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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About author
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

zwiss
PickABetterUsername01 said:
Well you just answered it yourself, Mercedes made Hamilton. Hamilton was never this big thing until he got a car 1s faster than everyone else, what a coincidence.

Oh yes he beat Massa in 2008, what an achievement...
Click to expand...
Are you 12 years old or so?
Mercedes CHOSE Hamilton because he was the one of the best.
I am NOT a Hamilton fan, and I don't give a sh*t who is the best of all time... but Lewis is one of the greatest... even if I do NOT like him. He almost was WC in his first year and won his 6th race...
 
Richard Wilks
zwiss said:
Are you 12 years old or so?
Mercedes CHOSE Hamilton because he was the one of the best.
I am NOT a Hamilton fan, and I don't give a sh*t who is the best of all time... but Lewis is one of the greatest... even if I do NOT like him. He almost was WC in his first year and won his 6th race...
Click to expand...
Well so did JV, and JV even won his 4th race. That's problem with statistics in motorracing, they seldom tell the whole story...
 
S
Russell will blow Hamilton out of the game, he doesnt come with all the baggage hamilton has but is equally as good as forcing other drivers off the road so will fit in perfect at Merc
 
mopro
I'm just too old for this :poop: :laugh:
Winning is a combination of hard work, talent and "luck" so the number one (best of the best) got more of those three than the others nuff said.
 
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muzikant
Hey Mister Swiss I'm a Jim Clark fan. Nice of you to mention his name. And you're right let's enjoy the races... special the young talents many good years to come. Its a good season so far
 
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ZuneGuy
Richard Wilks said:
You are the one spinning, trying to fit your narrative into your fantasy world :)

Its very clear what they say. Lewis didnt use the word "bored" anywhere. HE was losing to his teammate more often than he wished, he saw that the team wasnt "his" anymore, he wanted to twist them to pay him more based on nothing honestly, because his results compared with Button didn't justify it. Thats what Dennis say, thats what history says :)

Nice to see you admit finally that he followed the money. That he lucked out is a mere coincidence, but i think we can all agree that Lewis has had a priviliged and lucky career, ever since being picked up by Dennis. Not without merit of course.

Don't worry, it will hurt less in a while. Soon he will be retired, he is desperately trying to beat Schumacher's title tally, so he can retire as the "goat" in his mind, we all know thats all he cares about (and yes i am assuming here), no matter how many times he tries to say no, his actions show it, his contract extension as his behaviour on track this year prove it. If he does it, maybe he even does a Rosberg and retires at the end of this year. If not, i am very much looking forward to see him against yet another champ material driver in the same car, before he retires, and becomes "one of the greats" like many others before him. There is no "king" of F1, not even Schumacher got that title.

That you feel pride in achievements of someone you never met is a personal thing for you, that doesnt entitle you to rewrite history, nor it changes anything Hamilton did or didn't do in the eyes of the rest of us. No matter how that hurts you, or the perfect image you want to create in your head of your "hero".
Click to expand...
You don't seem to know how sports works. You see an athlete always takes a contract that gives more money than another team is willing to pay, and to go somewhere where they can win. Hamilton got both in one shot. He left one team and found great success with another - actually monumental success. This is a further mark of a talented, smart athlete.

You seem to think that someone who wants to be paid what they feel they are worth is something that is bad. He has had a very privileged career because he showed what it takes to get there. Lewis showed great talent and Dennis wanted him on his racing team.... period. The fact that he didn't have to start from any bottom team simply says something about his talent. He's always used Mercedes engines, and both teams that he has worked for wanted him on their teams.

You see, no other driver in the sport can hold off contract talks the way that he does. He can do that because he's Lewis. He's literally the face of the sport.

I do think that in regards to his career, never having had to start from a bottom team, and that he's always been wanted by a great team has made a lot of people envious of his career. I'm talking ex drivers, current drivers, and F1 fans alike. But when you're that good.... well?

You are absolutely correct on one front though (the only one that I've seen thus far), there is no complete goat in F1. I am of the mindset that there is no G.O.A.T in any sport. I simply like the skills and talents of certain athletes more than others. What that means is that I believe what my eyes show me. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Ken Griffey Jr (baseball player), Muhammad Ali, and Lewis Hamilton are all athletes who possess greatness in their sport. Many people call these athletes "the goat" because of what they gave done.

