2021 Formula One Russian Grand Prix

Russian Grand Prix.jpg
Formula One is back in action this weekend for the Russian Grand Prix, with the drivers and constructors championships still very much in contention.

The epic drivers championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton continues this weekend in Russia. One of the tightest F1 points battles in memory ended in a collision last time out, with the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers colliding at Monza and ending the race for both.

Fan opinions were predictably mixed on who was at fault in the incident, but the stewards sided with Hamilton and handed Verstappen a 3-place grid penalty for the upcoming Russian Grand Prix in Sochi. This is a site the Mercedes could hold a slight advantage in versus Red Bull, so the three grid places could prove significant.

The Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago proved to be an exciting race on a number of fronts, and no one was more happy with the outcome than McLaren team and their supporters. Daniel Ricciardo silenced many of his critics who had accused him of being past his prime and claimed victory at Monza. He was joined on the podium by his teammate Lando Norris, who solidified the 1-2 finish for McLaren. Ricciardo also claimed the fastest lap late in the race, showing that the team had more speed in their car on tap if needed. This was a big statement for the team.

Valtteri Bottas is in his final season at Mercedes, but he’s performing well. He claimed the final podium spot in Italy behind the McLarens, and importantly for his current team he was two positions ahead of Sergio Perez. This has opened up the hotly contested constructors championship to an 18-point Mercedes lead.

The excellent constructors battle between McLaren and Ferrari this season has cooled slightly after the dominant McLaren outing at Monza. But, a strong showing from Ferrari at Sochi could take a significant chunk out of the 13.5-point advantage McLaren currently holds.

Near the back of the field, Nikita Mazepin will be looking to perform well to his home crowd, and has some good news to carry into this race with the recent announcement of the renewal of his Haas contract through 2022. He and teammate Mick Schumacher are the only two drivers who have yet to score a point this season, so don’t hold your breath for Mazepin to emulate Hamilton and Verstappen’s home win results this season.

Who do you think will take victory at Sochi this weekend? Will the 3-place grid penalty have a significant impact on the end result of the race? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo credits: Haas F1 Team
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Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

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Comments

daveds3
Premium
Wrong choice by McLaren / Lando cost them the race, plus Lando will now likely get a penalty as well for the pit lane entry mistake.
 
G-Slev
Premium
Lando had to try. You're dammed either way in that scenario. If he had changed to inters and it dried up, he would have looked like a mupet.

Worst thing is that we didn't see him take his maiden win, and bloody Hamilton took another one.
 
Lesley Buurlage
Premium
winston malcolm said:
Get in there Lewis.
Max boys let the whinging begin :cry:
Click to expand...
Lol, thinking provoking a fangroup while the driver in question achieved the best result imaginable starting from the back of the grid is a good idea, really? That's sad man, just enjoy the race honestly :roflmao:

Great drive from Lewis, especially at the end, and gutted for Lando obviously. Bottas lucky to escape a finish outside the top 10 cause for a driver who's done so well here driving P14 while struggling to pass an Alpha Tauri is something to be ashamed off
 
smasha
The rain did Verstappen a huuuge favour and also gave Hamilton the win.

Without rain,the victory was Landos.


As an Aussie ,happy for Dan’s race but frustrated with the bungled pitstop.
 
Last edited:
Richard Wilks
I would say that was the best possible result for Max, coming second after starting last, and looking a bit nowhere in the middle of the race. Didnt get flustered, did what he had to do with the skill we know him in the wet to come home second. People say he has to "mature", i dont see what else he needs to do to prove that he is more than mature, because again, he started last for no fault of his own, and took the maximum he realistically could. If it wasnt him being taken out two times by Hamilton and once by Pirelli, he would be confortably heading for his first WDC.

Norris looked like he had it in the bag, and i am sure had he pitted, he would have won too. Shame, but his time will come.
 
ZuneGuy
PickABetterUsername01 said:
Bottas.

