Russia: The Hits and Misses from the Editorial Team

The tops

The selflessness of Mercedes

Difficult for the Mercedes team to hope for more from a weekend that seemed poorly started. The German team received the boost it needed to complete a weekend where Valtteri Bottas and especially Lewis Hamilton didn’t give up.

The second place in qualifying for the Brit allowed the competition to remember that the five-time world champion shouldn’t be counted out too quickly, even if he seems to be struggling. Patient and taking advantage of the great opportunity provided by the Safety Car to take the lead, Hamilton wins a race that was seemingly handed to the Reds. As a result, he extends his lead in the championship even further and races towards his sixth title, with an opportunistic Valtteri Bottas finishing 2nd!

Kevin Magnussen scores points.

For once, the Dane is part of our Weekend Top. Certainly, some will say that he finally received a 5-second penalty for cutting the chicane at the end of the race during an intense battle. But behind the wheel of a completely unpredictable car, KMag delivered a solid performance, greatly aided by a brilliant start and the appearance of numerous Safety Cars, virtual or otherwise.

Proof, if needed, that the Dane can be strong and that his team can rely on him, especially when his teammate doesn’t make it past the first round amidst a very aggressive pack.

Sergio Pérez wakes up!

The modifications made by Racing Point over the last two or three races finally seem to be working on the cars! Both drivers, Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll, managed to get through Q3 without too much difficulty and spent the majority of their race in the Top 10.

Alas, only the Mexican will bring points to his team with his sixth points finish of the season after a more than difficult summer. With his contract extension secured, he is now under less pressure to perform and carry the team on his own, even though it is dedicated to his teammate.

The flops

The Ferrari strategy

It is always quite difficult to judge from the outside a strategy implemented internally with the drivers and engineers. On paper, Ferrari’s seemed quite intelligent. But it was necessary for the drivers’ egos to get involved.

Mattia Binotto is not a novice in Formula 1, he should have known that Sebastian Vettel would not easily give way to let Charles Leclerc pass while he was leading, especially given the situation he is currently in.

In any case, the Scuderia was caught in its own game, and the mechanical failure on the German’s SF90 ruined a possible one-two finish, in whatever order it might have been. It just feels like Ferrari should focus more on performance than internal political games and, why not, designate a clear number one driver, even if it means losing part of its current duo.

Double retirement for Williams

The Williams team doesn’t have many achievements to cling to this season, except for reliability. Before the race in Russia, the team had never seen both of its drivers retire. The first retirement of the season was quite recent, as it was George Russell in Singapore.

This time, it was both Russell, due to off the track, and his teammate Robert Kubica, who had to step down before the checkered flag. The only positive point of this year is that the team retains the point scored by the Pole in Germany after Alfa Romeo’s appeal was finally rejected.

A new disappointing weekend for Renault

Qualified 7th and 10th, the two Renault drivers could legitimately approach this Russian event with confidence. The first corners decided otherwise for Daniel Ricciardo, who was involved in a collision with Antonio Giovinazzi as early as the second turn.

A puncture later, the Australian would retire a few laps further on, leaving his teammate to fight alone on the track to bring back points. In this regard, Renault team’s strategy was rather surprising by having Nico Hülkenberg pit as early as the 17th lap to fit Medium tires.

With 40 laps still to go, the Safety Car deployed a little later proved to be a lifesaver for the German. Unfortunately, he will not be able to finish higher than tenth place, bringing a meager point to his team which now sees McLaren soar to 4th place in the constructors’ standings.