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It took a long time coming to the F1 calendar and it’s finally here – the Russian Grand Prix. It has been an incredibly difficult week for Formula One with somber and tense situations in the paddock as a result of the Jules Bianchi crash in Suzuka and the safety concerns being the talk in the F1 community. With best wishes and hope of a speedy recovery for the French driver, Formula One heads to Sochi Autodrom around the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics (held earlier in the year in February).
The Track
The circuit designed by Hermann Tilke and a first glance look at it gives an impression of a street-circuit. It will be the first new circuit introduced to the F1 calendar since Austin, Texas in 2012. The track has similarities to the circuit at Istanbul which was also designed by Tilke, but also has comparisons being made to Valencia and Singapore given the track design. While the circuit would definitely be a challenge for the drivers and the teams, it is expected to offer some excitement to the fans as the track offers a good mix of high-speed corners and technical sections.
Given that the track surface is new, the grip levels will be extremely low (as seen during FP1 and FP2) but these are expected to improve over the weekend as the there would be some rubber on the track. The track does provide opportunities for overtaking making the job of a driver relatively easy on this circuit as compared to some of the others. All said and done the Sochi circuit remains a step into the unknown even as the drivers would have had a long stint in the simulators trying different things but as we all know anything can happen on a Formula One track.
Tyres
Pirelli expect the circuit to have average tyre energy demands, coupled with a low-abrasion surface and hence they have brought the yellow-marked soft and white-marked medium compound tyres to Russia. An important market for the tyre-manufacturer. Even Pirelli would have done their test runs, but there still remains some doubts until the actual performance is seen under race conditions. Given the hardness and the newness of the surface, most teams are expected to run a three-stop strategy for the race.
DRS
There will be two DRS zones for the Russian Grand Prix.The first will have its detection point at the start-finish line with the activation point on the right-hander at Turn 1.The second DRS zone will have its detection point just before Turn 10 and the activation point will be almost midway through the right-handed sweep at Turn 11.
Qualifying
Pole position is expected to play a crucial role in the race outcome. Despite it being a new race, the first-mover advantage might help. But then a lot would depend on the different strategies used by the teams such as tyre strategies and will the engines be able to last the race distance given the track conditions.
Weather
While there are chances of rain in Russia at this time of the year, the forecast for the race weekend is sunny. Rain can cause havoc as it did in Japan and will be even more treacherous on the newly laid circuit.
Drivers to watch out for
Amid the unfortunate events at Suzuka, Lewis Hamilton leads the Championship and he would want to extend that lead over team-mate Nico Rosberg. Nico however would want to cut down the gap in points by winning in Sochi. Mclaren had shown some pace in the practice sessions as both Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen had good lap times.They would want to have podium finish, but a top 5 finish would also boost their morale.
Williams has been strong this even though they have struggled in the rain, but they are again expected to have a good finish given the recent form of Valterri Bottas and Felipe Massa. Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari would want to leave a mark at the new circuit as he was unlucky to retire in Suzuka and has slipped down in the points table. Kimi Raikkonen though struggled with his Ferrari during practice would be looking to get in the points after what has been an unforgettable season for the Finn. Red-Bull would also be looking to be among the top-5 even though Ricciardo had an electrical failure at the end of FP2 and the session was red flagged. Sebastian Vettel would be hoping to continue his good run post his decision to move out of the Austrian team last week.
