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A 10-second penalty cost Lewis Hamilton a chance to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins when Valtteri Bottas got back on the winning track in Sochi.
Here are our takeaways, as Mercedes maintained its 100% win record at the Russian Grand Prix with a seventh consecutive win.
Bottas back on the top step
The 91st win awaiting Lewis Hamilton as Valtteri Bottas secures his first win since the opening match in Austria!#RussianGP 🇷🇺 # F1 pic.twitter.com/11GymkfxwI
– Planet F1 (@ Planet_F1) September 27, 2020
“It has to work out for me at some point, it’s just a matter of things going my way sometimes and they will come.”
Those were the words of Valtteri Bottas after another frustrating afternoon at the Tuscan Grand Prix two weeks ago. It only took 14 days for his prophecy to come true.
This was the ninth F1 victory of the Finn’s career and a completely typical one. Bottas is at his best when allowed to do his thing in clean air, setting metronomically fast lap times without pressure from any rival.
As soon as his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton was forced to serve his 10-second penalty, there was never any question who would finish on the top step of the podium, especially at a circuit where Bottas has thrived and won. , before.
But don’t think for a second, as Johnny Herbert hinted in his post-race interviews, and even Bottas himself, that the World Championship fight could return. Hamilton will surely not miss his big advantage.
The gap is still as large as 44 points and Bottas was essentially gifted with this success. He had a chance to take the lead at Turn 2 on the first lap, but couldn’t get past Hamilton, then strangely blamed “a huge bee” that had flown into his eye line and blocked his view of the braking point.
With at least seven races left in the season, the 31-year-old should now have a renewed confidence to take more risks as they arise.
Hopefully he can represent the fight portrayed in his first words on the team radio after taking the checkered flag: “This is a good time to thank my critics. Who cares … fuck you. Never give up.”
Hamilton stepped off the edge of a ban
Lewis Hamilton drove another flawless race: He was on his way to the grid where everything went wrong, with two practice starts in the wrong place and each received a five-second penalty.
Such is the ultimate ability of the Briton that complacency is one of the few things that has the potential to derail him. It’s debatable whether the rule infractions can properly be described as complacency, but it was something similar that cost Hamilton at Monza, where he entered the pit lane in red-flag condition.
It appeared that the World Champion would have two more penalty points added to his license, bringing him to 10 and just two short of a one-race ban, but that penalty was overturned when it was announced that he was simply following an instruction from the team. in Sochi.
And it’s certainly a good thing that Hamilton is no closer to being forced out of a race, without losing any of his points until the Turkish Grand Prix in November.
Should a race ban be triggered, is it really fair that a grand prix this fall, with large numbers of fans now returning to the circuits, be deprived of the participation of the World Championship leader? Is it something you would really deserve, even if you hit the 12 point threshold? Okay, rules are rules, but it’s not that the dominant F1 driver is in the habit of pushing rivals off the circuit (Alex Albon may not agree!)
However, Toto Wolff recalled after the race that “we win and we lose together” and if there is one area in which Mercedes, and Hamilton, need to improve, it is to understand 100% what can and cannot be done, where and when. . , take place during a racing weekend.
Pérez making his point
ROUND 16/53
Fabulous things while Ricciardo and Pérez fight: it is the Mexican who comes out on top when he forces his way to pass to Renault #RussianGP 🇷🇺 # F1 pic.twitter.com/RXqp4vJtJD
– Formula 1 (@ F1) September 27, 2020
Sergio Pérez has not had the best couple of months, he missed two races with Covid-19 and then was left out of the Racing Point team.
But he was understandably overjoyed in Sochi after securing fourth place in both qualifying and the race, just at a time when he’s looking for a new job.
The Mexican really should be the number one option for any team looking for a driver for 2021, but his options are not the strongest as Haas looks for favorites to overtake Alfa Romeo.
Pérez said after the race that he hadn’t signed anything yet and it almost makes you wonder if you should wait for the right moment, in case something unexpected happens.
We find it a bit odd that Hamilton has yet to commit to staying at Mercedes, or extending his F1 career, more generally, as we head into October, but perhaps nothing should be read about.
Perhaps Pérez would prefer the security of knowing that he has something arranged for next year, but he did a lot of good for his future prospects in Russia either way.
Leclerc fulfills Ferrari’s limited potential
Just as optimistic as Pérez after the race was Charles Leclerc, who again made the most of his Ferrari’s potential by finishing P6, four places above his position on the grid.
Apart from an incident on the first lap with Lance Stroll that contributed to the appearance of the safety car, Leclerc drove another excellent race, but was helped enormously by his teammate Sebastian Vettel, who stopped Esteban Ocon in the Renault.
That meant Leclerc was finally able to split the Renault. However, Vettel, reduced to the role of wingman here, finished in P13.
That situation is symbolic of the former world champion’s decline and things should be very different when he joins Aston Martin next year.
After all, if Vettel were to be Lance Stroll’s second violin, something would really be drastically wrong.
Ricciardo wins the Renault battle
Lap 32 // Daniel is told about his penalty: “Ok, I’ll drive faster. That is my bad. I’ll make it up to you. ”
– Renault F1 Team (@ RenaultF1Team) September 27, 2020
While Leclerc was the filler in that Renault sandwich, it was Daniel Ricciardo who was on top of Esteban Ocon to continue the trend of the entire season.
Of course, Ricciardo is much more experienced of the duo, but he will leave the team at the end of the season to join McLaren, while Ocon stays with Fernando Alonso.
The Frenchman had a more than enough chance to attack and pass Vettel, but was unable to do so, while Ricciardo did it relatively quickly after Ocon let him pass on team command, although the Australian incurred a five-second penalty, who finally gave up. academic, when he closed and went off the track at Turn 2.
For much of the campaign, Ocon hasn’t been doing enough to show why he was so highly rated during his junior days at Mercedes and having clearly been second best behind Ricciardo again here, you have to wonder how he will fare directly. to Alonso. in 2021.
Jon wilde
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