Formula 1 - 2017

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TALKING POINTS AHEAD OF THE RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX WEEKEND

Sebastian Vettel heads into the Russian Grand Prix weekend leading Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by seven points following the Ferrari driver’s victory last time out in Bahrain.

Vettel, the four-time world champion, has won two of the opening three rounds of this season’s Formula One World Championship to cement his status as the number one challenger to the Mercedes driver this season.

Here is a look at the key talking points ahead of Sunday’s race at the Sochi Autodrom.

Hamilton out for revenge

There was certainly an air of what could have been for Hamilton as he took stock of his defeat to Vettel in Bahrain. Hamilton had the quicker machinery than Vettel in both qualifying and the race, but a number of mistakes – by both team and driver – contributed to the Mercedes driver finishing behind his championship rival. The 32-year-old Briton will be keen to make amends in Sochi as he attempts to level the score at 2-2 from the first four grands prix of a see-saw championship. Hamilton has good form in Russia – having won two of the three races staged here – while this event was the scene of Vettel’s X-rated outburst last year in which he said the f-word on five occasions inside just 10 seconds after being punted out of the race by Daniil Kvyat.

Halo takes back seat

A meeting of F1’s top aficionados on Tuesday evening determined that the shield has now surpassed the halo as the FIA’s preferred choice for improved cockpit safety. The sport’s governing body are keen to ramp up driver-head protection and had given the green light for the halo to be introduced next season. But the device courted criticism for its ugly appearance – indeed Hamilton described it as the “worst-looking modification” in F1 history – and the shield, a see-through screen which was presented to the drivers in China earlier this month, is viewed as the more aesthetically pleasing option. Tests will be carried out on the concept throughout the season.

Liberty Media slowly showing hand

It has been three months since American giants Liberty Media acquired Formula One and their approach has so far been slowly, slowly, catchy monkey. Indeed, bar the relaxing of social media rules in the paddock, they have made very few tweaks to the sport which was governed by Bernie Ecclestone for four decades. So, with that in mind it was interesting to note that one of the outcomes from the gathering of F1’s Strategy Group on Tuesday – where chairman Chase Carey made his debut – was to open future meetings to the sport’s lesser teams. Under Ecclestone’s self-proclaimed dictatorship, the talks had been limited to the top teams. But the likes of Sauber, Haas, Toro Rosso and Renault will now be invited to attend. A step in the right direction.

Will Ferrari speak to the media in Russia?

Vettel may be leading the Formula One title, but neither he, nor his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen were made available to print or broadcast journalists on the so-called media day in Bahrain. Hand Vettel a microphone and he will be prepared to speak for hours, but his decision not to in Bahrain came from above – with rumblings in the paddock suggesting it was Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene rather than the team’s overlord Sergio Marchionne – who made the call. Let us hope the FIA, or indeed Liberty, who have promised more access to fans and media alike, take action should Ferrari close shop in Russia, too.

Are Renault serious about being a force in F1?

Renault are one of the most improved teams on the grid this season. Although their power units are still lagging behind Mercedes and Ferrari, the RS17 seems to be a handy piece of kit which Nico Hulkenberg has used to good effect. The German qualified seventh in the past two races, but only scored points last time out in Bahrain with ninth place. He will sit out FP1 for local hero Sergey Sirotkin, prompting the question: should a team with serious front running ambitions force their ace driver to sit out a practice session?

Have McLaren-Honda found the magic button?

After three races of total disappointment, McLaren-Honda with Stoffel Vandoorne ended the final test day in Bahrain, a week ago, fourth fastest and eight tenths off the top time. Interestingly the team were somewhat perplexed by their sudden surge of pace, and were wary of drawing any conclusions about the times set on the day. Russia will provide a more realistic picture of exactly where they stand, with the ‘Fernando Alonso to Indy 500’ hype invariably providing an escape valve for the team’s constant bad news on the Formula 1 front.

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New 'speed bumps' added at Sochi's Turn 2/3

Orange speed bumps have been added to the exit of Turn 2 at the Sochi Autodrom in a bid to deter drivers (Vettel) from leaving the circuit and gaining an advantage at this weekend's Russian Grand Prix.

In the past, some drivers have occasionally run wide through the right-hander at Turn 2, the first heavy braking zone of the lap, and exceeded track limits upon the entry to Turn 3.

For 2017, speed bumps 50 mm high have been placed three metres from the exit kerb at Turn 2, and drivers must stay to the left of the second section of speed bumps before safely re-joining the circuit.

“Any driver who fails to negotiate Turn 2 by using the track, and who passes completely to the left of the orange kerb element on the apex, must then keep to the left of the second new orange kerb element on the edge of the artificial grass and re-join the track safely at the start of Turn 3,” read an instruction by Race Director Charlie Whiting in his pre-event notes.

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Kvyat unveils tweaked helmet for home Grand Prix

Toro Rosso racer Daniil Kvyat has unveiled a tweaked helmet design for his home race in Russia this weekend, referencing an incident with Sebastian Vettel from last season.

