The Official 2017 Russian Grand Prix Thread **Spoilers**

The Official 2017 Russian Grand Prix Thread **Spoilers**

Author
Discussion

Dr Z

Original Poster:

3,396 posts

170 months

Monday 24th April 2017
quotequote all
It's race week, but I see there are no takers for the Russian GP, yet.

Date(s): Friday 28 April - Sunday 30 April 2017

UK Broadcast Timings (and local time)

All sessions are live on Sky F1 and Channel 4.

Session Day Sky F1 Channel 4 Session Start Local Time
Practice 1 Fri 0845 0855 0900 1100
Practice 2 Fri 1245 1255 1300 1500
Practice 3 Sat 0945 0955 1000 1200
Qualifying Sat 1200 1155 1300 1500
Race Sun 1130 1200 1300 1500


Sochi Autodrom




2016 Grand Prix Results

Pos. Driver Constructor Time Grid
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:32:41.997 1
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +25.022 10
3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari +31.998 3
4 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes +50.217 2
5 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes +1:14.527 4
6 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda +1 Lap 14
7 Kevin Magnussen Renault +1 Lap 17
8 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari +1 Lap 15
9 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes +1 Lap 6
10 Jenson Button McLaren-Honda +1 Lap 12



Pole time: 1:35.417 (N. Rosberg, Mercedes)

Fastest Race Lap: 1:39.094 (L52; N. Rosberg, Mercedes)

Event timings, steward decisions, technical reports and laptimes for the weekend will appear here:

http://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-one-world-ch...

Live timing for all sessions available here:

http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/f1-...

Weather forecast:

http://www.myweather2.com/Motor-Racing/Russia/Soch...

The tyre compounds are: Ultra Soft, Super Soft and Soft. Preview info from Pirelli:








I expect the lap record to be smashed. I keep an eye on the drivers in long turn 3 in the race...some sore necks after the race. This was a one stop race in the previous years, expect the same here. I expect the Mercedes to be strong here in qualifying and the race. Will be interesting between Bottas and Hamilton, as Bottas has been pretty quick here with Williams...I expect one of them to win the race. Clear dry and cool conditions expected for the race.

stevesingo

4,848 posts

221 months

Monday 24th April 2017
quotequote all
Another great OP, OP. ;-)

perdu

4,884 posts

198 months

Monday 24th April 2017
quotequote all
You do these well Dr Z, this one full of interesting stuff indeed ta

K50 DEL

9,227 posts

227 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
quotequote all
Was just checking to see if you'd done it Z, if not I was going to crack on!
I'll do the next one lol!

Anyway... Sochi.... Not one of the most interesting tracks on the calendar as I recall, going to be no-deg rather than low-deg this year I fancy
I expect Lewis to take this one, though hopefully Vettel will push him.

Unfortunately we're back to the silly Euro timings now, so no FP1 or 2 for me and Quali and Race going to be awkward as well.
I much prefer the 2am, 3am starts, far more convenient.

Dr Z

Original Poster:

3,396 posts

170 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
quotequote all
K50 DEL said:
Was just checking to see if you'd done it Z, if not I was going to crack on!
I'll do the next one lol!

Anyway... Sochi.... Not one of the most interesting tracks on the calendar as I recall, going to be no-deg rather than low-deg this year I fancy
I expect Lewis to take this one, though hopefully Vettel will push him.

Unfortunately we're back to the silly Euro timings now, so no FP1 or 2 for me and Quali and Race going to be awkward as well.
I much prefer the 2am, 3am starts, far more convenient.
Oh, cool...I don't blame you for not finding the enthusiasm to start it off. The next one should be better!

This track is a bit dull except turn 3, and I'm glad I don't have to pay for a NowTV pass to watch it live.

Derek Smith

45,514 posts

247 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
quotequote all
Thanks for the information, Doctor. I appreciate it.


London424

12,826 posts

174 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
quotequote all
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/10845020/f1...

Thought that was some interesting analysis of the first few races and the implications for this one.

Hungrymc

6,643 posts

136 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
quotequote all
London424 said:
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/10845020/f1...

Thought that was some interesting analysis of the first few races and the implications for this one.
It is interesting. I'd add two points. Firstly, I don't think we've really seen Ferrari have a tyre wear advantage (I may be mistaken, but I think we've seen the longer runs by Lewis?). I do think we've seen them have more flexibility in which tyres work and I do think we see Merc switch them on quicker

But I think they're glossing over strategy. Merc really do not have a good track record and maybe its difficult to be smart when you are (or have been) in the front - you have more to lose, tend to be conservative (they've dropped some utter howlers as well... Monaco etc)? I think Ferrari have a real advantage here.

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
Mild conditions, very low degradation... if Ferrari can topple Mercedes here I will begin to believe the hype.

I'm not normally this pessimistic but I'm expecting Mercedes front row (possibly a Bottas pole) with Ferrari and Red Bull two by two behind, and an uneventful race.

