Russian GP, ​​practice one: Valtteri Bottas faster, Lewis Hamilton 19, in a session with many crashes

Bottas ahead of Ricciardo and Verstappen; Hamilton is the second slowest driver in an interrupted session; Latifi and Sainz collide

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Nicolas Latifi’s session comes to an end after he runs off the track at Turn 10 and crashes into the wall in FP1.

Valtteri Bottas topped the timesheets ahead of closest surprise rival Daniel Ricciardo in a crash-packed first practice of the Russian GP, ​​while Lewis Hamilton finished 19th in a quiet start to his potentially equalizing weekend of record.

Hamilton may match Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 all-time wins this weekend, but, as well as being one of the many drivers who struggled to hold on in Sochi’s Olympic Park on Friday morning, he seemed to be in a very different career plan from your team. -partner.

The fastest in six consecutive P1s, Bottas set the pace with a 1: 34.923, a half-second ahead of Ricciardo in form, who impressively edged out former Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen by a tenth in the Renault. .

Hamilton meanwhile did not register a representative time on the soft tires and finished almost three seconds behind the pace, faster than only Nicholas Latifi, who had a big drift on the Williams.

Latifi’s crash at Turn 10 sparked a red flag, but he wasn’t the only man to encounter the barriers in a dusty, green Sochi Autodrom, and Carlos Sainz also had a spin and shunt in the McLaren early in the interrupted session. .

Undefeated in Russia Mercedes also struggled as Bottas and Hamilton had major blocks and the Englishman suffered a flat tire. But they still seem to be the team to beat.

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McLaren’s Carlos Sainz loses his rear wing after going off the track at turn seven in first practice in Sochi.

Red Bull insisted coming into the weekend that they feared going back to midfield and early signs suggest that may be the case, with Renault in particular a threat on a high-speed circuit.

Racing Point also had a good first practice, with Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll in the top five.

Esteban Ocon was sixth in the other Renault, while AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat edged out Red Bull’s Alex Albon, who comes into the weekend from the back of his first F1 podium at Mugello.

Sebastian Vettel made sure Ferrari had a car in the top 10, although Charles Leclerc was two places in eleventh place, defeated by the winner of the Monza race, Pierre Gasly.

Aside from having an interrupted session thanks to Sainz’s bypass, McLaren didn’t have a particularly competitive one either, neither did Sainz, who didn’t post a time on the soft tires, nor Lando Norris in the top-10.