Now to address this hero thing, you said that, I didn't. I mean there you goputting words in a person's mouth again. I supported Senna when he raced, I supported Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Roland Ratzenberger. Not to get off point, but the 94' San Marino GP was one of the saddest days in all of sports for me. I even supported Michael Schumacher for a very little while.

If I had to pick heroes they would be: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Dick Gregory, Nelson Mandela, Eldridge Cleaver, Muhammad Ali, and Rosa Parks. A European race car driver as a hero, for pete's sake - get real.

I like the sport of F1, and I like Lewis Hamilton because he's in the sport, he's a bad man, like no one who's ever been in the sport, and he looks like me.
 
ZuneGuy
muzikant said:
You should thank the FIA (for 6 years of not changing the engine rules that has brought the Sir all the world titles. Fortunately this year is a bit fairer and everyone is a little closer together which makes racing more fun.
Click to expand...
Engine rule changes aren't affecting Mercedes in any adverse way. It's the obvious aerodynamic rule changes that screwed up some cars, and made them unmanageable - do some homework please.

In my years of watching Hamilton race, it isn't so much so much the engine that makes him the driver that he is, it's car balance and tire management that is his forte. That's what he has always done better than everyone else. The 2021 car is completely unbalanced, brought upon out of desperation to make racing more entertaining this year.

The whole point of the 2022 cars is to make racing more fair among the teams, and to bring the racing closer together. Changing the aero rules by punishing a car with superior downforce is just blatant. I'm surprised they didn' t just change the rules to say the mercs can't drive with wings while on track.
 
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ZuneGuy
Appie Kuipers said:
Sure Lewis has the records, amazing driver, but why compere with Max, he is only 23, has 12years to go looking at Lewis, nonsens to compere.
come back when he is 34/35.
Click to expand...
Well.... he brought Verstappen into the conversation, not me. He's never been a driver that I have talked about out of the blue so why would I even bring him up.
 
D
ZuneGuy said:
I like the sport of F1, and I like Lewis Hamilton because he's in the sport, he's a bad man, like no one who's ever been in the sport, and he looks like me.
Click to expand...
Yup, looks like all of us. Two eyes, a nose, two ears, a mouth, two arms and legs....yup, He IS a little short tho for a Storm Trooper.
 
ZuneGuy
davehenrie said:
Yup, looks like all of us. Two eyes, a nose, two ears, a mouth, two arms and legs....yup, He IS a little short tho for a Storm Trooper.
Click to expand...
Well.... I don't know who you are or what you look like, which is why I said that he looks like me. I also mentioned a number of other great people for which I share the same similarities. I can honor and relate to them for that same reason.
 
D
ZuneGuy said:
Well.... I don't know who you are or what you look like, which is why I said that he looks like me. I also mentioned a number of other great people for which I share the same similarities. I can honor and relate to them for that same reason.
Click to expand...
As can I. And that is why I said he looks like me as well. Doesn't matter if they have blonde hair, black hair, blue eyes, or brown. We all look the same unless you want us to all look different. Put Lewis and Max in plain cover-alls, plain helmets, plain gloves, etc. Gear them up with the HANs device, the visor, the fireproof suits and those dainty shoes. Then place these two inside two identical but unmarked cars. With the F1 Cockpit reaching up past their shoulders, with their unmarked helmets, with their gloves, how can ANY of us tell them apart? I mark and honor people for what they achieve, not if they are as blonde as a Viking, resemble a Ninja, or any other meaningless outer feature. It is what they do that matters. I know a complete A-hole who happens to share my skin color...does that mean I have to honor him? Does that mean I have to be like him? Fortunately no. I'm glad you have a favorite. Keep cheering for him because of what he does. My boyhood idol was a chubby 3rd generation driver who always was polite and said the right things. Then things stopped going his way and he became a divorced drunk deadbeat. But because I share ONE absolutely meaningless feature, I should continue to praise him? Naw.
Lewis is an amazing talent. So is Max. So are others from other generations. Enjoy them. Relish in their successes, don't box yourself in by REQUIRING they match one characteristic of yours before you can enjoy what they have achieved, and what they are achieving.
 
