Russian Grand Prix – Race: Opportunistic Bottas

We were expecting the driver of the Mercedes 44, but it was ultimately the driver of the Mercedes 77 who triumphed this Sunday in Russia! Valtteri Bottas secured the 9th victory of his career… three and a half years after his first win in Formula 1, already achieved on the Sochi track by the Black Sea.

Started 2nd, Max Verstappen finished in the same position, ahead of a Lewis Hamilton who made things difficult for himself.

No record equaled for Hamilton

Poleman on the grid, Lewis Hamilton received a 10-second penalty right at the start for a maneuver before the race. The Briton was found guilty of a test carried out during his lap to set up on the grid, at the end of the pit lane… 300 meters after the designated area for exiting the pits (visible on this tweet).

BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton is under investigation by the race stewards for a practice start outside of the designated area #RussianGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/Gw3NoKgvwe

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 27, 2020

Ignoring the instructions, it was a disillusioned Hamilton who served his penalty at the end of the 16th lap, relinquishing the lead to Bottas. The Finn then maintained the lead until the finish, with a single stop, switching from medium to hard tires on lap 27, to cover Verstappen’s identical strategy, who pitted a lap earlier.

Red Bull cost its driver some time, coming out behind Daniil Kvyat’s AlphaTauri, which extended its first stint until the 31st lap. In front of his home crowd, the Russian enjoyed a few laps in 3rd place. He eventually finished 8th.

Second at the finish, Verstappen unsuccessfully tried to unsettle Bottas. He still finished ahead of Hamilton, who fell to 11th after his penalty, served at the end of the 16th lap. A few easy overtakes to note for the six-time world champion, who opted for hard tires too early to hope for better results.

Behind the podium, Sergio Pérez won the battle of the outsiders with a fine 4th place! The Racing Point driver outperformed both Renaults, overtaking Daniel Ricciardo on track and Esteban Ocon with a well-timed stop at the end of the 20th lap.

The diamond brand, in fact, distinguished itself with a good pace, and this penalty for Ricciardo. Passing his teammate Ocon under a team order on the 25th lap… the Australian missed his braking, cut the curb of the first corner, without taking the required escape route. Ricciardo received a 5-second penalty on his race time at the finish. Without affecting his final 5th place!

Aggressive on braking as usual, driver #3 gave a lesson in overtaking to Ocon by quickly passing Vettel (on the 28th lap). Briefly 3rd before his pit stop, the Frenchman struggled longer against the Ferrari of the four-time world champion. And after finally finding an opening on Vettel, Ocon, 7th at the finish, saw… Leclerc reemerge ahead of him.

Qualified 11th, started 10th, the Monegasque had a choice of tires at the start. Mediums then hards: a winning combination for Leclerc, who clinched a fine 6th place at the finish.

The final points of this Russian Grand Prix go notably to Kvyat (8th).

With two stops, Pierre Gasly still secures 9th place, just ahead of Alex Albon, 10th. The Thai driver started 15th on the grid, with a five-place penalty for a gearbox change.

For his 323rd Grand Prix start (equaling Rubens Barrichello’s record), Kimi Räikkönen finished in a distant 14th place, ahead of the Williams of Nicholas Latifi and George Russell… and Romain Grosjean’s Haas.

A tumultuous departure!

The race was neutralized by the Safety Car between the 1st and 6th lap. The consequence of these two initial accidents, including Carlos Sainz’s from the first corner. A surprising accident from the Spanish driver, who hit the wall on the left in the run-off area, before coming back in a spin right in the middle of the track amid traffic.

Lance Stroll didn’t make it much further this Sunday: hit by Leclerc’s Ferrari at the exit of turn 4, the Canadian spun, a passenger in his crash into the wall.

LAP 1/53

Safety Car is out on the opening lap

Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz are both out of the race ????????#RussianGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/NlytU9F8Fu

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 27, 2020

In front, Hamilton had just regained first place from Bottas in the first corner. Starting 3rd, he immediately overtook Verstappen, 2nd on the grid in the slipstream. But the driver of the Mercedes #77 had to give way to the Mercedes #44 on the inside curb. Ultimately, Bottas’ early Grand Prix offensive allowed him to build his victory this Sunday. 26 points collected by the Finn, with the fastest lap in the race.

The statistic is astonishing: Mercedes remains undefeated in Sochi since the race was added to the calendar in 2014!

In the world championship standings, Hamilton remains a solid leader with 205 points, 44 points ahead of Bottas. But no 91st Grand Prix victory! We will have to wait for the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in two weeks to possibly see him join Michael Schumacher.

The complete standings of the Russian Grand Prix