2015 Russian Grand Prix - Sochi, October 09-11

[Phil]

And top speed is important to defend or make better use of DRS zones... A front running car usually runs in more clean air and can get away with higher df setup at the expense of straight line speed....

[Juzh]

Just went and looked over race speed trap data. Rai sits on top with 343 kmh which is 10 clicks more than the next fasest car (both williams)

1 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 343.1 15:27:52
2 Felipe Massa Williams Martini Racing 333.6 14:16:44
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams Martini Racing 333.1 15:26:09
4 Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Ferrari 325.5 14:14:52
5 Max Verstappen Scuderia Toro Rosso 319.2 15:23:20
6 Daniel Ricciardo Infiniti Red Bull Racing 315.2 15:21:02
7 Pastor Maldonado Lotus F1 Team 314.4 15:23:17
8 Daniil Kvyat Infiniti Red Bull Racing 314.1 15:19:37
9 Carlos Sainz Jr. Scuderia Toro Rosso 312.7 14:58:48
10 Sergio Perez Sahara Force India F1 Team 311.8 15:17:36

No Mercedes in the data? You'd think they'd hit 310+ easy without DRS.

11 Felipe Nasr Sauber F1 Team 311.4 15:26:33
12 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 311.1 14:39:31
13 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 310.5 15:23:20
14 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team 308.2 14:22:05
15 Roberto Merhi Muntan Manor Marussia F1 Team 307.4 15:31:31
16 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 305.6 14:11:21
17 Jenson Button McLaren Honda 303.9 15:21:33
18 Will Stevens Manor Marussia F1 Team 299.5 15:37:36
19 Nico Hulkenberg Sahara Force India F1 Team 279.7 14:03:51
20 Marcus Ericsson Sauber F1 Team 247.6 14:03:52


INTERMEDIATE 1 INTERMEDIATE 2 FINISH LINE
POS DRIVER KM/H DRIVER KM/H DRIVER KM/H
1 S. Vettel 262.8 F. Massa 332.7 D. Ricciardo 165.6
2 V. Bottas 260.5 V. Bottas 332.1 D. Kvyat 164.8
3 F. Massa 259.7 K. Raikkonen 329.8 S. Vettel 164.8
4 F. Nasr 259.1 S. Vettel 329.3 L. Hamilton 163.1
5 S. Perez 259.0 P. Maldonado 326.7 V. Bottas 163.1
6 P. Maldonado 257.2 R. Grosjean 325.4 N. Rosberg 162.3
7 K. Raikkonen 256.2 S. Perez 323.2 F. Massa 162.2
8 L. Hamilton 255.5 C. Sainz Jr. 323.2 J. Button 162.2
9 C. Sainz Jr. 255.2 D. Ricciardo 319.6 F. Nasr 161.6
10 D. Kvyat 252.9 F. Nasr 317.2 K. Raikkonen 161.2
11 F. Alonso 252.9 M. Verstappen 317.0 C. Sainz Jr. 160.8
12 D. Ricciardo 252.0 L. Hamilton 313.8 S. Perez 160.6
13 M. Verstappen 251.5 F. Alonso 312.5 M. Verstappen 160.5
14 R. Merhi Muntan 249.9 D. Kvyat 306.8 R. Grosjean 159.1
15 J. Button 249.0 J. Button 304.3 P. Maldonado 158.9
16 W. Stevens 248.8 N. Rosberg 301.9 F. Alonso 158.2
17 N. Rosberg 248.5 W. Stevens 299.0 R. Merhi Muntan 158.2
18 R. Grosjean 243.9 R. Merhi Muntan 291.1 W. Stevens 157.8

[Phil]

Very very very funny post race drivers conference between Lewis, Vettel and Perez... Enjoy!!



(In link doesn't seem to work, so here the full URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6seJge ... r_embedded)

[komninosm]

Does anyone know what went wrong with Grosjean's Lotus before it went off? It was an off camber turn and his car had lost almost all the rake at the rear before going off.

Yeah I commented on that too. It looked like the tires had reversed the camber angle. I didn't know formula 1 wheel axles could flex so much.

[GeorgeSmith]

Hey there!
My first time here! As well as my first time in Paddock club and in Sochi overall. I spent such a lovely weekend! Everything was perfect! Breathtaking race, charming grid girls and great weather, even though it was cold enough (Russia ), made my day. Can you imagine, nobody knew till the last hours if it would rain or not!
My best race weekend!

