner. The one who loses out is Ferrari of Vettel, which is touched several times by the Red Bull of Kvyat and with the punctured tire he ends up against the barriers at turn 3. Race over for the German, while at the start Raikkonen managed to pass the Williams of Bottas and Hamilton further behind he climbed up to fifth position. After the initial crash the safety car brings everyone back into line. Rosberg leads the group ahead of Raikkonen, Bottas, Massa, Hamilton, Verstappen, Alonso, Groskjean, Magnussen and Palmer. At the start at the rear Hulkenberg was also involved in an accident and the Force India is forced to retire. On lap 4 the safety comes back and Bottas immediately attacks Raikkonen, snatching second place from him. Hamilton takes fourth place over Massa. The accident between Vettel and Kvyat is put under investigation with the Russian getting 10 seconds of stop and go. On lap 7 Raikkonen is in Bottas' exhaust but Hamilton takes advantage of it and thus passes the Red. On lap 15 Rosberg is leader ahead of Bottas, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Massa, Verstappen, Alonso, Grosjean, Magnussen and Button. On lap 21 pit stop for Raikkonen, who returns ahead of Bottas. Rosberg rejoins the following lap and maintains the lead. Followed by Verstappen, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Bottas, Massa, Perez, Ericsson, Alonso and Ricciardo. The leader Rosberg has a 13 second advantage over Hamilton and on lap 33 he finds himself struggling with the lapped leaders, thus losing a small advantage over Hamilton. With twenty laps to go the German is still in the lead followed by Hamilton, Raikkonen, Bottas, Massa, Verstappen, Alonso, Magnussen, Grosjean and Perez. There Toro Rosso Verstappen retires with his engine smoking. Button is fighting with Sainz and manages to take the last place in the points in just a couple of laps. Rosberg heads undisturbed towards the finish line and goes on to win the Russian Grand Prix, making it his fourth consecutive victory of the season. Behind him Hamilton, Raikkonen, Bottas, Massa, Alonso, Magnussen, Grosjean, Perez and Button.

RECORD

Test lap: 1:35.417 – N Rosberg – Mercedes – 2016

Race Lap: 1:39.094 – N Rosberg – Mercedes – 2016

Distance: 1h31:50.744 – L Hamilton – Mercedes – 2014

Driver victories: 2 – L Hamilton

Team victories: 3 – Mercedes

Driver Pole: 2 – N Rosberg

Pole Team 3 – Mercedes

Best Driver Laps: 1 – V Bottas, S Vettel, N Rosberg

Best Team Laps: 1 – Williams-Mercedes, Ferrari, Mercedes

Driver podiums: 2 – L Hamilton

Team podiums: 4 – Mercedes

Hall of Fame

1. 2014 L Hamilton – Mercedes
2. 2015 L Hamilton – Mercedes
3. 2016 N Rosberg – Mercedes

Sources: Brembo, Pirelli, Magneti Marelli