Nico took his 18th career victory today - his first at the Sochi Autodrom and fourth of the 2016 season. Lewis completed a second Silver Arrows 1-2 finish of the 2016 season in P2 with a battling performance from P10 on the grid. Nico set the fastest lap of the race - beating the previous best of 1:40.071 (VET, 2015) by just under a second (0.977s). Lewis produced a superbly controlled drive to manage a water pressure problem in the closing stages of the race and retain second position from Raikkonen.
Nico (100) leads the Drivers' Championship by 43 points from Lewis (57) in P2. Mercedes AMG Petronas (157) lead Ferrari (76) by 81 points in the Constructors' Championship
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: That race was anything but plain sailing today - it was a pretty stressful experience to get both cars home, and there was a point when we thought neither of them might make it to the flag. First of all, congratulations to Nico, he did a perfect job all weekend and controlled the race from the front once again. He didn't put a foot wrong and, when we faced an issue on the MGU-K during the middle part of the race, he was able to do all the necessary steps to keep it under control and bring it home. As for Lewis, he drove brilliantly. Some really good, aggressive passing manoeuvres and clever racing brought him to P2 - and he was just getting his head down to charge when we saw a water leak and he was losing water pressure. The only thing to do was ask him to back off to bring the car home and fortunately that meant the situation stabilised but cost him the chance of racing Nico. No doubt he will be thinking about what could have been today - but it was a fantastic recovery after such a tough moment in qualifying yesterday. A one-two finish is always something special and to be savoured, especially with the performance advantage we enjoyed this weekend. We are pushing hard this year and finding the limits of our car - but we need to get on top of our issues so the drivers can battle it out on track themselves. That's what we all want to see and what we will be working hard to achieve in the coming days before Barcelona.
Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): Coming into the race, the team did a fantastic job to get Lewis' car back into shape for the race in the right specification and preserving his tenth place on the grid under parc ferme restrictions. It was quite a dramatic start, from which our drivers fortunately emerged unscathed. The result, in fact, worked in their favour, with Nico comfortable at the front and Lewis moving up to fifth. After the re-start, Lewis made some fantastic overtaking moves on Massa and Raikkonen, then once again on Bottas following the first round of stops. This proved critical to his result. After Nico's stop, his car developed an MGU-K problem which we were able to manage to some extent but remained a concern to the end of the race. Then, shortly afterwards, Lewis' water pressure started to progressively drop. We encouraged him to ease off, which helped to a degree. But, in reality, this appeared to be a terminal situation and we were sitting for about 20 laps with our fingers crossed hoping the car would make it to the flag. By some miracle it did just that, which came as a huge relief after the difficulties of the weekend. Overall, it's great to get another one-two finish. But it's clear that we have more work to do in the days leading up to the next race to understand the series of problems experienced over the past two weekends.
Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and Felipe Massa fifth in today's Russian Grand Prix. Valtteri had a great start, running as high as second after overtaking Raikkonen in the early stages of the race. He made his only pitstop on lap 16 but ended up losing out to Hamilton and Raikkonen to remain comfortably fourth for the remainder of the race. Felipe maintained fourth place in the opening laps but eventually lost out to Hamilton. He stopped on lap 18 and remained comfortably in fifth, giving him enough of a gap to make a second pitstop for supersoft tyres as he began struggling with degradation on the soft tyre. The team picked up 22 points, which has helped close the gap to third-placed Red Bull to just six points in the Constructors' Championship.
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: It was a good race, and it was a really good weekend. Every day we got our heads down and have done what we needed to do. The car performance is going forward, even in race trim today. We had improving pace against Ferrari and Mercedes and that's what we need to keep heading towards. I think our pace against Red Bull this weekend has been really good; they've had a bad weekend and we've absolutely capitalised on that. Felipe's tyres were degrading a bit towards the end so we made a precautionary stop and let him run on the supersofts again, as we had enough of a margin to easily stop him and retain fifth. The race played out just as we expected it to really, so it was very good from that point of view. We've gained 22 points over Red Bull and Toro Rosso, so that's really good, and third is well within our sights now; we just have to keep heading towards it. As I've mentioned before, we've developed the car a lot, but we need another two or three tenths, and we just need to keep developing it, in all areas. Nobody is free from finding performance in Formula One, and certainly not at Williams, but I think we got the most we could have done out of today.