P.S. And you know what? I was very impressed by Russian stewards! Not CAM-security guys, but local APEC (not sure if it's in English or Russian). They were great indeed, smiling and eager to assist regarding any issue. Moreover, they were fluent in at least five languages! First time in my life I heard security guys speaking English, German, Arabic, Chinese and French! Russia can surprise! =D>

[Manoah2u]

Hey there!

P.S. And you know what? I was very impressed by Russian stewards! Not CAM-security guys, but local APEC (not sure if it's in English or Russian). They were great indeed, smiling and eager to assist regarding any issue. Moreover, they were fluent in at least five languages! First time in my life I heard security guys speaking English, German, Arabic, Chinese and French! Russia can surprise! =D>

i partly share your stance.

Partly because most security guys are actually the same security personnel from the Sochi Olympics, whom were trained and mandated to learn those very languages. Still takes a good effort though.

The marshalls were great, too, i kinda felt those were the type of guys we used to see back in the day. The guy running to the track getting a piece of debris is a hero imho and deserves a big big reward.

That being said, it was quite stupid, too. He was just barely moving back when Vettel blazed past him. That was extremely dangerous; it could have taken vettel's concentration and ended up pulling a Grosjean. Moreover, if he decided to cross instead of return, he would have been hit by Vettel. imagine the outcome of that.

I enjoy the enthusiasm of the Russian marshalls but to be fair, emotions can often have devestating results.
Atleast they weren't those fatso marshalls that run for debris, fall, then get up, fall again, then get up, and fall yet again.
jeesh. that was embarrasing.

anyway, i enjoyed this race a whopping lot more than last year tho that was mainly due to the crashes. I'm glad Grosjean is ok, but i think that corner and crash was 'great', due it being so easy to lose control and risk what Grosjean got. That makes drivers respect a corner. I kinda start liking the track now, but there's 2 things i did not particularly enjoy. The scenery was not overly enjoyable, and I generally disliked Putin being in the room when the podium finishers were together getting a drink and a brief moment of calm.
He just does not belong there at that moment and it was just too much of 'putin in the picture'. We get it, you're putin.

[OneAlex]

I kinda start liking the track now, but there's 2 things i did not particularly enjoy. The scenery was not overly enjoyable, and I generally disliked Putin being in the room when the podium finishers were together getting a drink and a brief moment of calm.
He just does not belong there at that moment and it was just too much of 'putin in the picture'. We get it, you're putin.

While the race was fairly enjoyable, and the Russian fans seem to be getting more into it, personally I just can't get into the track, and I agree think it is the scenery around it.

All the drivers say it's a good track and fun to drive, but watching it on tv... it's just a flat track surrounded by big bland grey buildings and a million adverts for the same company in each sector with the odd grandstand.

Some of the camera angles didn't help either; you just saw the track, a car, and light grey walls and walkways all around it. It doesn't do anything for the atmosphere to watch. Even the helicopter wide-shots, while showing Sochi to be impressive, also highlighted how big and empty the complex looked. There's nothing saddder than the sight of a rollercoaster deserted and not moving.

Putin being there... eh. It's a political showcase he's spent a lot of money on and needs to be seen at; it's somewhat distasteful but that's just how Formula 1 is now. Eventually he'll stop coming and as the races get better we'll all start to forget it's a political event as we all largely have with Bahrain.

[Manoah2u]

I kinda start liking the track now, but there's 2 things i did not particularly enjoy. The scenery was not overly enjoyable, and I generally disliked Putin being in the room when the podium finishers were together getting a drink and a brief moment of calm.
He just does not belong there at that moment and it was just too much of 'putin in the picture'. We get it, you're putin.

While the race was fairly enjoyable, and the Russian fans seem to be getting more into it, personally I just can't get into the track, and I agree think it is the scenery around it.

All the drivers say it's a good track and fun to drive, but watching it on tv... it's just a flat track surrounded by big bland grey buildings and a million adverts for the same company in each sector with the odd grandstand.

Some of the camera angles didn't help either; you just saw the track, a car, and light grey walls and walkways all around it. It doesn't do anything for the atmosphere to watch. Even the helicopter wide-shots, while showing Sochi to be impressive, also highlighted how big and empty the complex looked. There's nothing saddder than the sight of a rollercoaster deserted and not moving.