Kvyat, then competing for Red Bull, muscled his way past Vettel at the start of last year’s Chinese Grand Prix, a move which enraged the German, who likened his approach to a ‘torpedo.’

At the following round in Russia, Kvyat twice struck Vettel on the opening lap, the second contact sending the Ferrari driver into retirement.

Kvyat received heavy criticism for the incident and was demoted to Toro Rosso after the event, with Max Verstappen slotted into Red Bull in his place.

“New helmet for the home Grand Prix," Kvyat posted on social media, alongside the hashtag ‘torpedo’.

Kvyat is the only Russian representative on the Formula 1 grid, though compatriot Sergey Sirotkin will participate in the first practice session with Renault.

"Since year one [in 2014] there was quite full grandstands, it’s important to maintain this, I'm expecting to see again a lot of people here Sunday," said the Toro Rosso driver.

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Ricciardo hopes updated Red Bull will be "a bullet"

Daniel Ricciardo says he hopes Red Bull's Formula 1 car will become "a bit of a bullet" once the team introduces its major chassis update for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Milton Keynes-based squad, which has lagged behind Ferrari and Mercedes in the opening part of the 2017 campaign, is planning to introduce what Helmut Marko described as a "massive" update package in time for next month's Barcelona race.

Ricciardo, whose best result of the season so far has been a fourth place in China, said he hopes the revamped RB13 is competitive enough to be able to take on the top two teams.

He said he took encouragement from the fact that Red Bull was off the pace in Sochi last year before going on to be competitive at Barcelona and Monaco, two circuits where chassis performance is key.

"I hope for a bit of a bullet, something fast," Ricciardo said. "We want to be in a three-way fight with Ferrari and Mercedes, that is what I would hope for - something that puts us in that fight.

"Looking here at qualifying last year, we were a second-and-a-half off pole and went to Barcelona and were half-a-second off, and then at Monaco we were quick.

"So it's a time of the year we should see some updates take place. We need a bit of everything now, we’ve talked about downforce, feeling a bit in the rear.

"We’ve had a bit of time to look at Ferrari, they have been in front of us for a few races. They look strong, and Mercedes as well, they are carrying a bit more at the rear and that is where a lot of lap time is these days."

  

Half a second target

Ricciardo added he would be satisfied if the chassis update - which is set to be followed by a major Renault power unit upgrade in Canada - got Red Bull to within half a second of the pacesetters.

"I am confident it will be better than what we have got now," said the Australian. "That is all we can ask for – an improvement. Like last year we made that step and then could keep chipping away at it.

"It is important to make the first step, so let’s hope we can do that in Barcelona. If we can get within half a second, that will be good."

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Raikkonen insists "everything fine" with Ferrari president

Kimi Raikkonen says "everything is fine" in his relationship with Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne, following comments about his Formula 1 form.

Raikkonen finished F1 pre-season testing on top, but has not outqualified or finished ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel in any of the first three grands prix.

After Raikkonen finished more than 40 seconds behind Vettel in the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this month, Marchionne said he wanted talks about the Finn's form, but Raikkonen says there is no problem between them.

"As far as I have spoken to our president, everything is fine," he said. "I know some things were said and written, for me I read so many nonsense stories in newspapers and on the web.

"I trust much more how my relationship is with the team or with him. I expect from myself a good result… if other people are not happy that is fine because I'm not either so it's not really a big deal for me."

Turning 38 in October, Raikkonen's last two Ferrari renewals have been completed in the summer for single seasons.

Raikkonen said that while his future beyond the end of 2017 remains open, it is not at the top of his list.

"When it comes to my future I don't know," he added. "There are always a lot of talks over the years, my first thing is I want to do well.

"We'll see what happens after this year, it is definitely not the first thing in my mind, it is to do well here and in the next race. Let's see what the future brings, I have a good relationship with my team and it depends on many things."

An "awful" start hurt Raikkonen's race in Bahrain, and having shown encouraging pace after that he acknowledges he needs to find more in qualifying.

"I am more happy than I was probably the first race, in the last race it was pretty good and I was very happy with it," he said.

"Qualifying not so much, but the race was good. Then we had pretty average Saturday so the starting place was already not good, and a pretty bad first lap, so it was a bit of a bad start.

"I got past Felipe [Massa] at the beginning and had good speed and the safety car was just unfortunate after our pitstop.

"I think just the feeling was also pretty good. We just need to make Saturday's better and use our speed."

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Hamilton, Bottas insist they don't want team orders

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have both made it clear they do not want Mercedes to use team orders (Even though they HAVE), and insist they will be able to act in the German squad's best interests.

Team boss Toto Wolff said after the Bahrain Grand Prix that Mercedes might need to rethink its approach to team orders after losing out to Ferrari.

Mercedes has ensured equality between its two drivers in previous years when it had a dominant car, but its situation has become more complicated now Ferrari is so competitive.

In Bahrain, Vettel took his second win of the season after Hamilton lost time behind Bottas, who struggled to keep up with the German.

"We don't like that at all," said Wolff after the race. "It's not what we have done in the last couple of years but the situation is different now, so it needs a proper analysis of what it means and where we are."