Christian Horner, Team Principal: "Unfortunately our race concluded at Turn One for both our drivers. It looked like Dany misjudged his braking and hit the rear of Sebastian's car who in turn hit Daniel causing significant damage to both our cars. This lead to a double pit stop for new front wings. From there Daniel did what he could with the damage to his car to finish in 11th and Dany in 15th. It has been a frustrating day for the team as obviously we gave away a lot of points. Dany hasn't been involved in an incident like this before and I am sure he will learn from it. Apologies to Sebastian as well, it's not the race any of us wanted."
Sahara Force India scored two points in today's Russian Grand Prix as Sergio Perez delivered a strong recovery drive after suffering a lap one puncture. Nico Hulkenberg was out of luck after being hit by Esteban Gutierrez at turn two, which ended his race.
Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer: "It was another race in which we didn't fully reap the rewards of our work. Unfortunately, both our drivers fell victim to incidents at turn two, neither of which were their fault. Nico's race was over immediately, while Sergio had to make his way back to the pits with a puncture and re-joined last. From there on, we were able to display some good pace as Checo made his way through the pack, got back into the points and closed in on Grosjean. Despite having superior pace we couldn't progress any higher on this track which proved very difficult for overtaking. It means we leave Sochi with mixed emotions. Without the incidents on lap one, we would have been at the front of the midfield pack and with the pace to stay there. At least we can take encouragement from the performance that will help us at the upcoming races, where hopefully we will have a bit more luck and score more consistently."
Renault Sport Formula One Team scored its first points of the 2016 Formula 1 season after a strong and spirited drive from Kevin Magnussen to finish seventh in the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom. Jolyon Palmer finished shy of the points, making five places from his starting position to finish P13.
Kevin started the race in P17 on new super soft Pirelli tyres, changing to a set of soft tyres on lap 16. Jolyon started the race in P18 on new super soft tyres, changing to fresh soft tyres on lap 14.
Fred Vasseur, Racing Director: "After the Chinese Grand Prix everyone dug deep so to finish strongly in the top ten at a circuit where we didn't expect to excel is a testament to the resolve of everyone in the team. Kevin drove a superb race and there was nothing more we could ask of him. Jolyon didn't get quite the same opportunities in his race but drove well too. A big thank you to everyone at Enstone and Viry for their continued efforts."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "Quite a dramatic race. After the start there was an incident where a lot of cars were involved - unfortunately Carlos got a part of another car stuck into his radiator duct, which had quite a big influence on his performance. In fact, we had to call him in much earlier than originally scheduled and this is when we found a part of a car's bodywork, which had caused the overheating. After his tyre change his performance was good and he was able to catch up. He then had a fight with Palmer, where the stewards decided to penalize him with a 10-second penalty for pushing him off the track. This meant Carlos was not any more within the points. Regarding Max, he was racing in sixth place after the start and was able to keep this position quite easily, creating a big gap to Alonso who was behind in seventh place. With 20 laps to go, we had a problem with the Power Unit and therefore Max had to stop. It's a shame, because we really had the pace to finish easily in sixth position, as he was doing a fantastic job. We will now fully concentrate on our preparation for Barcelona, where we had a very competitive package during winter testing, and hopefully we will be luckier there."
The Sauber F1 Team finished the Russian Grand Prix in P14 (Ericsson) and P16 (Nasr). Due to an early safety car phase directly after the race start, the Swiss team changed the race strategy for Marcus Ericsson, who started from last position. Felipe Nasr suffered from a slow puncture on the front left tyre, which compromised his race due to an early pit stop. Besides that, the Brazilian received a five second time penalty for not respecting the race director's instructions regarding turn 2.
