Russian Grand Prix Tag

Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen set the pace in the opening practice session for this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, beating Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas by 0.045 at the Sochi Autodrom. Bottas’ team-mate Lewis Hamilton was third, more than half a second off the pace. After running on soft tyres early on, Räikkönen’s time of 1:36.074 came midway through the session, with the Finn bolting on a set of supersofts to better the earlier efforts of the Mercedes drivers on the same compounds. Hamilton had made the early running but it was Bottas whoRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief For the fourth consecutive year, Formula One heads to Sochi for the Russian Grand Prix. Mercedes is undefeated since F1’s return there in 2014, with Lewis Hamilton taking the first two events and reigning F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg taking last year’s race. Our friends from Mobil 1 The Grid have brought together an on-board lap around the 3.634-mile circuit. Video Credit: Mobil 1 The GridRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Russian and Canadian Grands Prix have signed contract extensions prolonging deals already in place. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dimitry Kozak broke the news to Russia’s state news agency Tass that the Sochi race now has a contract in place through 2025. It is a five year extension of the original deal that ran from 2014, when the Winter Olympics were held at some of the same facilities, through the year 2020. Canada too has announced a contract extension, an even longer one that will seeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The tire compounds for the Bahrain and Russian Grand Prix, the third and fourth races of the 2017 Formula 1 season, have been announced by Pirelli. The third round will feature medium, soft and super-soft compound selections – the same as last season. For round four, the Italian manufacturer has decided to go with its traditional super-soft and soft rubber, but also added ultra-softs to Sochi circuit. 2017 will see a change in tires in F1, with a new era of regulations both bigger and widerRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Word on the street is that Daniil Kvyat’s days at Red Bull Racing may be numbered. His clumsy double punting of Sebastian Vettel in the opening of last weekend’s Russian Grand Prix may well be the undoing of the promising young Russian’s season. According to multiple reports Red Bull boss Helmut Marko, not one to show mercy, may swap Kvyat with Max Verstappen for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix. The move, which sounds unusually harsh even by Marko’s standards, may be more strategic than the kneeRead More

Mercedes are FIA Formula One Constructors’ Champions elect, with the team taking an unassailable lead in the team title standings after Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen received a post-race penalty for causing a collision in today’s Russian Grand Prix. Drivers’ Championship leader Lewis Hamilton won the race, but his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg dropped out of the race after seven laps with a throttle problem. With Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finishing second and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen crossing the line in fifth place, Mercedes did not have a sufficient advantage in the standings toRead More

Lewis Hamilton moved within touching distance of a third F1 drivers’ title as he took a dominant Russian Grand Prix victory ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, while Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg retired from the race with a mechanical failure soon after the start of the race. Hamilton’s 42nd win also saw him surpass boyhood hero Ayrton Senna’s career wins total. With Vettel second, Sergio Perez claimed his and Force India’s first podium finish of the year, the Mexican profiting from a final-lap collision involving Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s KimiRead More

Nico Rosberg took his second consecutive pole position and his third of the season in Sochi, beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the front of the Russian Grand Prix grid by three tenths of a second. Third place in the session went to Williams’ Valtteri Bottas. The first segment saw Mercedes Nico Rosberg go quickest with a lap of 1:38.343 that left him just over a tenth of a second ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton was third fastest in the second Mercedes ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Felipe MassaRead More

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner does not expect any power unit upgrades from Renault until Formula One goes to Sochi for the Russian Grand Prix. The lack of upgrades hurts both Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso as the pair will have to race at Spa, Monza, Singapore and Suzuka before any performance improvements. As it stands, Renault has 12 development tokens remaining to use with expectations they will improve the V6 and turbo. The upgrades would only come into play for the final five races on the calendar.Read More

The FIA has released a record 21-race schedule for the 2016 Formula 1 season. The calendar features several changes, including a new circuit, Baku, in Azerbaijan. The 3.75-mile street circuit will host the European Grand Prix for the first time ever in July. The 2016 season will start later than usual, with the Australian Grand Prix not set to kickoff until April 3. Malaysia swaps with Sochi, with the Russian Grand Prix moving to May 1 and the Malaysian Grand Prix taking place on September 25, a week after Singapore.Read More