Heavy rain threatens renewed leaching
According to the current weather forecast, heavy rain threatens to limit the Russian Grand Prix this weekend.
Rain is announced on the three running days, on Saturday there is currently a 100 percent chance of rain.
The Belgian Grand Prix was ultimately reduced to just two laps behind the safety car before a result was announced – hopefully F1 and FIA have learned from that.
# F2 # F3 #Sochi
At least the sky is beautiful, even if the paddock is a bit flooded pic.twitter.com/sLQh94ZL0C
– Carlin (@CarlinRacing) September 21, 2021
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In 2021, the F2 and F3 will also be in action on the same weekend as F1 for the first time, so it will be exciting to see whether all races go as planned.
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The Dutchman has received a starting penalty of three places for his role in the incident with Hamilton at Monza and we have seen in the past that it is possible to get through the field at the Sochi Autodrom.
Verstappen moved from the bottom of the grid to fifth place in 2018, while Alexander Albon experienced a similar race to catch up a year later.
Since Mercedes likely has a significant performance advantage anyway, it could be the right time for Red Bull.
Mercedes the favorites
Mercedes has an impeccable record in Russia and has won every race since it was added to the calendar in 2014.
Unlike in 2019, Mercedes often has a clear performance advantage over its competitors.
Hamilton has won four times in Russia, while Valtteri Bottas celebrated his first win in Sochi in 2017 before taking a second win in 2020.
Sergio Perez believes Mercedes will be “hard to beat” and given recent history, that’s a fair comment.
The fight behind it
McLaren’s 1-2 place at the Italian Grand Prix moved up ahead of Ferrari in the race for third place in the constructors’ championship.
The battle between two legendary F1 constructors has leveled and flowed all season, but who will keep the balance of power in Russia?
The first sector will accommodate McLaren due to its straight-line, high-speed advantage, while Ferrari will succeed in the final two-thirds of the lap.
Lando Norris was brilliant in wet conditions in 2021 – without his crash at Spa in Q3, he would probably have taken pole position.
Sochi walks towards the exit door
The Russian GP this weekend is the penultimate race at the Sochi Autodrom before it will be relocated to the Autodrome Igora Drive north of St. Petersburg from 2023.
When it debuted in 2014, the races were often uneventful, which doesn’t make it a fan favorite among fans.
The narrow, winding section that ends the lap makes it difficult to follow before the long start-finish straight.
The road surface is incredibly smooth, which means tire wear is never a factor.
Except for a certain Finnish Mercedes driver, not many people will miss Sochi.
The post F1 Russia GP Topics of conversation: Heavy rain threatens further washout | F1 first appeared on monter-une-startup.