But speaking ahead of the Russian Grand Prix, Bottas said team orders had not been discussed, while Hamilton insisted he was against them.

"I do not [want them], and never have, and team orders has always been a very odd thing, and a difficult thing to judge – and something I've never particularly liked," said Hamilton.

"But it is in our rules, and our approach is that the team needs to win the race. We have to try and work as a team, but only in special circumstances."

He added: "It's difficult every single time but it's definitely not a great thing to hear. I think you just have to assess in the moment, what your position is and whether you're in a powerful position and when you're actually contributing to the team's result or you're not. Then make the call."

Bottas also feels there will not be a need for Mercedes to use team orders.

"We have not had the conversation because I don't think there is any need to," said Bottas. "This team had never had number one or number two drivers and is not planning to.

"It is always trying to give an equal chance to both drivers, but the last three years the gap to the second quickest team has been bigger, so now every single detail can cost points."

Despite Ferrari leading both the drivers' and the constructors' championships, Bottas does not think Mercedes will change its approach and make one of its drivers the number one.

"I don't think that will happen," said Bottas. "If I have some issues in this race for whatever reason, a different strategy or Lewis is stuck behind me, then I will move over.

"We are doing this for the team and the target is to get maximum points for the team. I have always been a team player, but what is going to happen in the future between me and Lewis with team orders, we are not planning anything.

"This year the team needs to be careful and more clever, so I will collect every single point possible in the race."

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Massa says race finish will boost Stroll's confidence

Felipe Massa believes Williams teammate Lance Stroll's confidence will instantly grow once he manages to finish his first Formula 1 race.

The Canadian rookie has so far failed to see the chequered flag in his brief grand prix career, having retired from the first three races of the season.

In Australia, Stroll retired with a mechanical problem, while he was taken out by Sergio Perez on the opening lap in China and by Carlos Sainz in Bahrain.

Stroll is the driver with the fewest race laps completed this year, with just 52.

Williams teammate Massa reckons it is key for Stroll to finally have a trouble-free weekend to kick-start his season.

When asked what he would tell Stroll, Massa said: "To keep his mind up and don't look at the media and really believe that things we'll go right.

"After he finishes his first race he will start to feel confident. He's just starting.

"Definitely he didn't have the start that he expected. In the first race he had a problem with the brakes but what happened in China and what happened in the last race [in Bahrain] was not his fault.

"In China, Checo [Perez] was behind him and he couldn't see him, so who could have avoided Checo? Nothing. And in the last race for sure it was not his fault what happened. So we need to give him time.

"As I said, it's important that he has a nice weekend without problems."

The Brazilian, whose team is fifth in the standings, insists Williams needs Stroll to start scoring if it is to have a chance of fighting for fourth place.

"It will not be easy. It will be difficult because some other teams have two drivers score points while I score alone," Massa said.

"Definitely Lance I think maybe after he does one full race he will be able to improve and be able to score points but I would say I am in the fight and maybe we can fight for fourth place, why not."

Despite his streak of DNFs, Stroll feels he does not need to change his approach in order to turn his season around.

"Obviously I'm hoping for a good weekend like always, but I don't think it's time to start focusing in a different way," Stroll said.

"We just need to do our thing, the same way of working, the same way of approaching weekends as we always do and I strongly believe the tables will turn by themselves."

 

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Cyril Abiteboul, managing Director Renault Sport Racing , talks about F1 evolution

Discover #RS2027Vision, presented by the Design and Renault Sport Formula One team. 

Be transported into the future of #F1!

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Max Verstappen refutes Sergio Perez's F1 engine claims

Red Bull Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen has refuted Sergio Perez's claim that Renault's engine is now a match for those made by Mercedes and Ferrari.

Ahead of the Russian Grand Prix, Force India driver Perez said Mercedes-powered teams now only had an advantage over Honda.

Verstappen, whose third place in the Chinese Grand Prix is Red Bull's only podium from the first three races, dismissed this when he said he was "not sure" if engine supplier Renault was on the leaders' level.

"Of course they are working really hard," he said. "We're also working really hard to improve the car.

"But I think there is still quite a deficit. So we need to continue working hard together to make it better in the upcoming races."

Asked why he said Red Bull was braced for a difficult race at Sochi, Verstappen replied: "The power deficit on the straights.

"We are not on the same level in terms of downforce as well, so we cannot make the differences in the corners."

When the suggestion that some felt the three leading engine manufacturers were at a similar level was made, Verstappen joked: "I would like to swap one day, and then everyone talks different."

He pointed to the difference in engine performance in qualifying as one example where Mercedes still maintained a clear advantage.

"Mercedes has a mode where they can turn it up," he said.

"In the race they cannot use it as much because you can't run the engine like that the whole race.

"That's why it looks better in the race but from our side, it's more or less the same.

"We don't have this massive power mode [for qualifying]."

NO 'MAGICAL' BREAKTHROUGH IN BAHRAIN

Verstappen also revealed Red Bull still did not know why it was closer to the front in Bahrain.

Red Bull qualified more than one second adrift in Australia and China, but at the third round Daniel Ricciardo was just 0.7s behind polesitter Valtteri Bottas's Mercedes.