Now enough jerking Hamilton. Hamilton only got as many titles because of the absurd car that was the Merc. If he didn't go to merc, Rosberg would be the guy with 7 merc titles.

He's good, but not that good, numbers are just numbers, a result of being in the right place at the right time.
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Rosberg would not have had seven tiles because he was never as great a driver as Hamilton - he even admitted that openly in interviews, and on the air. He knew that he could not go another year against Lewis without snapping. Also there is a reason that Rosberg left Mercedes and I have always believed that Mercedes gave him a title to leave the team. Do you honestly believe that Mercedes would trade of Hamilton to keep Rosberg - Rosberg had to go. son.
 
BP
Richard Wilks said:
I would say that was the best possible result for Max, coming second after starting last, and looking a bit nowhere in the middle of the race. Didnt get flustered, did what he had to do with the skill we know him in the wet to come home second. People say he has to "mature", i dont see what else he needs to do to prove that he is more than mature, because again, he started last for no fault of his own, and took the maximum he realistically could. If it wasnt him being taken out two times by Hamilton and once by Pirelli, he would be confortably heading for his first WDC.
Click to expand...

I expected nothing less given his immense skill...but what most people refer to is his temper gets the better of him when he's in a sticky situation. That wasn't the case today, as the entire turbo hybrid era has shown if you have a car capable of challenging Mercedes and you're not a crappy driver, going from the back to the podium is not only possible but expected. Bottas did it before, so of course Max could. However when his back is against the wall, that's when his volatile temper comes out and gets overly aggressive in his moves, where a cooler temperament to pace himself and strike at less riskier opportunities would serve him better. His "that's what you get" comment after the Monza incident didn't help matters.

Max is an amazing driver, but he still has a bit to work on in this regard...but his saving grace is the RB is just strong enough this year to keep him ahead and clear of dogfights with Lewis for most of the races. Hamilton isn't perfect either, as he does make silly mistakes occasionally...many of the greats have their faults, so there's no need for defensive postures when a fault is pointed out. In my opinion, based on all I've seen, the closest driver to perfection overall in my opinion was Niki Lauda: dude was calm, laser-focused, could take emotion out of it, was fast in both single lap and race pace and had a very strategic mind.

I'm not gonna go into the "taken out two times by Hamilton" bit: watch the video below for a clearly explained take on the matter by a very experienced multi championship-winning driver.

 
muzikant
BP said:
I expected nothing less given his immense skill...but what most people refer to is his temper gets the better of him when he's in a sticky situation. That wasn't the case today, as the entire turbo hybrid era has shown if you have a car capable of challenging Mercedes and you're not a crappy driver, going from the back to the podium is not only possible but expected. Bottas did it before, so of course Max could. However when his back is against the wall, that's when his volatile temper comes out and gets overly aggressive in his moves, where a cooler temperament to pace himself and strike at less riskier opportunities would serve him better. His "that's what you get" comment after the Monza incident didn't help matters.

Max is an amazing driver, but he still has a bit to work on in this regard...but his saving grace is the RB is just strong enough this year to keep him ahead and clear of dogfights with Lewis for most of the races. Hamilton isn't perfect either, as he does make silly mistakes occasionally...many of the greats have their faults, so there's no need for defensive postures when a fault is pointed out. In my opinion, based on all I've seen, the closest driver to perfection overall in my opinion was Niki Lauda: dude was calm, laser-focused, could take emotion out of it, was fast in both single lap and race pace and had a very strategic mind.

I'm not gonna go into the "taken out two times by Hamilton" bit: watch the video below for a clearly explained take on the matter by a very experienced multi championship-winning driver.

Click to expand...
oh man Merc has been very lucky or at least helped a few times by the Fia this year. every race driver has his good and bad points..aggressive driving is part of Max, Leclerc does too and maybe Russel will too if he drives the right car next year

when Max came into F1 there was quite a bit of criticism and that will always be with Max.

If Norris makes a mistake everyone is a lot milder and it is poor Norris.... while today he was quite stubborn and should have just listened
 

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