The Official 2016 Russian Grand Prix Thread **Spoilers**
Discussion
Date(s): Friday 29 April - Sunday 01 May 2016
UK Broadcast Timings (and local time)
All sessions are live on Sky F1, with a highlights show of Qualifying and Race broadcast on Channel 4.
Sochi Autodrom
2015 Grand Prix Results
Pole time: 1:37.113 (N. Rosberg, Mercedes; Avg Speed: 216.787 km/h)
Fastest Race Lap: 1:40.071 (L51; S. Vettel, Ferrari; Avg Speed: 210.379 km/h)
Live timing for all sessions available here:
http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/f1-...
Weather forecast:
http://www.accuweather.com/en/ru/sochi/293687/dail...
The tyre choices requested by the teams:
On to the next one, for a street feeling track. Looking at the tyre choices, the medium is a bit of a waste, or atleast that's what the teams are all thinking. Would have been better for the Ultra Softs to be introduced here, but obviously the venue of Monaco trumps this one. Even with the Soft/Super Soft combination, last year almost all cars did a 1-stop race; and adding to the processional feel was the less overtaking opportunities presented in this circuit. Lots of low speed 90-degree corners, so good traction is key. Should be a (traditional) Williams forte then.
It will be interesting to see how the competitive order pans out, as even Button managed to grab a few points last year in the terminally slow MP4-30. I expect the field to be bunched up even more, if it's possible! Due to the low degradation of the tyres, some flat out stints should be possible too. Last year's race was memorable for Räikkönen's uncharacteristic do-or-die move on his compatriot, leading to Perez snatching back the P3 for Force India after another one of his marathon 41 laps on a set of Softs. Actually, more insane was Alonso doing 40 laps on a set of Super Softs with little or no drop off on lap times.
Hopefully due to the midfield being so close, will give us some good racing and not a procession. Watch out for a new lap record too.
UK Broadcast Timings (and local time)
All sessions are live on Sky F1, with a highlights show of Qualifying and Race broadcast on Channel 4.
Session | Day | Sky F1 | Channel 4 | Session Start | Local Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Practice 1 | Fri | 0745 | - | 0800 | 1000 |
Practice 2 | Fri | 1145 | - | 1200 | 1400 |
Practice 3 | Sat | 0945 | - | 1000 | 1200 |
Qualifying | Sat | 1200 | 1730 | 1300 | 1500 |
Race | Sun | 1030 | 1800 | 1300 | 1500 |
Sochi Autodrom
Number of laps | 53 |
Length of a lap | 5.848 km |
Race distance | 309.745 km |
Race lap record | 1:40.071 (L51; S. Vettel, 2015; Avg speed: 210.379 km/h) |
2015 Grand Prix Results
P1 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:37:11.024 |
P2 | S. Vettel | Ferrari | +5.953 |
P3 | S. Perez | Force India-Mercedes | +28.918 |
P4 | F. Massa | Williams-Mercedes | +38.831 |
P5 | D. Kvyat | Red Bull Racing-Renault | +47.566 |
P6 | F. Nasr | Sauber-Ferrari | +56.508 |
P7 | P. Maldonado | Lotus-Mercedes | +61.088 |
P8 | K. Räikkönen | Ferrari | +72.358 |
P9 | J. Button | McLaren-Honda | +79.467 |
P10 | M. Verstappen | Torro Rosso-Renault | +88.424 |
Pole time: 1:37.113 (N. Rosberg, Mercedes; Avg Speed: 216.787 km/h)
Fastest Race Lap: 1:40.071 (L51; S. Vettel, Ferrari; Avg Speed: 210.379 km/h)
Live timing for all sessions available here:
http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/f1-...
Weather forecast:
http://www.accuweather.com/en/ru/sochi/293687/dail...
Day | Comment | High/Low |
---|---|---|
Fri | Rather cloudy, a little rain | 16/12 |
Sat | Clouds and sunshine | 16/12 |
Sun | Clouds giving way to some sun | 17/13 |
The tyre choices requested by the teams:
On to the next one, for a street feeling track. Looking at the tyre choices, the medium is a bit of a waste, or atleast that's what the teams are all thinking. Would have been better for the Ultra Softs to be introduced here, but obviously the venue of Monaco trumps this one. Even with the Soft/Super Soft combination, last year almost all cars did a 1-stop race; and adding to the processional feel was the less overtaking opportunities presented in this circuit. Lots of low speed 90-degree corners, so good traction is key. Should be a (traditional) Williams forte then.
