2017 Round 4: Russia, 30 April: Comments thread

..... or will Australia host the next European Grand Prix ??

Really? Did you watch the race?

Bottas had a great weekend, did really well on the day that mattered, particularly in the last few laps and I'm very pleased that he's got his first win.

Hamilton had a relatively poor weekend, but they weren't wheel to wheel at any point in the race, nobody was really, so no arse was handed on a plate by anyone unfortunately thanks to one of the worst tracks on the calendar, because it doesn't encourage or enable good racing.  They both had a good start, Hamiltons particularly good as he was on the dirty side, but it was always going to be won by the 3rd corner.

Worst race of the season so far by a huge margin.

I'd have been happy not to have watched it, it was that dull! At least it made you and the other haters happy!

I've always rated and liked Bottas. He had a really good weekend, Hamilton had a poor weekend, simple as that. I've not made or heard anyone make excuses for the result, not even Hamilton as far as I'm aware.

I hardly think that was unprecedented pressure from Vettel, far from it as he didn't get that close and Bottas did make a mistake (did you see how much his steering wheel was vibrating on the lap into the pits?!), but that was understandable with what was at stake.

I thought that Bottas drove a superb weekend. He managed to get within a tenth of pole position, despite driving a car with a smaller operating window than the Ferrari. Across the unusually smooth surface at Sochi, it was evidently easier to extract hot laps in the Ferrari. The race itself wasn’t a huge surprise, as the Mercedes had excellent long-run pace on high fuel on Friday. And even when Vettel closed in on Bottas, that was more down to superior tyre life than advantageous car speed.


Sochi has a long run to turn 2, and that was what sealed the race. Bottas slipstreamed Vettel along the front straight and managed to pass Vettel before the braking zone. Even during the closing stages of the Grand Prix Vettel eventually got within DRS detection, the Ferrari barley gained 10 kph because the Mercedes was naturally faster in a straightline.


Hamilton’s struggles were curious. Usually after a tricky Friday he bounces back on Saturday, but not this weekend. Hamilton is the last of the late brakers, he loves to trail the brakes in, even with the right front slightly under-rotated to gain the absolute maximum into the corner. Indeed, that final sector is usually his opportunity to gain time with the heavy braking into ninety degree turns. Corner entry is one of his strengths, but because he had a nervous car on corner entry, he couldn’t attack the entry and apex like usual. The rear would let go on entry, and also swing back out on corner exit. It looked more like an inherent balance issue, and it strangely couldn’t be cured over the weekend with the simulations and programmes they utilise.


Martin is completely right about the racetrack itself. Sochi is right up there with Abu Dhabi as the worst circuit, not only in terms of circuit design, but promoting racing. Sochi starts off well with the long front straight, turn 3 is interesting enough, but afterwards the track offers no opportunity to realistically overtake. The final sector is about the most unimaginative sector in F1; a bunch of 90-degree lefts and rights whilst the trailing car scrabbles about for grip in the turbulent air. I’m not sure what freedoms that Tilke has, but F1 is seemingly allergic to short tracks. Montreal and Interlagos work quite simply because there is a lack of corners; no one is demanding a 3.5 mile facility. At Montreal most turns are an opportunity to overtake, so the pursuing driver doesn’t need to wait an entire lap to take a look at the sole overtaking opportunity.


Even though Sochi was a dreadful race, it once underlined that we have genuine competition at the front in F1. And that stems from both Ferrari and Mercedes having different strengths and weaknesses with their respective cars. The Ferrari has a wider operating window on a variety of tyre compounds; it also has better mechanical grip that allows it to handle bumps and kerbs more effectively. In qualifying, the Ferrari’s pliancy over the turn 15 bumps was evident compared to the Merc. However, the Mercedes has a better high-speed aerodynamic balance and slightly better straight line speed. This will even itself out nicely at the remaining circuits, not to mention the development battle with parts and pieces arriving at each Grand Prix.


I criticised Mercedes for not being aggressive and proactive enough in previous events. Today Mercedes proactively bought Bottas in before Ferrari had the opportunity to undercut, but only pitted Bottas once there was a gap and clean air to allow him to use the advantage of the fresh tyres. Today it was Ferrari who got it wrong; they not only waited too long to pit Vettel, but they bought Vettel out in traffic.


I’m not sure I understand this Hamilton criticism. Far from spitting his dummy, he was the first one to state his struggles all weekend. There was no blame on the team; he actually contrasted his struggles to Baku last year. He was the first one to congratulate Bottas, despite not being a podium finisher and therefore near Bottas in the post-race. Spain 2016, Monaco 2015 and Spa 2014 were also situation where he legitimately could have gone into meltdown, but he preferred to stay quiet.


As for his lack of respect to the team, this is also puzzling. Hamilton is the first one to praise the team for the cars that the Brackley squad have produced over the years. If one just inherently doesn’t like him, that is different. But the criticism levelled towards him is rather unfair, and he isn’t immune from the traits that he is criticised about. How many times has Vettel spat his dummy out over the radio? Even today about Massa. I note how people are awfully silent about this. I’m not sure Hamilton said anything overly aggressive today. Hamilton complained over the radio at not being allowed to race, but rather cool his car. But that is why he is there, to race! And quite frankly if a driver didn’t mind not racing and hunting down the car in front, he shouldn’t be there.


As for Putin with the top three finishers, that was almost as cringe-worthy as Eddie Jordan making a fool of himself whilst conducting the podium interviews. 

A dull race with a great result. I'm a Bottas fan and a Hamilton loather, but credit to him for owning up to his failings rather than blaming the team.

I think the pinkest team in F1 is also the highest achieving - Force India are doing an incredible job with a flawed car.

Lance Stroll and (especially) Jolyon Palmer need to start producing results very soon.