Aside from the outcome of the Russian Grand Prix, the 1st May brings back sad race day memories. It is the 22nd anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death. The Sauber F1 Team, and especially Felipe Nasr and Senna's former physiotherapist Josef Leberer, are thinking of him on this special race day.
Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button opening their 2016 points-scoring accounts with respective sixth- and 10th-place finishing positions in the Russian Grand Prix.
For the midfield runners, the shape of the race was largely dictated by a pair of chaotic clashes at Turn Two and Turn Three, on the opening lap. These incidents saw several drivers either forced into retirement, pushed to the tail of the field, or served with penalties.
Fernando profited from the carnage to vault into the top 10 - an advantage he tenaciously held onto until the finish. Jenson was more circumspect at the start, dropping behind a number of slower cars, then spending much of the remainder of the afternoon steadily chipping away to jump back into the top 10.
This afternoon's result is a firm reminder of the progress that's quietly being made at McLaren-Honda - and a firm indicator of the potential to come.
Eric Boullier, Racing Director: "A double points-finish is a great result for the entire team, and a real marker of the progress we've been steadily making since the start of the season.
"Fernando drove a brilliant race, displaying all the guile, aggression and opportunism for which he is so well known. His race was established at the very start, when he took advantage of the opening-lap carnage to leap from 14th to eighth. From there, he was able to firmly establish himself in the top 10, gaining two further positions before the chequered flag. Sixth was a great reward for his efforts.
"That said, he drove a somewhat lonely race, with one eye very much on his fuel-meter. The gap ahead to fourth-placed Valtteri Bottas tells the story of how conservatively he drove his race - and the handful of very quick, unrestrained, laps that he punched in during the closing laps show the potential of what could have been achieved had he been able to run at full pace throughout.
"If Fernando's race was defined by the start, Jenson's only really came together towards the end. He was heavily compromised by the chaos on the opening lap, but pulled off one of his characteristically deft and gritty performances, enjoying a lengthy four-car battle on his way to 10th.
"This race showcases the collective efforts of the entire organisation - not just McLaren Racing and Honda, but also our key technical partner, Mobil 1, whose oil and lubes have played such a key role in our ongoing development. To our partners, too, their faith and belief is starting to be repaid.
"While we know that one swallow does not make a summer, we stand firm in our belief that we have turned the corner and will start to make further progress throughout the season."
Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer: "I am very happy that we finished with both cars in the points today. Our two highly experienced drivers manoeuvred expertly around the chaotic start and first-lap collisions, which put us in a position to battle for points throughout the race.
"We knew that our longer stints were good here, but it was a job well done for our team and drivers to manage our one-stop strategy and fuel-saving during the race, which led to today's results.
"We know that we still have a long way to go, but I'm relieved that we've finally confirmed that we have the true potential to fight within the middle of the pack."
Dave Ryan, Racing Director: "I wouldn't go as far as to say it was a race to forget, as we learn something from every lap, but it's fair to say we're heading home from Sochi disappointed. Rio was massively unlucky and as the replays show, he was just a passenger as Hulkenberg came spinning back towards him. From the footage we can see he was airborne, which together with the damage to his car tells us a lot about the force with which he was punted out of the race. Pascal had a good initial stint and enjoyed a couple of feisty battles for position but in pushing so hard the tyres were destroyed and we had to pit him again. At that stop we had a problem with the left-rear, which lost us a lot of time and so in the final stint it was just about bringing his car home. Now, with the first four races behind us, it's time to take everything we've learned so far and try to make some good progress with effect from Spain."
On a gorgeous day at the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, Haas F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean drove his VF-16 to a strong eighth-place finish in the Russian Grand Prix Sunday at the Sochi Autodrom. It was Grosjean's third point-scoring result in the four races held this year, allowing him to climb one spot in the championship standings to seventh.
Grosjean earned his 38th career top-10 finish and his sixth top-10 in the last seven races via a one-stop strategy. After successfully navigating the first-lap, second-turn chaos that allowed him to advance from his 15th-place starting spot to eighth, Grosjean pitted on lap 17. Off came the Pirelli P Zero Red supersoft tires and on went the Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft tires. Grosjean made this set last for the remaining 36 laps around the 5.848-kilometer (3.634-mile), 18-turn circuit, as the track's ultra-smooth surface allowed Grosjean to push without limitation. This was important, as Grosjean had to hold off the Force India of Sergio Perez, who finished ninth after being a constant presence in Grosjean's mirrors.