"It's a bit difficult to say if we really understand," said Verstappen, who added that there was "nothing special" about the Red Bull on that weekend.

"I was a bit surprised to be that much closer to them.

"In qualifying it was not a bad balance for what we could get out of the car.

"But I also had not a bad balance in China, and in Australia I don't think it was too bad.

"It's not like we suddenly found something magical that works."

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Russian Grand Prix preview - Scuderia Ferrari 2017

 

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McLaren: season will "collapse" if we stop chassis push

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says his team cannot afford to ease off in pushing for developments on its chassis, even though it knows it needs more engine power to properly compete with its Formula 1 rivals.

While the team is waiting on Honda to produce an upgraded specification power unit over the next few weeks, McLaren has been pursuing an aggressive development programme to lift its chassis performance too.

New parts – including several specifications of rear wings – were tried out on the final day of this week's Bahrain test with a view to introduction at the Russian Grand Prix.

But although McLaren knows that it has little hope of overcoming its horsepower deficit, Boullier says the worst thing it can do is sit back and wait until Honda gets its house in order first.

Asked how important it was the team kept it upgrade push on, Boullier said: "First of all because racing is in our DNA, but second because if we just give up then everything collapses. So we can't collapse.

"We are responsible for the chassis performance, so we have to make sure that we have a good chassis and that we develop it.

"Plus we need to prepare also the coming years because there will be at least two or three years of stability in the regulations. So all this platform we are building now for the future.

"We are professional and racing, and you can't just stop racing because one of your components doesn't work."

  

Honda response

Honda's F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa returned to Japan immediately after the Bahrain GP to oversee progress of its engine developments on the company's dynos.

And although changes may not appear for several races, Boullier said that Honda was aware that things had to change quickly.

"If they were relaxed something would be wrong," he said. "They are very conscious about what's going on, I think.

"The concerns are the same that we may have in Europe, even if the culture is different. I think it's just the... It's racing questions: how to do it and how to get faster?

"They have tried many things. They are working very hard, but you just have to find the key to unlock the potential of this. They need to work on dynos to break through from this lack of performance."

 

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Wow, locking up front row for the first time in almost a decade! Looking forward to an exciting race tomorrow!

Don't know what excites me more: Ferrari front row or camera catching
Mercedes team on the brink of tears;)

Haven't had much to crow about in years, so I'll be a bit obnoxious today.... Hope it isn't short lived!

Forza Ferrari!

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F'n Massa! Not the only reason, but certainly did't help....
Exciting race for sure

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Strategy perhaps wasn't best, but have to hand it to Bottas - very well deserved.

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Great race.  Well done to Valtteri.

If Alonso's car didn't give up it's ghost at the start of the race, I think Vettel wins because I don't think he could have held off Vettel for one more lap.

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RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX: BOTTAS JOINS GREATS WITH FIRST F1 WIN

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas joined the greats of Formula 1 by winning the Russian Grand Prix, after making a superb start, controlling the race and then withstanding immense pressure from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the final dozen laps at Sochi Autodrom.

Bottas started third on the grid, managing to squeeze by both Ferraris in the drag race through the first curve and leading into the sharp Turn 2, with Vettel pole winner forced to follow him with Kimi Raikkonen slotting into third and Lewis Hamilton fourth in the other Mercedes.

But soon the safety car was deployed as Romain Grosjean and Jolyon Palmer collided as they battled for the same patch of tarmac, the Haas tagged the Renault and got sideways before ending up in the wall exiting Turn 1. The pair out immediately.

When the track was cleared and the field unleashed again, Bottas got strong re-start as he caught the Ferrari duo napping. Thereafter the Silver Arrows driver established a four to five second lead until he was pulled in for his first stop on lap 28.

Ferrari attacked at this point by keeping Vettel out for an extra six laps, and when the four times world champion emerged from the pits a rather mundane race came alive as the chase was on.

Vettel slashed what was a four seconds lead and with a couple of laps to go he was within DRS range of Bottas. It could be said that the Ferrari driver was not helped by the Williams of Felipe Massa who got in the way of a final charge on the last lap of the race.

But in the end, realistically, it was one or two laps too short for the Vettel as he never quite got a good chance to seriously attack Bottas who kept cool and composed, absorbed the pressure to take well deserved first grand prix victory.

The Finn said afterwards, “It’s been quite a while, more than 80 races, but worth the wait, well worth the learning curve. This strange opportunity came to me over the winter and I have to thank the team for making this possible. We need to keep pushing, keep finishing with both cars one and two. I’m very happy.” 

On the occasion of his 81st F1 start, Bottas is the fifth driver from Finland to win a Formula 1 race and also the first Finnish winner since 2013.

Vettel and Ferrari will rue the fact that they lost a great chance to end Mercedes’ exclusive win streak at Sochi, with both cars starting a grand prix from the front row for the first time since 2008, but they were ambushed by Bottas and then fell agonisingly short of doing the business by the time the chequered flag waved.

