Ferrari arrived in Russia less than seven days after stunning the paddock with a sublime one/two in Singapore. They had turned a corner in the Lion City, no pun intended, and when they hit the track in Russia it seemed it would be more of the same.
And it was, as Charles Leclerc became the second Ferrari driver, after the great Michael Schumacher, to take four consecutive pole positions of the Italian team. Lewis Hamilton delivered an impressive lap which was good enough for the front row while Seb Vettel was third quickest. Pole position at the Sochi Autodrom though isn’t the be all and end all. In fact, it probably wouldn’t be a driver’s first choice of starting position for the simple reason that this circuit has the longest run to turn 1 of any on the calendar. It means that while the car in front is punching a big F1-sized hole in the air those behind can take advantage of the slipstream and simply sail past.
But it still requires a driver to make a good start at lights out. This time around neither Leclerc or Hamilton nailed the perfect start but Vettel did. From third on the grid he surged into the lead of the race. And yes he did gain some benefit from the slipstream. Slowly but surely Vettel began to pull away from Leclerc and the pair of Ferrari’s were in turn leaving Hamilton, in third, and Bottas, in fourth, well behind.
Soon though the radio messages from Leclerc started trickling through the airwaves. His tone became increasingly disgruntled and revealed an awfully exasperated driver. It seemed Ferrari had agreed before the start of the race that Leclerc would allow Vettel to pick up his slipstream, tow him to turn 2, and thereby ensure a Ferrari one/two at the start of the race. But what Ferrari, and likely young Leclerc, failed to account for was a lightening start from Vettel that rendered this plan mute. While Leclerc was adamant that he had helped Vettel into the lead of the race. On-board footage and replays clearly show that Vettel’s spectacular launch off the line catapulted him into the lead with little help from his teammate. A back-and-forth ensued with both drivers and the Ferrari pitwall who eventually instructed Vettel to swop positions with Leclerc as early on as lap 5. But the four-time champion was clearly quicker that Leclerc who at this stage had fallen more than three-seconds behind the leading Ferrari. A swop would have required Vettel to slow significantly and run the risk of falling into the clutches of Hamilton and he was having none of it.
The first round of pitstops rolled around and Ferrari seized the opportunity to give Leclerc, despite being the second Ferrari on the road, the lead of the race by pitting him first. On fresh tyres he was able to undercut Vettel and take the lead of the Russian grand prix. Ferrari had doctored the running order and in doing so clearly upset the karmic balance of things. A few hundred meters after exiting the pitlane from his own stop Seb Vettel was forced to pull over and out of the race with a MGU-K failure. Ferrari had contrived to manufacture and manipulate the race and Karma kicked them in the teeth for it. One would think, and hope, that Ferrari had learnt by now to leave well enough alone. But instead their ridiculous games took them from a net race win to handing Mercedes an unlikely one/two at the chequered flag.
A Virtual Safety Car was deployed to recover Vettel’s stricken Ferrari and it allowed Hamilton, effectively, a free pit stop. By staying out longer on his medium tyre Hamilton emerged in the lead of the race. Had Ferrari simply allowed their drivers to race flat out Leclerc likely would have been clear of Hamilton and in P1.
A full Safety-Car was called on a bit later to collect the crashed Williams of George Russell. But Ferrari’s tomfoolery had already caused them to lose the race. Leclerc pitted for fresh tyres and emerged behind Bottas with the hope that with twenty laps to go he could mount a challenge and overtake both Merc drivers. He couldn’t. As it were, and excuse the pun, Ferrari handed Mercedes victory on a silver platter. Hamilton cruised home ahead of Bottas and has now put Mercedes in a position to potentially secure the constructor’s title next time out in Japan. Leclerc, in third, normally the toast of social media was dubbed ‘LeJerk’ for his petulance over team radio. It was desperately unlucky for Vettel who easily looked the class of the field on race day. Fans around the world clearly agreed as he was voted driver of the day despite failing to finish.
Elsewhere, Max Verstappen recovered to fourth after taking grid drop for engine penalties. The fresh and upgraded engine bits put Red Bull in good stead for Honda’s home race in Japan next time out. Alex Albon completed an impressive afternoon’s racing by going from pitlane to fifth while Carlos Sainz continues to deliver brilliant performances for McLaren in sixth. Sergio Perez finished seventh for Racing Point ahead of Lando Norris eighth. Haas F1’s newly re-signed Kevin Magnussen was ninth ahead of Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg.
Seb Vettel was certainly the most high profile retirement of the race but not the only one. Earlier a coming together at turn 1 at the start of the race meant the end for Romain Grosjean and Daniel Ricciardo would follow him into retirement a few laps later with floor damage from the same incident. Williams also opted to retire Robert Kubica’s car in order to save parts for the upcoming races. It reveals the desperate state that Williams are currently mired in and one hopes that there is some light at the end of the tunnel for the legendary team.
Since the Summer-break Ferrari has clearly turned a corner. The two wins in Span and Monza were impressive but somewhat expected. However, victory in Singapore and genuinely superior pace in Russia makes it clear that they have unlocked authentic and indisputable pace in the car. Now, they just need to get out of their own way.
