THE RUSSIAN GP IN 3 KEY MOMENTS
1 Vettel becomes the villain in team orders controversy
With such a long run from the Sochi startline to the braking zone at Turn 2, all eyes were on the start of the Russian Grand Prix and the impact the slipstream would have for everyone behind pole man Charles Leclerc.
Starting third on the cleaner side of the grid, Sebastian Vettel was immediately past Lewis Hamilton and running behind his team-mate. After gaining speed behind Leclerc, Vettel seized the lead on the inside as they braked for Turn 2.
If it seemed surprising that Leclerc didn’t defend the inside, a Ferrari radio message soon provided clarity as Leclerc’s engineer told him: “We are looking at the swap further into the race.”
Knowing the power of the slipstream, Ferrari had looked to orchestrate a 1-2 by forging an agreement between its drivers. The plan was to prevent Hamilton from using the tow to get by Leclerc, and for Vettel to slingshot by the Mercedes. All Leclerc had to do was get away cleanly and not block Vettel if he appeared alongside at Turn 2.
Ferrari’s plan worked – right up until the point Vettel assumed the lead. Then he appeared to renege on the deal, pushing to build a gap over his team-mate which would make it difficult for Ferrari to order a swap with Hamilton lurking in third.
“Sebastian will let you by next lap,” Leclerc was told. But the messages coming from the leading Ferrari were different.
“I would have got him [Leclerc] anyway, but let’s do another two laps to break away.” said Vettel. Ferrari conducted a quick analysis of its drivers’ performance off the line and decided that wasn’t the case. But when Vettel’s engineer ordered him to let Leclerc by, Vettel replied: “He’ll have to close up.”
Behind, Leclerc chafed and fulminated over the airwaves and began to drive scrappily in his efforts to catch up. Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies decided to close down the argument, telling him Hamilton was too close to execute the swap and that the team would find another way later. That they did, bringing Leclerc into the pits first for their scheduled stops and leaving Vettel out for another four, ensuring Leclerc undercut past into the lead.
Though Vettel’s actions were rendered immaterial since he retired immediately after his pitstop, this was a signal of his determination to re-establish himself. Having been out-qualified by Leclerc nine races in a row, Vettel is losing his status as number one, but he isn’t prepared to give it up without a fight. Team boss Mattia Binotto must now manage this feud to stop it becoming all-out war.
2 Mercedes’ strategic gamble pays dividends as Ferrari falters
Lewis Hamilton edged one step closer to his sixth world drivers’ title with victory in the Russian Grand Prix – the first time he’s stood on top of the
podium since the Hungarian GP in early August. It was the British driver’s 82nd career win and ninth of the season. Ferrari has been strong since the summer break, and was the favourite for victory in Russia, after a strong showing in practice and qualifying appeared to validate the performance of its Singapore upgrade package.
Mercedes tried to counter with the seemingly risky strategy of asking Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to set their fastest Q2 lap on the less favoured medium tyres. They achieved this and, although they struggled in the opening laps – each lost a position to soft-shod runners – they were able to run long enough into the race to take
advantage when Vettel retired on lap 28, causing a Virtual Safety Car.
By pitting both its cars immediately, Mercedes leapfrogged Hamilton and Bottas ahead of Leclerc. Ferrari brought its man back in, swapping mediums for another set of softs in the hope of enabling Leclerc to regain position, but to no avail.
“We knew [by starting on the medium tyre] we can go longer in the first stint and hope for a Safety Car or VSC to come out later in the race,” said Bottas. “And it did today, like a miracle.”
Hamilton’s win kept him well ahead in the drivers’ standings with a 73-point advantage over his team-mate and 107 clear of Leclerc.
3 Red Bull faces 2020 driver dilemma
There was a furious battle on-track between laps 19 and 26 of the Russian Grand Prix which could have been a standalone shoot-out for the second Red Bull seat in 2020.
On lap 23, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly was running ninth while behind him was Alex Albon – the man who had taken his Red Bull drive – and in 11th was the second Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat. All three had suffered grid penalties following the upgrade of their Honda power units to ensure a penalty-free weekend at Honda’s home race in Japan.
Albon was also forced to start from the pitlane because a new floor and gearbox was fitted to his Red Bull after he crashed heavily during qualifying. Albon blamed a gust of wind for his Turn 13 shunt.
But rather like his performance in China earlier in the season, he put in a measured drive after the qualifying smash and ultimately finished the race in fifth place.
Gasly is hoping to convince Red Bull he can win his seat back with a strong finish to the year. But after a robust defence against Albon in the race, he ultimately made a mistake and finished two places behind Kvyat, 14th at the flag.