Richard Wilks
ZuneGuy said:
You don't seem to know how sports works. You see an athlete always takes a contract that gives more money than another team is willing to pay, and to go somewhere where they can win. Hamilton got both in one shot. He left one team and found great success with another - actually monumental success. This is a further mark of a talented, smart athlete.

You seem to think that someone who wants to be paid what they feel they are worth is something that is bad. He has had a very privileged career because he showed what it takes to get there. Lewis showed great talent and Dennis wanted him on his racing team.... period. The fact that he didn't have to start from any bottom team simply says something about his talent. He's always used Mercedes engines, and both teams that he has worked for wanted him on their teams.

You see, no other driver in the sport can hold off contract talks the way that he does. He can do that because he's Lewis. He's literally the face of the sport.

I do think that in regards to his career, never having had to start from a bottom team, and that he's always been wanted by a great team has made a lot of people envious of his career. I'm talking ex drivers, current drivers, and F1 fans alike. But when you're that good.... well?

You are absolutely correct on one front though (the only one that I've seen thus far), there is no complete goat in F1. I am of the mindset that there is no G.O.A.T in any sport. I simply like the skills and talents of certain athletes more than others. What that means is that I believe what my eyes show me. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Ken Griffey Jr (baseball player), Muhammad Ali, and Lewis Hamilton are all athletes who possess greatness in their sport. Many people call these athletes "the goat" because of what they gave done.

Now to address this hero thing, you said that, I didn't. I mean there you goputting words in a person's mouth again. I supported Senna when he raced, I supported Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Roland Ratzenberger. Not to get off point, but the 94' San Marino GP was one of the saddest days in all of sports for me. I even supported Michael Schumacher for a very little while.

If I had to pick heroes they would be: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Dick Gregory, Nelson Mandela, Eldridge Cleaver, Muhammad Ali, and Rosa Parks. A European race car driver as a hero, for pete's sake - get real.

I like the sport of F1, and I like Lewis Hamilton because he's in the sport, he's a bad man, like no one who's ever been in the sport, and he looks like me.
Click to expand...
You still try to paint the decision of going to Mercedes as if he knew how much success Mercedes would have. So now Hamilton besides driver is a pyschic, or predicts the future? Nobody knew how mercedes would dominate the sport. Nobody. So it wasn't "smart" in that regard. He ran away from Button and Mclaren, and wanted to get more money. Simple as that. Mclaren didn't think he deserved it. Simple as that. Live with this, it hurts to think the hero that "looks like you" is not perfect. But thats how it is.
 
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Damage Inc
davehenrie said:
I would say, based soley on memory, that Ferrari had two legitimate chances to win World Titles from the Alonso Age thru today. Alonso got bottled up when the team responded to the wrong Red Bull...in Korea(??) And Vettel had a clear shot several years ago but his driver errors coupled with team mistakes sank his chances. So that leaves us with Nico Rosberg. In equal cars they qualified incredibly close for most of the time they shared, but Lewis had a definite win advantage over Nico. Most of Vettel's driving errors came due to the pressure Mercedes equipment coupled with Lewis's ability forcing Vettel into multiple driving errors. (just for grins, why can't Seb hold an inside line without spinning???)
Seb's only real errors during his 4 year run came when Ricardo(same car) began to equalize results.(The two drivers taking each other out at the end of that long straight..lol...can't remember...
I wonder if Alonso's salary was the beginning of Mclaren's decline...did he take too big a bite out of the team's budget. Then add Hamilton's price pressure and we saw how far down the Mc:Laren group fell.
Click to expand...
Vettel's flaw for me is he has no germanic calmness about him, it's like he has the southern European fire somewhere in his DNA. Personaly I think Mclarens decline started when they concentrated on a rookie. But money issues could have been a factor, Alonso would not have been cheap, did Mclaren bank on winning the WDC and WCC 2007 a bit TOO much and when it fell apart the revenue loss was too much? Who knows.

But my post was more on the topic of people going "but Lewis only lost in 2016 because of reliability issues, Button only beat Lewis because of reliability issues for Lewis"....yet those same people don't say "Massa only lost the 2008 WDC because of reliability issues"...I don't believe picking and choosing what counts or does not count is wrong. If Lewis was unlucky in '11+'16 then Massa was unlucky in'08.
 

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