Vettel was astoundingly quick late on during his first stint on the Pirelli ultra soft tyres, and one would have bet on him winning with ten or so laps to go. But in the end it was too much, too late for the Ferrari challenge to pay dividends. Second place was his reward as well as increasing his championship lead to 13 points after four rounds.

Vettel told Eddie Jordan on the podium, “I tried everything to catch Valtteri. I thought there would be an opportunity on the back straight. I thought there was an opportunity but I was not sure what Felipe Massa would do and ended up losing out. It doesn’t matter, though. Big congratulations to Valtteri. It is his day.”

Raikkonen followed his teammate through in third, his first podium of the season and certainly a stronger showing all weekend by the veteran Finn.

He said on the podium, “Unfortunately we could only get third place but we’ll try for better next time. I have had a little bit of a rough start to the season – far from ideal – but this week has been a step forward,but we still only finished third. We’ll keep trying, keep improving, but all the small details have to be there to get the first place.”

After qualifying fourth, many expected Lewis Hamilton to bounce back in the race but the Silver Arrows driver, by his own admission, simply not on the pace and indeed failed to match Bottas’ all weekend. His plight on the day exacerbated by an over-heating car.

Hamilton told reporters , “Big congrats to Valtteri. He did an exceptional job all weekend,” he said. “I wish I could have backed him up in terms of points but I think i did the best I could. Once I got through the first couple of laps I was kind of stuck. Through the race I understood it. Speed-wise I know where it is and I will try to fix it for the next one.”

Best of the rest, albeit a minute adrift of the winner, was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who had a lonely, hassle free run to claim fifth. The energy drinks outfit alarmingly well off the pace of the Ferrari and Mercedes.

In the other Red Bull, it was a DNF for Daniel Ricciardo after five laps after his rear brakes caught alight, forcing him to cruise around to his pit garage and retire the car.

The Force India duo of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon ended sixth and seventh respectively, another impressive and confidence boosting weekend for the Silverstone based outfit.

Felipe Massa finished ninth in the Williams, ahead of Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso who claimed the final point, while Williams rookie Lance Stroll – survived a first lap sin – finally finished a race.

It was another embarrassing day for McLaren with Fernando Alonso coming to a stop in the middle of the track on the formation lap, while teammate Stoffel Vandoorne soldiered around well off the pace to finish 14th – only better than the Sauber duo using year old Ferrari power units.

Race Report

Prior to the start, Alonso was ruled out of the race on the formation lap. the Spaniard complained of a charge issues and though a resets were attempted he was forced to pull over and stop at the pit lane entrance.

When the race eventually got going Bottas roared past and into the lead ahead of the two Ferraris. Behind them Hamilton was trying to hold fourth from Red Bull’s Ricciardo. The pair banged wheels and Ricciardo was sent slightly wide. That allowed Verstappen to slip past his team-mate down the inside and also gave Williams’ Massa the opportunity to pass the Australian.

Further back, Stroll spun his Williams and dropped down the order but at the rear of the field there was a more dramatic incident as Renault’s Palmer collided with Haas’ Romain Grosjean. The Safety Car came out and the field bunch behind Bottas, Vettel and Räikkönen.

Ricciardo, meanwhile, was struggling in P7. He began to slow, reporting that he had a brake fire on the rear right. He was told to pit for checks but when he did the issue was deemed terminal and the Red Bull man was forced to retire from the race.

At the front, Bottas was beginning to exert a degree of control and by lap 13 the Finn has eked out a gap of 3.7 seconds to Vettel, with the German a further 3.7 seconds in front of Räikkönen. Hamilton was two seconds behind the Finn, while Verstappen was almost nine seconds further back in fifth place.

As the race headed for the 20 lap mark Hamilton’s engineer began to express concern about the car’s temperatures and the Briton was soon informed that the temperatures were at the limit. The Briton pushed on, however, and soon had 16 seconds in hand over fifth-placed Verstappen.

As the gap widened he asked to be kept informed about the temperature issue. At the front Bottas was no running five seconds clear of Vettel, with Räikkönen now almost 11 seconds off the lead.

The first pit stops occurred on lap 22, with Massa pitting from seventh for supersofts and rejoining in P10. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat, as well as McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, who also served a five-second penalty for an earlier track limits infringement and Force India’s Esteban Ocon, who pitted on lap 26.

Race leader Bottas was the first of the front runners to pit, on lap 27, with the Finn taking on supersoft tyres. Räikkönen, complaining that his rears were gone, was the next in on lap 29, joined by Verstappen, while Hamilton made his stop for the red-banded Pirellis on lap 30.

Vettel, though, soldiered on and on lap 32, the German’s race engineer Ricardo Adami, radioed through to tell his driver “we are staying out, we are staying out, this is good”.

Vettel extended his lead over Bottas to 20.6 seconds before his pit stop on lap 34 but despite the good work it wasn’t enough to overhaul the Finn and when the Ferrari rejoined he was 4.7 seconds behind the Mercedes driver.

Vettel began to close the gap however and when Bottas locked up at Turn 13 on lap 39, the gap narrowed to three seconds with Vettel lapping eight tenths quicker than the leader. Three laps later it was down to 1.5 seconds.