Putin being there... eh. It's a political showcase he's spent a lot of money on and needs to be seen at; it's somewhat distasteful but that's just how Formula 1 is now. Eventually he'll stop coming and as the races get better we'll all start to forget it's a political event as we all largely have with Bahrain.

agreed.

The main square was something that was hugely disappointing. I think the camera angle could have been better, emphasising more on it, but the problem was the main square was just completely empty. you could see 2, 3 people just walking about.

i think it would have been much better having a grandstand there, or just 'dressing it up more'. I don't recall whether there were fountains there, but if there were, they should have been operating in an eye-catching way. Gather more crowd there. put some vendors there of something interesting. warm snacks, ice cream, tourist stuff, and some special sochi-only promotional stuff. Put some statues over there, have something interesting from the olympics on display.
Why not have some RedBull promotional stuff there? A RedBull Air race stuntplane there. A RedBull beetle and selling RedBull for cheaps. Promote the RedBull ballon jump from a couple of years ago in a replica stand.

put some marussias there, some russian supercars, or just some lambo's, pagani's, whatever.

At Suzuka, the big ferris wheel is turning. That's the stuff that should happen at sochi indeed. have a roller coaster working. hell, do a 75% discount on the 'ferry' at the F1 weekend on sochi. it would attract a whopping lot more of people and have a filled theme park.

Install some spectacular lighting on the castle. It just looked bland and clinical, soulless.

A couple of trees would have helped, too.

Indeed, it was too clinical, too concrete. It kinda reminded me of the Valencia street track the last time they were there. soulless. Nothing wrong with a street circuit, but it just missed stuff. it was really lacking a decent close-to-the-track experience. It's got potential but it's highly unused, which is sad, because indeed, the track course itself isn't bad at all and the drivers indeed mention they kinda like it.

Perhaps it's just the location. A Moscow grand prix would have been much better imho. Sochi is a looooooong way from Moscow. I bet Moscow would attract a far bigger crowd.

[carisi2k]

Just went and looked over race speed trap data. Rai sits on top with 343 kmh which is 10 clicks more than the next fasest car (both williams)

1 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 343.1 15:27:52
2 Felipe Massa Williams Martini Racing 333.6 14:16:44
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams Martini Racing 333.1 15:26:09
4 Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Ferrari 325.5 14:14:52
5 Max Verstappen Scuderia Toro Rosso 319.2 15:23:20
6 Daniel Ricciardo Infiniti Red Bull Racing 315.2 15:21:02
7 Pastor Maldonado Lotus F1 Team 314.4 15:23:17
8 Daniil Kvyat Infiniti Red Bull Racing 314.1 15:19:37
9 Carlos Sainz Jr. Scuderia Toro Rosso 312.7 14:58:48
10 Sergio Perez Sahara Force India F1 Team 311.8 15:17:36

No Mercedes in the data? You'd think they'd hit 310+ easy without DRS.

These numbers have no credibility. Since when is a Williams 10km/h slower then a Ferrari and both Red Bulls faster then both Mercedes in a straight line. The official numbers are available on the FIA site where you will clearly see that these numbers are made up.

[Juzh]

Just went and looked over race speed trap data. Rai sits on top with 343 kmh which is 10 clicks more than the next fasest car (both williams)

1 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 343.1 15:27:52
2 Felipe Massa Williams Martini Racing 333.6 14:16:44
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams Martini Racing 333.1 15:26:09
4 Sebastian Vettel Scuderia Ferrari 325.5 14:14:52
5 Max Verstappen Scuderia Toro Rosso 319.2 15:23:20
6 Daniel Ricciardo Infiniti Red Bull Racing 315.2 15:21:02
7 Pastor Maldonado Lotus F1 Team 314.4 15:23:17
8 Daniil Kvyat Infiniti Red Bull Racing 314.1 15:19:37
9 Carlos Sainz Jr. Scuderia Toro Rosso 312.7 14:58:48
10 Sergio Perez Sahara Force India F1 Team 311.8 15:17:36

No Mercedes in the data? You'd think they'd hit 310+ easy without DRS.

These numbers have no credibility. Since when is a Williams 10km/h slower then a Ferrari and both Red Bulls faster then both Mercedes in a straight line. The official numbers are available on the FIA site where you will clearly see that these numbers are made up.

This is a 2015 race topic. But since you're so smart and claiming I made up those numbers:

http://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-o ... ication-14

And click on speed trap.