Russian Grand Prix: Presentation and Predictions from the Editorial Team
The tenth round of this 2020 season takes place in Russia. After an eleven-day break since the first Tuscan Grand Prix, will Lewis Hamilton's opponents have managed to recuperate enough to finally find the path to success?
As astonishing as it may seem, it took until 2014 for Russia to host its first Formula 1 Grand Prix. Numerous attempts to organize or bring about an agreement between Bernie Ecclestone and the Russian state have always ended in failure.
A track symbol of sport?
The trigger was the arrival in F1 of the first Russian driver: Vitaly Petrov. A multiple winner in GP2 and runner-up in the category behind Nico Rosberg in 2009, he was signed for the 2010 season with Caterham. This allowed Mister E and Vladimir Putin to reach an agreement to hold a race in Sochi.
Sochi? Yes, the Olympic village, a key venue for the organization of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Hermann Tilke used this theme to create a track winding between the various sports facilities.
This is thus a new urban and unique circuit added to the calendar shortly after these Olympic Games. With a length of 5.848km, 53 laps must be completed to see the checkered flag after nearly 310km. That’s 5km more than the minimum required distance.
A track created for the Silver Arrows?
This first Grand Prix begins in a somber atmosphere following the accident of Jules Bianchi a week earlier on the Suzuka track in Japan. Numerous tributes are paid to the French driver. It had been several years since F1 had experienced such a tragedy.
This track could be the favorite track for Mercedes. Since the first edition, it has always been a silver arrow that won the race. Among the three winners, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas, the English driver and two-time defending champion, has won four times. It was also in 2014, after this race, that Mercedes clinched its first constructors’ title.
The editorial team’s predictions:
In 2020, Mercedes’ domination is unquestionable, and Lewis Hamilton leaves only crumbs for the competition. This is why the editorial team’s predictions lean in this direction.
For the suspense in the race, we place Bottas ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen.
Regarding pole position, Bottas, who is in form on this track and skillful on a speed lap, wins our votes.