Bottas, though, was in control and as they weaved their way through traffic, the Finn edged ahead slightly. The gap ebbed and flowed then, but only ever by tenths of a second and after a final push over the last seven laps Bottas eventually crossed the line to take his first career F1 victory, scored in his 81st grand prix start.

Vettel’s second place means the German heads to the next round in Spain with a 13-point lead in the drivers’ standings over Hamilton who finished fourth behind Räikkönen. Vettel now has 86 points to Hamilton’s 73. Bottas’s first win leaves him third in the standings on 63 points, 14 clear of Räikkönen.

In the Constructors’ standings, the win and fourth place for Mercedes puts them at the head of the title race, though the defending champions have just a single point in hand over Ferrari.

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SOCHI SUNDAY REVIEW: FULL CREDIT TO BOTTAS

At a time when the two dominant figures in F1 have made winning a matter of course, Valtteri Bottas showed just how special a single victory can be.

82 races, 27 years, and four months under the Mercedes microscope – however you cut it, this has been a long time coming for Bottas. All that expectation was clearly weighing on the Finn, and now it’s been lifted. His two-word remark as he crossed the finish line perfectly summed it up: “F*ck me”.

That said, it wasn’t the most exciting of races. Bottas won it at the start and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging onto his lead like it was the last bottle of vodka.

The Ferrari was clearly the faster car once they’d all pitted for supersofts, and you have to wonder if Seb Vettel would’ve had him if he’d been pitted a few laps earlier. It’s hard to say given Sochi as a track provides less overtaking than the hallways at an old folks’ home, but I think it should give Mercedes some pause for what was in all honesty an unlikely victory.

Still, full credit to Bottas. Blowhards have spent most of the last two weeks wondering just whether he was cut-out to lead Mercedes to victory, and now he’s shut us up – at least for the time being. It’ll be fascinating to see how he backs this up in Barcelona.

Equally fascinating was the all-round dismal weekend for Bottas’ teammate Lewis Hamilton, who arguably was the most “off his game” of any race in his Mercedes career.

Whether it was struggling with rear grip, brake temperature or what, he couldn’t touch the Ferraris, let alone his teammate. This is one he’ll probably want to forget, although that shouldn’t be hard when he’s probably got a hotel room full of Russian supermodels.

A few quick hits:

• Daniel Ricciardo wasn’t kidding when he called Sochi Red Bull’s “bogey” track. Max Verstappen’s P5 was all they could muster, that after he suffered a pre-race water leak, while Ricciardo’s race finished prematurely with his brakes more overcooked than Christmas lunch at my grandma’s place. Forget wings, Red Bull need a defibrillator if they’re to get back in the constructor’s battle.
• Nico Hulkenberg getting 40 laps out of his ultrasoft tyres seems a bit much, no? Is it possible the Pirellis are too durable?
• Jolyon Palmer. Nuff said.
• I’m not sure what’s more impressive – that McLaren-Honda keep finding new ways to embarrass themselves, or Fernando Alonso keeps finding new levels of misery. I’m sure it’ll all be fine by 2018 for Sauber, right? 

Anyway, onto Barcelona we go, and with it the first round of major updates to the cars. Sochi may not have been exactly a thriller, but it’s only served to heighten a 2017 season that is already shaping up to be a corker.

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SAUBER TO BE POWERED BY HONDA FROM 2018

Sauber will be powered by Honda from 2018 onwards, the team announced at the Russian Grand Prix ending months of speculation that such a move was on the cards for the Swiss team and the Japanese manufacturer.

Sauber will thus end the engine supply partnership with Ferrari which ran from 1997 to 2005 and again in 2010 until the end of this season. The Hinwill based team have also been powered by Mercedes, BMW and Ford during their 25 years in Formula 1.

Sauber released the following statement: “The Sauber F1 Team is very pleased to welcome Honda on-board as its new technological partner from 2018. This extensive strategic and technological realignment creates a new basis for the team. This Swiss-Japanese partnership will certainly unveil future opportunities for the Sauber F1 Team and Honda, and constitutes a cornerstone for our F1 future. The Sauber F1 Team thanks Ferrari for many years of collaboration in good as well as difficult times.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, CEO and Team Principal, added, “It is a great honor for the Sauber F1 Team to be able to work together with Honda in the coming seasons. Our realignment is not just visible through the new ownership but also now with our new technological partnership with Honda. We have set another milestone with this new engine era, which we await with huge excitement and of course we are looking for new opportunities. We very much look forward to our partnership with Honda, which sets the course for a successful future – from a strategic as well as from a technological perspective. We thank Honda for making this great partnership happen.”

Katsuhide Moriyama, Chief Officer, Brand and Communication Operations, Honda Motor Co., Ltd, commented, “In addition to the partnership with McLaren which began in 2015, Honda will begin supplying power units to Sauber as a customer team starting from next year. This will be a new challenge in Honda’s F1 activities. In order to leverage the benefits of supplying to two teams to the maximum extent, we will strengthen the systems and capabilities of both of our two development operations, namely HRD Sakura and the operation in Milton Keynes. We will continue our challenges so that our fans will enjoy seeing a Honda with dominant strength as soon as possible.”