It will be interesting to see how the competitive order pans out, as even Button managed to grab a few points last year in the terminally slow MP4-30. I expect the field to be bunched up even more, if it's possible! Due to the low degradation of the tyres, some flat out stints should be possible too. Last year's race was memorable for Räikkönen's uncharacteristic do-or-die move on his compatriot, leading to Perez snatching back the P3 for Force India after another one of his marathon 41 laps on a set of Softs. Actually, more insane was Alonso doing 40 laps on a set of Super Softs with little or no drop off on lap times.
Hopefully due to the midfield being so close, will give us some good racing and not a procession. Watch out for a new lap record too.
The Moose said:
Red Bull seem to have a rather racey tyre strategy!
I see it the other way.... They've chosen the same tyres as Haas - either both teams know they are light on their tyres or they both feel they are going to struggle for pace so are looking to the tyres to deliver some quicker lap times... Think they'll struggle.Rugbyman said:
NM62 said:
Vaud said:
Dr_Z.. Hats off, you have this opening post for GPs nailed!
+1 Please keep it up Dr_Z.Interesting the point about Red Bull being so biased towards the Super Soft. They were doing quite well during last year's race on them, so I suspect their struggles on the Super Soft at China were circuit specific. With no worries with tyre degradation, what you get is what you've got in terms of race pace.
Full throttle is only at 57% of a lap but due to lots of acceleration from low speed, fuel consumption tends towards the higher end (~1.9kg/lap).
It'll be interesting to see Lewis' mentality this weekend. He needs a win for two reasons, to close the gap to Nico and to try and break Nico's run of victories. I wonder if the pressure will make him push harder in Quali and lead to a few errors or if he's still calm.
I thought Nico's interview at the end of the last race was very telling. They told him something along the lines of "every driver that has won the first three races of the season has gone on to be WDC". He simply replied "those people didn't have Lewis Hamilton as a team mate".
I thought Nico's interview at the end of the last race was very telling. They told him something along the lines of "every driver that has won the first three races of the season has gone on to be WDC". He simply replied "those people didn't have Lewis Hamilton as a team mate".
Yes, an interesting line that one. The pundits will come back to it at the end of the season with 20:20 hindsight and say either:
-Nico never really had the self belief to win the championship and even with a large margin felt pressure from his team mate.
-this candid comment reveals Nico's self belief and supremely relaxed attitude.
-Nico never really had the self belief to win the championship and even with a large margin felt pressure from his team mate.
-this candid comment reveals Nico's self belief and supremely relaxed attitude.
VladD said:
It'll be interesting to see Lewis' mentality this weekend. He needs a win for two reasons, to close the gap to Nico and to try and break Nico's run of victories. I wonder if the pressure will make him push harder in Quali and lead to a few errors or if he's still calm.
I thought Nico's interview at the end of the last race was very telling. They told him something along the lines of "every driver that has won the first three races of the season has gone on to be WDC". He simply replied "those people didn't have Lewis Hamilton as a team mate".
Telling in what way?I thought Nico's interview at the end of the last race was very telling. They told him something along the lines of "every driver that has won the first three races of the season has gone on to be WDC". He simply replied "those people didn't have Lewis Hamilton as a team mate".
I heard that line and thought that it was both very respectful and apt. If you look at many of those drivers to win the first 3 races then their team mate was regarded as the much less able driver.
Adam Ansel said:
This is 4/21.
If Lewis does not outscore Rosberg here surely he will begin to think that it is not to be?
Whilst a racer never truly gives up this early, the next few races are all happy hunting grounds for Rosberg. He's very strong in Barcelona and won very convincingly last year. The race after that is Monaco, which he was gifted last year but he's a 3-time winner now. At the Sochi race last year, he comfortably out-qualified Hamilton and was leading the race when his throttle pedal got stuck and retired after the safety car. He's coming in on a high this year. I think it will take a pretty special performance from Hamilton to turn it around. If Rosberg can win this one and the next two, then he'll put himself in a very strong position. If Lewis does not outscore Rosberg here surely he will begin to think that it is not to be?
All depends on how much of a challenge Ferrari are in these races. Ferrari are talking about bringing forward a PU upgrade for this race, as they'd really like to get their championship challenge off the ground. It will be an interesting one this race.
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