Valtteri Bottas will also start from the back of the grid
The grid in Sochi is definitely disrupted: Valtteri Bottas will also move back due to an engine change. He will start 16th, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.
The championship race is all about the details. Mercedes knows this better than anyone, after seven consecutive titles. That’s why, following a lukewarm qualifying session (Lewis Hamilton 4th and Valtteri Bottas 7th), the German team made the choice to once again change Valtteri Bottas’ power units.
This one finds himself then rejected to the back of the grid. This has all the more interest for the team as the Finn will start in front of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and especially ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. Without a doubt, the Finn will do his best to hinder the Dutchman’s comeback so that the latter is not able to score a maximum of points. This would allow Lewis Hamilton to regain the lead in the championship.
Here is an additional element compared to the race perspectives that we could predict yesterday.