MIKA: I am shocked at this news, has Sauber looked down pit lane at the McLaren garage lately?

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MORE MISERY FOR ALONSO AND MCLAREN

Double Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso failed to start of the Russian Grand Prix due to an Honda engine problem, the second race in a row that his struggling McLaren team have had just one car competing.

The Spaniard’s Belgian rookie team mate Stoffel Vandoorne was absent from the grid in Bahrain two weeks ago due to a problem with the Honda power unit.

Alonso, who is due to race the Indianapolis 500 next month instead of the showcase Monaco Grand Prix, had qualified in 15th place in Sochi.

However, the car broke down on the formation lap at the pit lane entry, forcing the start to be aborted with the cars going around again as the unhappy Spaniard unbuckled himself and stepped out.

Honda said Alonso’s car had suffered a loss of power due to a suspected energy recovery issue in the hybrid unit.

“It’s obviously frustrating. Four races into the championship, four DNFs (non-finishes). This time we did not even make the start. That’s sad but there’s nothing we can do,” Alonso told the BBC.

“I come here, drive as fast as I can to try and help the team. We just hope the next race will be better. I’m just a driver. I help the team but the team have to look at the bigger picture.”

McLaren, the second most successful team in the sport’s history in terms of wins, have not won a race since 2012 and are experiencing new lows every weekend with the engine lacking power and reliability.

They have yet to score a point in three races this season and Vandoorne started at the back of the grid in Russia due to a 15-place penalty incurred as a result of excessive engine component usage.

Honda, who have borne the brunt of the criticism, announced on race day at Sochi a deal to supply Sauber with engines next season in addition to McLaren.

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Romain Grosjean, Jolyon Palmer blame each other for first lap crash in Russia

Haas driver Romain Grosjean and Renault’s Jolyon Palmer have blamed each other for their crash on the first lap of the Russian Grand Prix.

The two drivers collided at the entry to Turn 2, with a Sauber on Palmer’s outside and Grosjean going for a move up the inside.

Grosjean’s left-front wheel clashed with Palmer’s right-rear, pitching the Renault into a spin, where he then collected the Haas for a second time.

With Grosjean’s car in the barrier and Palmer’s Renault parked on the track, the safety car was deployed. Both drivers felt the other was responsible for the incident.

“We had a great start and I was on the inside of Palmer under braking,” Grosjean said. “I don’t know why he turned in.

“I was there and then he turned in. I tried to get as much as I could on the apex, but he just hit me, spun and came back and hit me again.

“The car was badly damaged and our race was over.”

Sharing his opinion on the crash, Palmer had a different view: “I had a decent-enough start then heading down to Turn 2 there was a Sauber on my outside then Romain made a very ambitious move over the kerbs on the inside from behind.

“There was no space for me to go because of the Sauber, so maybe Romain wasn’t aware of that, but he kept it in, hit me, then we were both out of the race. That was a shame for both of us really.”

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Max Verstappen: Red Bull 'maximised opportunities' in 'lonely' race

Max Verstappen says Red Bull “maximised the opportunities” the team had in Sochi, after a “lonely” run to fifth place at the Russian Grand Prix.

The Dutch driver admitted it all came down to the start of the race, where he stormed from seventh to fifth on the long run down to Turn 2.

From there, Verstappen had Felipe Massa and Daniel Ricciardo for company before his team-mate retired with brake issues.

He pulled away as the race progressed but lost ground to the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers, proving to be on his own until the race finish.

It could have been a different story for Verstappen, after a water leak gave his mechanics a lot of work to do before the start.

“The start was very important today and ended up being the only action of the race for me,” he explained. “I managed to get past Felipe and Daniel and from there on it was a very lonely race.

“I could see the cars in front of me pulling away and I was pulling away from the cars behind so I just tried to manage the car home.

“After the issues we had this morning luckily nothing upset me or the rhythm during the race so I just had to bring it across the line.

“The mechanics did a really good job sorting the issue in such a small amount of time and giving me a car to complete the race in P5.

“The pace was not so bad in the last stint which is another positive to take away from this tough weekend.

“Towards the end you naturally start to turn things down on the car to be safe. We maximised the opportunities we had so now we can look forward to Barcelona, the upgrades are coming and we can hopefully start to get involved in the fight at the front.”

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Hamilton: Sochi my toughest weekend since Baku

Lewis Hamilton believes he knows why he lacked his usual frontrunning pace in the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, which he likened to his troubled weekend at Baku last year.

Hamilton finished a frustrated fourth at Sochi, and remains in second place in the F1 world championship behind Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

The Briton crossed the finish line over 36 seconds behind teammate and race winner Valtteri Bottas.

"It's been a very tough weekend," admitted Hamilton, who finished in the same position that he qualified.

"I can't remember having as difficult a weekend, probably last time was I can remember was probably Baku. 

"Ultimately [I was] not quick enough, could not put the car where I was comfortable, and then in the race it was overheating so I just had to settle for fourth.

"Once I'd got round the first couple of laps I was basically stuck where I was."