Grosjean's performance at Sochi, along with his efforts at the Formula One season-opener in Australia and the year's second race in Bahrain where he finished sixth and fifth, respectively, means that Haas F1 Team - the first American Formula One team in 30 years - has scored more point-paying finishes than any all-new program in this millennium. When Jaguar debuted in 2000 and when Toyota came on the scene in 2002, each entity managed only two point-paying finishes in their entire first seasons. Haas F1 Team has scored three-point paying finishes four races into its debut season, and the organization has 17 more races to collect additional points. The Russian Grand Prix solidified Haas F1 Team's fifth-place position in the constructor standings, where it is 29 points behind fourth-place Williams and five points ahead of sixth-place Toro Rosso.
Esteban Gutierrez, Grosjean's teammate at Haas F1 Team, finished 17th after bringing his VF-16 home for the second straight race. Gutierrez had to overcome an early pit stop for a new front wing, as he was caught up in the first lap, second-turn skirmish that involved a handful of drivers. The chain-reaction incident saw Gutierrez get into the back of Nico Hulkenberg's Force India. Compounding the problem was the stewards' decision to impose a drive-through penalty, which Gutierrez served on lap nine.
Winning the Russian Grand Prix was Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes driver remains undefeated this season, and his winning streak goes back to last year's Mexican Grand Prix, giving him seven straight victories. It has put Rosberg in elite company, as only Alberto Ascari, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are the other drivers to score seven consecutive wins. The triumph also increased Rosberg's lead in the championship standings to 43 points over teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Guenther Steiner: "A fantastic result for the team being in the points. After the last two days of testing and qualifying, we didn't expect to finish eighth. However, we were always aiming for the points and we pulled it off again. A big thanks to everyone for a great team effort. Obviously, it was very unfortunate for Esteban after his incident at the start, but he will get back from this and hopefully he'll be in the points soon. It was a great race from Romain to keep his position, fighting left, right and center. It makes F1 interesting. It was a great race."
Nico Rosberg has continued his run of victories (started at the 2015 Mexican GP) by winning from pole in Sochi, starting on the supersoft tyre then switching to the soft on lap 21. In second place was his team mate Lewis Hamilton who used the same strategy to make up eight places from 10th on the grid: the result of a technical problem before Q3.
Most drivers used a one-stop supersoft-soft strategy, but an alternative tactic was used by both Red Bull drivers, who were caught in the incident at the start that caused a brief safety car, which influenced strategy. Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat both switched to the medium tyre, with Kvyat completing more than 50 laps on this compound to finish 15th from the back, despite picking up a 10-second penalty.
A different alternative strategy was adopted by Force India’s Sergio Perez, who switched to used soft tyres on lap one under similar circumstances, then switched to more used softs with just over 20 laps to go. Perez finished in the points but he was not the highest-placed two-stopper: that was Williams driver Felipe Massa in fifth, who completed a final stint on supersofts. Only six drivers stopped twice, with the rest all stopping once.
Paul Hembery: "The early safety car certainly added an interesting dimension to the race, with a number of drivers trying an alternative strategy. In the end, Daniil Kvyat completed an entire race distance on the Medium compound, in an era when there is more load going through the tyres than there ever has been before in Formula 1 history. We saw some other different strategies: Fernando Alonso, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were able to maximise their opportunities with a one-stop strategy to make up several places compared to their grid positions. Generally speaking, the one-stop strategy was the way to go as we predicted, with low wear and degradation across all three compounds. This was the 100th grand prix for Pirelli since we returned to Formula One in 2011."
Truthometer
We predicted a one-stop strategy as being the best option before the 53-lap race, starting on supersoft and then stopping on lap 18 for softs. This is exactly what Rosberg did, but helped by the early safety car he stretched the first stint for 21 laps.
