2016 Formula One Russian Grand Prix race start
The 2016 season it seems, is a one-horse race. Nico Rosberg, who has been on a winning streak since Mexico 2015, now lords it over the drivers championship standings. Rosberg has been unchallenged since Melbourne. The German is on a roll and if the first four races are any indication, he may just win his first ever Formula One Drivers Title.
The weekend began with the usual suspects topping the time sheets in the free practice sessions. Expectations were high that Hamilton, bogged down by gremlins in his F1 W07 Hybrid in previous races, would now be a force to reckoned with. The Brit arrived in Sochi beaming with confidence that he could take the fight to his team-mate.
It was going well in Q1 and Q2, but, in Q3, Hamilton again got the short end of the lucky stick. He failed to go out and set a proper time. This relegated the defending champion down in P10. Up in front it was Nico Rosberg, taking his customary position in P1, followed by Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari and Vatteri Bottas in the Williams. Kimi Raikkonen took fourth with Felipe Massa rounding up the top five.
At the start, Rosberg got off the line cleanly. Kimi jumped Bottas and was up to P2 at turn 1 with Vettel close by. Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull was alongside Sebastian in the run to turn 1, but it was Kvyat in the other Red Bull that found the rear end of Vettel’s Ferrari. The Russian hit Sebastian, not once, but twice. The collision sent Vettel spinning and into the barriers, prematurely ending his race. This brought out the safety car as the marshals retrieved the stricken Ferrari and debris from the circuit. Hamilton for his part, was able to veer clear of the carnage up front, and was able to come out in fifth behind Massa, Bottas, Raikkonen and race leader Rosberg.
Racing resumed on lap 4, Nico gamely bunched up the field as he prepared for the re-start. Kimi Raikkonen in P2 seemed to have a “brain fade” moment as he failed to follow the Mercedes. His slow reaction was the opening that Bottas was looking for. The Williams had been shadowing the Ferrari and took over P2 at turn 2. Meanwhile, Hamilton was also hounding Massa, and got to pass the Brazilian also at the same exact corner. Meanwhile, down the order, Daniil Kvyat, who was under investigation for involvement in the first lap melee, was given a ten-second stop-go penalty by the race stewards.
The Sochi Autodrom is usally just a one stop race, and an undercut is almost never works. It takes considerable time to get in and out, and barring a mistake, drivers come out relatively in the same position they came in.
Bottas, who was ahead of Lewis, came in for a quick change of tires on lap 17. The Williams pit crew turned him around quickly to avoid the undercut by Hamilton. Lewis for his part had a longer pit stop and came out behind Bottas. He had to overtake the Williams the old-fashioned way, at the track.
Lewis, helped by fresher tires, got position over Bottas on lap 19. Hamilton was now up to P3 behind Raikkonen. Ferrari brought in the Finn on lap 21, but a slow get-away was all that Lewis needed to claim P2 over Kimi. Lewis now had his sights on his team-mate. But a water pressure problem in the Mercedes halted his challenge.
Up in front, Rosberg was all by his lonesome, again pounding some serious lap times. Nico was not challenged, and he built up a lead so big, that even after taking a new set of Pirellis, he still came out on top. This was Nico’s race and everyone knew it!
In the latter stages, Fernando Alonso was driving the wheels off the McLaren, even setting a personal best in the process. Both McLaren-Hondas were in the points. This would be their best finish to date, with Alonso taking 6th and Button in 10th.
Nico Rosberg crossed the line to win the 2016 Russian Grand Prix. 25 seconds adrift was Lewis Hamilton and 31 seconds further back was Kimi Raikkonen.
Rosberg has had a perfect season start, winning all four races of the year, and garnering 100 points in the process. This is his seventh consecutive win since Mexico 2015. Lewis is 43 points back and in 3rd place is Kimi Raikkonen with 57 points.
Nico now adds his name to the record books, as one of only four drivers to win seven straight races in Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Alberto Ascari, and now Nico Rosberg.
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