I wonder if we'll see Mercedes using their number two car to cover off the Ferraris during the pit stop period. That could be interesting if Bottas leads from pole.

Redlake27

2,255 posts

243 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
Is this abberation of a circuit still on the calendar?

Let's hope Liberty take us somewhere else in the future.

With slow corners and long straights, I'm expecting Williams and Force India to have their best race so far

thegreenhell

15,115 posts

218 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
Redlake27 said:
Is this abberation of a circuit still on the calendar?

Let's hope Liberty take us somewhere else in the future.
Unfortunately they've just signed a contract extension to host the race until 2025.

London424

12,826 posts

174 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
HustleRussell said:
Mild conditions, very low degradation... if Ferrari can topple Mercedes here I will begin to believe the hype.

I'm not normally this pessimistic but I'm expecting Mercedes front row (possibly a Bottas pole) with Ferrari and Red Bull two by two behind, and an uneventful race.

I wonder if we'll see Mercedes using their number two car to cover off the Ferraris during the pit stop period. That could be interesting if Bottas leads from pole.
Merc and Ferrari need their number 2 drivers to start pulling something out and taking points off the other team.

Hungrymc

6,643 posts

136 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
ash73 said:
Don't really know the track, I'll have to try it on a sim, but don't remember it being great. Hope Bottas and Kimi get their acts together this time, both need to learn how to say no; everyone is being too well mannered.
Love your optimism, but I think allowing team mates to fight is a luxury you only see when there is a really dominant car (or there is no chance of the drivers championship in the team). If Merc and Ferrari stay close it becomes ever more likely that both teams will focus on maximising points haul for one driver (and we know which two that will be).

Maybe the best we can hope for is that Merc stop the "lead car gets first call on pitstop" approach - but I doubt even that as they have to accept short term track position between team mates begins to take priority over long term overall race strategy versus the opposition.

suffolk009

5,344 posts

164 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
Sadly, it's likely to be another bad weekend for McLaren.

On the plus side I doubt we'll see Putin sitting in the grandstand between Ross Brawn and Chase Carey. I wonder if he'll be there in the room of awkwardness (although even that's not so awkward this year without Nico).

Mr_Thyroid

1,995 posts

226 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
HustleRussell said:
Mild conditions, very low degradation... if Ferrari can topple Mercedes here I will begin to believe the hype.

I'm not normally this pessimistic but I'm expecting Mercedes front row (possibly a Bottas pole) with Ferrari and Red Bull two by two behind, and an uneventful race.

I wonder if we'll see Mercedes using their number two car to cover off the Ferraris during the pit stop period. That could be interesting if Bottas leads from pole.
Forecast is 22-23 degrees and bright sun - this means the track will probably be a fair bit warmer, does this still count as mild?

cuprabob

14,421 posts

213 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
ash73 said:
Sorry Bottas and Kimi, fins are banned next year:
.
Racist, in more than one way:-)

Vaud

50,291 posts

154 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
ash73 said:
Sorry Bottas and Kimi, fins are banned next year:
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/10851565/t-...

Disappointed t-wings haven't been scrapped with immediate effect; if one fails on a fast straight it could hit a driver's head.
Do they have to pass similar load tests as other wings?

Steamer

13,846 posts

212 months

Thursday 27th April 2017
quotequote all
suffolk009 said:
Sadly, it's likely to be another bad weekend for McLaren.

On the plus side I doubt we'll see Putin sitting in the grandstand between Ross Brawn and Chase Carey. I wonder if he'll be there in the room of awkwardness (although even that's not so awkward this year without Nico).
I was wondering the same thing.. am I right in thinking last year Hamilton didnt shake Putin's hand at the end of the race?

FourWheelDrift

88,382 posts

283 months

Thursday 27th April 2017
quotequote all
And power unit usage after 3 rounds - http://www.crash.net/f1/feature/244958/1/power-uni...

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Thursday 27th April 2017
quotequote all
Mr_Thyroid said:
HustleRussell said:
Mild conditions, very low degradation... if Ferrari can topple Mercedes here I will begin to believe the hype.

I'm not normally this pessimistic but I'm expecting Mercedes front row (possibly a Bottas pole) with Ferrari and Red Bull two by two behind, and an uneventful race.

I wonder if we'll see Mercedes using their number two car to cover off the Ferraris during the pit stop period. That could be interesting if Bottas leads from pole.
Forecast is 22-23 degrees and bright sun - this means the track will probably be a fair bit warmer, does this still count as mild?
No, actually that's much warmer than I presumed (because Russia). Hey ho, will stand by my prediction.

ash73 said:
Sorry Bottas and Kimi, fins are banned next year:
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/10851565/t-...

Disappointed t-wings haven't been scrapped with immediate effect; if one fails on a fast straight it could hit a driver's head. helmet
Fixed.