F1 Russian Grand Prix, 2019: 5 Talking Points

#3 Strong race for McLaren

Carlos Sainz finished best of the rest in sixth place

McLaren made full use of the slipstream on offer during the first lap. Carlos Sainz even put Lewis Hamilton under pressure once he got past Valtteri Bottas. He stayed ahead of the Finn before they finally swapped places on lap 7.

Lando Norris continued to impress, making it hard to believe that it is only his debut year in the sport as the British driver got past Nico Hülkenberg initially. The two McLaren teammates may have lost out a little due to pitting before the virtual and then a proper safety car was deployed, but the overall result was still commendable.

Lando had medium tyres on and once the green flag was waved, he came under pressure from Nico on a fresher set of boots. The 19-year-old withheld his nerves despite the German hunting him down until the latter was forced to back off.

A 5-second time penalty handed to Kevin Magnussen just ahead of the road meant he picked up another spot to finish P8. Kevin was penalized for leaving the track during a battle with Sergio Perez. Sainz, meanwhile, could not hold out against the faster Red Bulls, but he finished an admirable sixth place.