After reacting to the controversial crash between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the last Italian GP, in which both F1 World Championship contenders were taken out of the race, the Red Bull driver starts this weekend with a starting place of three places after the penalty he was judged to be largely at fault for the clash.
The incident ensured that Daniel Ricciardo secured victory for McLaren at Monza, his first F1 win since the 2018 Monaco GP and McLaren’s first win since Brazil in 2012, as the Australian has also been the team’s first 1-2 final Canada 2010 with Lando Norris led the runner-up.
The aftermath of the Verstappen and Hamilton collision is likely to dominate the focus at the start of the Russian GP weekend as Mercedes heads to happy hunting ground to extend its unbeaten record at the Russian GP.
Mercedes has won every Russian GP since the 2014 race was added to the F1 calendar, with Hamilton taking four wins (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019), Valtteri Bottas two wins (2017 and 2020) and Nico Rosberg one win ( 2016).
Away from the battle at the top, Aston Martin has been busy preparing for the Russian GP as it has been officially confirmed that both Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will be retained as driver roster for 2022 and construction has begun on its new F1 factory and facilities and announced that former McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh will become the new Group Chief Executive Officer of Aston Martin Performance Technologies.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR21
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Dates for GP meetings in Russia 2021
After the second sprint race format at the Italian GP, F1 will return to their regular weekend schedule for the Russian GP, with two practice sessions on Friday of 60 minutes each (instead of the previous 90 minute sessions) before an additional practice session also runs one hour on Saturday.
The knockout-style qualifying format Q1, Q2 and Q3 will also be maintained on Saturday afternoon to determine the starting grid for the Russian GP on Sunday.
F1 has also suspended starting races 10 minutes past the hour for the 2021 season, with all races starting on the hour.
Friday September 24th 2021
Free practice 1: 09: 30-10: 30 a.m. BST (11: 30-12: 30 a.m. local time)
Free practice 2: 13: 00-14: 00 BST (15: 00-16: 00 local time)
Saturday, September 25, 2021
Free practice 3: 10: 00-12: 00 BST (12: 00-13: 00 local time)
Qualification: 1:00 p.m.-2: 00 p.m. BST (3:00 p.m.-4: 00 p.m. local time)
Sunday, September 26th, 2021
Race: 1:00 p.m. BST (3:00 p.m. local time)
How can I see the Russian GP?
Channel: Sky Sports F1 HD
Channel numbers – Sky: 406
Channel Numbers – Virgin Media: 506 (Sky Sports F1 HD)
Sky Sports has live and exclusive broadcast rights in the UK, with the setup of the F1 race starting at 11:30 a.m. before the lights go out at 1:00 p.m.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W11, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16, Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes F1 W11, Sergio Perez, Racing Point RP20 and the rest of the field at the start
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
When can I see the highlights of the Russian GP?
Channel: Channel 4
· Start time: Saturday qualifying at 5:50 p.m., Sunday race at 5:30 p.m.
Channel 4 has the rights to show the highlights of the Russian GP from qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.
Will the Russian GP be on the radio?
Live radio broadcasts of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2021 F1 season will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.
Coverage of the Russian GP will begin at 1:00 p.m. BST on the BBC Sport website.
Weather forecast for the Russian GP
Sochi is prepared for mixed weather conditions throughout the race weekend, with a heavy chance of rain on the three days of track action. Highs of 19 degrees Celsius are predicted on Sunday – around nine degrees colder than the warmest conditions at the Italian GP.
Most wins in the Russian F1 GP
Lewis Hamilton: 4 wins (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019)
Valtteri Bottas: 2 wins (2017, 2020)
