2017 Russian Grand Prix - Sochi Autodrom, April 28-30

[Gilles27Kimi7]

Different strategies for Raikkonen and Vettel. Raikkonen did only one exit lap in his Q3 runs, and he had the best T3, and the worst T1. Vettel was 0.25" ahead in T2, but lost 0.2" in T3. Bottas could as well take the pole, he had better combined sectors. Hamilton was faster in T1, but slower than the Top 3 in all other sectors.
The ideal lap is:
S1: 33.517 Hamilton
S2: 31.910 Vettel
S3: 27.315 Raikkonen
1.32.742

[DVB]

They better replace him during the summer break.

Yep Hamilton definitely needs replacing......

That's directed to Palmer

[tomazy]

I wonder, with the gap so big betwin Bottas and Hamilton, there is probably a set up diffirence in the cars. Have Mercedes implemented no sharing data betwin the drivers like Hamilton sugested? Has this prevented him from beeing closer to Bottas (and Ferraris) in Sochi?

If this is the case, Mercedes will probably quickly scrap this rule now that Ferrari have a compatitive car.

[George-Jung]

They share data, don't worry.
Hamilton just struggled a lot.

[Gilles27Kimi7]

Hamilton was something like 0,15 s faster in S1. Maybe a little less downforce?

[Chene_Mostert]

Easy merc 1-2. Outright power will prove too much to handle by ferrari, who are actually quite far off, be it race or quali trim,

a light bulb moment.

[Juzh]

Easy merc 1-2. Outright power will prove too much to handle by ferrari, who are actually quite far off, be it race or quali trim,

a light bulb moment.

Well, merc were the best in S1 by quite a lot. It's just that they utterly sucked (by their standards) on other parts of the track.

[Chene_Mostert]

No more massive power advantage to mask chassis / aero mediocracy.

[godlameroso]

I wonder, with the gap so big betwin Bottas and Hamilton, there is probably a set up diffirence in the cars. Have Mercedes implemented no sharing data betwin the drivers like Hamilton sugested? Has this prevented him from beeing closer to Bottas (and Ferraris) in Sochi?

If this is the case, Mercedes will probably quickly scrap this rule now that Ferrari have a compatitive car.

Sector 3 is all the driver, this is not an easy circuit to nail the perfect lap. Traffic will be an issue in the race, and getting the perfect window for the pit stop will be the deciding factor. The Ultra Soft tires will start losing pace around lap 20, so making the perfect switch to super softs will be crucial in either getting an undercut or favorable track position. Mercedes and Ferrari should split their strategies, having one car act as a spoiler if one tries to undercut have one car stay out to slow down the undercutter.

[godlameroso]

No more massive power advantage to mask chassis / aero mediocracy.

You can't be serious, my dear designated F1T troll. Need I remind you that the top 3 qualified within less than 1 tenth off each other? Bottas has been quicker than Hamilton all weekend so far. Also one race does not a championship make. Ferrari need to maximize their opportunities while they can, because it looks like they may take grid penalties at some point while Mercedes has rock solid reliability at the moment.

[Silent Storm]

Kimi nailed Sector 3 and his ability to look after rear tyres will be an advantage in race.

How bad is the dirty side of the track? And will this be a 1 stop or 2 stop race?

[Chene_Mostert]

No More massive power advantage to make poor race strategy look brilliant.

[Artur Craft]

I also thought Mercedes would be on pole and, to be fair to us who had that opinion, Bottas had the speed to get pole but failed(best sectors combined).

Actually, both Mercedes drivers were slower on Q3 than on Q2(even if by thousandths). Bar car problems, I can't remember a single time that happened to a Silver Arrow driver, nevermind to both.

@ Chene_Mostert, I entirely agree with you. It was very clear on several ocasions that Red Bull still had easily the best aero but was massively hindered by lack of power(Spa was evidence of this on the last two years where Red Bull was on par on S2 despite running a tiny wing but still was much slower on the straights)

I never thought Mercedes chassis/aero was that great in all these years (2014-2017). It was their huge power advantage flattering the car. I'm not saying the car was mediocre or poor but it wasn't the best as many believed. I strongly believe the aero was never better than that of Red Bull, and by quite some margin

If Ferrari could take pole here, imagine on Barcelona

[Chene_Mostert]

No more massive power advantage to mask chassis / aero mediocracy.

You can't be serious, my dear designated F1T troll. Need I remind you that the top 3 qualified within less than 1 tenth off each other? Bottas has been quicker than Hamilton all weekend so far. Also one race does not a championship make. Ferrari need to maximize their opportunities while they can, because it looks like they may take grid penalties at some point while Mercedes has rock solid reliability at the moment.

Once the grid penalties come they must just take it. Ham is starting 4th with no penalty.

[Sevach]

http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/192 ... qualifying

Hamilton's explanation for his performance.
Also not exactly brimming with confidence for the race is he?


Ps: I also expected Mercedes to be widely superior here, and i'm very far from being a Merc or Hamilton fan, this performance just caught a lot of people by surprise.