When asked if he had an idea what the issues were, Hamilton replied: "Through the race I understood it, yeah. Speed-wise I think I know where it is, I'll try and fix it for the next one.

"We've had great success here over the years, and I just wish I could have backed it up in terms of points. But I held on, did the best I could with what I had in the end."

  

First lap close call

Hamilton also explained the opening moments of the race, when he became pincered between Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo through Turn 1.

"I had Kimi right next to me, pushing me to the left, I didn't even know Daniel was there if I'm really honest," added Hamilton.

"Fortunately I didn't get any damage as far as I'm aware. But definitely was not very quick this weekend."

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Massa says Vettel "likes to complain" after radio remarks

Felipe Massa has labelled Sebastian Vettel as someone who "really likes to complain" in the aftermath of the Russian Grand Prix, following the Ferrari driver's apparent dissatisfaction with Massa's driving late on.

The German had been closing up on race leader Valtteri Bottas all throughout the final stint of the race and was within a second of the Mercedes driver heading onto the final lap.

However, he was denied the opportunity to follow Bottas all throughout the lap as the Finn cleared the lapped car of Massa approaching Turn 2, while Vettel had to take an unorthodox line to overtake Massa after the looping Turn 3.

Vettel was heard asking 'What the hell was that?' following his Massa run-in, as the German angrily gesticulated upon passing the Williams.

Upon being relayed Vettel's grievance after the race, Massa joked: "He was on his radio complaining? Are you sure?

"I left completely the inside part for him, I back off before in Turn 4 and he didn’t want to go. He was afraid to dive inside, I was completely on the left, then I let him by straight away after.

"I am also sure he was not going to pass Valtteri on the last lap of the race. Anyway, he really likes to complain."

Asked about the matter on the podium, Vettel said: "Obviously I tried everything to catch Valtteri and I thought there might be some opportunity.

"I was sure he [Massa] would lift around Turn 3 as it's flat out. But it doesn’t matter. "

Praise for former teammate

Massa, who partnered Bottas at Williams in 2014-16, said the Finn's Russian GP triumph served as proof that Mercedes had made the right choice in signing him.

"So happy for him, I think he deserves the position he has today," Massa said.

"Many people were not talking about him at the right level, in terms of drivers. I said straight away when he signed with Mercedes that he will do a good job. And he's doing [a good job].

"The fourth race [with Mercedes] he has this victory, now he’s a different driver because he’s achieved a victory. He’ll achieve a lot more than what he had today."

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Ricciardo “almost went into the barrier” after brake failure

Daniel Ricciardo has called on Red Bull to resolve its brake issues after he was forced out in the early stages of the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi.

Ricciardo suffered a right-rear brake fire just a handful of laps into the race, following on from the brake failure that teammate Max Verstappen suffered straight after a pitstop in the previous race in Bahrain.

“I looked in my mirror to see where the Force India was and noticed my right-rear brake was on fire,” Ricciardo told NBC. “I reported it and then the team said slow down the car and pit.

“It completely went in Turn 15 so I nearly went into the barrier there. I just had to put it into the pits.

“It was early in the race, so I don’t know how much the safety car had to do with it. It was a shame I didn’t get many laps in.”

When asked if this was a major concern, coming so soon after Verstappen’s issue in Bahrain which forced him to crash out, Ricciardo replied: “Obviously two races in a row, none of us want that, so I guess there’s some things that need to be addressed.

“They’ll look into it before Barcelona.”

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Niki Lauda admits he was 'surprised' by Bottas winning F1 Russian GP

Niki Lauda has admitted Valtteri Bottas's maiden Formula 1 win in the Russian Grand Prix came as a surprise.

Bottas, who had previously taken 11 podiums in 80 starts, absorbed extreme pressure in the closing stages from Sebastian Vettel to win in only his fourth race with Mercedes at Sochi.

Lauda expected Ferrari to win the race given it had the advantage of a front-row lockout and a stronger race package.

"It surprised me a lot because it's his first race victory under these difficult conditions with Vettel in a better combination behind him," said Mercedes non-executive chairman Lauda. "He did a fantastic job.

"I've never seen anyone like him, under this pressure, win his first grand prix.

"He can't do a better grand prix."

Lauda said Bottas's explosive start, where he passed Kimi Raikkonen and then Vettel before Turn 2, was the key to victory.

He added that now Bottas had won his first race, securing the next one should be an easier feat.

"To win the first grand prix in a racing driver's life is always the most difficult, I know from my own experience," he said.

"I remember [my first win] very well - [Emerson] Fittipaldi called me and he said 'congratulations, the next ones will come easier' which is true.

"I told exactly the same thing to Valtteri just now; the next one will come easy.

"He has proven he can win."

Bottas signed for Mercedes on a one-year deal, and although the Finn impressed with victory in his fourth race for the team, Lauda said it was too early to consider an extension.

"We are talking about this year," he said. "I want to win this year.

"I don't care who will win it.

"We have had no discussion about next year at all.

"Valtteri did the perfect job, all that we expected from him.

"He is certainly a very good replacement for Nico."