Russian GP 2021 - Race

[Greig]

He was half a lap behind him.... they had time. Everybody else reacted, we didin't. Simple.

Best message Charles then

[tifosi1993]

Leclerc would've finished ahead of Verstappen on pure pace. The biggest takeaway from today's race.

[jgonzalesm6]

Leclerc would've finished ahead of Verstappen on pure pace. The biggest takeaway from today's race.

I would assume you have comparable lap times when comparing the 2??? If so, please post to back up this statement. I know you have the info.

[jgonzalesm6]

Lando Norris has been reprimanded for crossing the painted areas between the pit entry and the track.

The FIA says "We do not consider that the crossing of the painted area was intentional or predictable in the circumstances."

[elnano14]

I would assume you have comparable lap times when comparing the 2??? If so, please post to back up this statement. I know you have the info.

He was closing the gap to Max before it started rainning. Around 0.4s per lap if I recall correctly. If it had stayed dry, he would have passed Max easily

[patrese86]

He was closing the gap to Max before it started rainning. Around 0.4s per lap if I recall correctly. If it had stayed dry, he would have passed Max easily

Max was on older mediums. In the early stages Leclerc got a better start but Max passed him later, Charles managed to stay with Max in the DRS train, once max got released into clean air he dropped Charles.

Charles managed to get back to Verstappen because he pitted later for Mediums which was the correct decision as all the early stoppers (sainz included) suffered later in the race. Fortunately the rain bailed them out.

[KimiBot]

1 Lewis Hamilton GBR MERCEDES 246.5
2 Max Verstappen NED RED BULL RACING HONDA 244.5
3 Valtteri Bottas FIN MERCEDES 151
4 Lando Norris GBR MCLAREN MERCEDES 139
5 Sergio Perez MEX RED BULL RACING HONDA 120
6 Carlos Sainz ESP FERRARI 112.5
7 Charles Leclerc MON FERRARI 104
8 Daniel Ricciardo AUS MCLAREN MERCEDES 95
9 Pierre Gasly FRA ALPHATAURI HONDA 66
10 Fernando Alonso ESP ALPINE RENAULT 58
11 Esteban Ocon FRA ALPINE RENAULT 45
12 Sebastian Vettel GER ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES 35
13 Lance Stroll CAN ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES 24
14 Yuki Tsunoda JPN ALPHATAURI HONDA 18
15 George Russell GBR WILLIAMS MERCEDES 16
16 Nicholas Latifi CAN WILLIAMS MERCEDES 7
17 Kimi Räikkönen FIN ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI 6
18 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI 1
19 Mick Schumacher GER HAAS FERRARI 0
20 Robert Kubica POL ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI 0
21 Nikita Mazepin RAF HAAS FERRARI 0

[KimiBot]

1 MERCEDES 397.5
2 RED BULL RACING HONDA 364.5
3 MCLAREN MERCEDES 234
4 FERRARI 216.5
5 ALPINE RENAULT 103
6 ALPHATAURI HONDA 84
7 ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES 59
8 WILLIAMS MERCEDES 23
9 ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI 7
10 HAAS FERRARI 0

[20000rpm]

Regardless of how much improvements this part-upgrade or full upgrade later on will bring, we still need to consider that the Mercs is still a rocket on straights. Ham could easily overtake Charles and Sainz.
Hoping that the Turkey update would bring us closer to Merc and McLaren.

[Cavallino]

Max was on older mediums. In the early stages Leclerc got a better start but Max passed him later, Charles managed to stay with Max in the DRS train, once max got released into clean air he dropped Charles.

Charles managed to get back to Verstappen because he pitted later for Mediums which was the correct decision as all the early stoppers (sainz included) suffered later in the race. Fortunately the rain bailed them out.

Everyone else here thinks they left him out there too long.

I happen to agree with you though.

[Warp]

I would assume you have comparable lap times when comparing the 2??? If so, please post to back up this statement. I know you have the info.

Leclerc was 2 seconds faster than Max at one point.

[tpe]

I lost track about what happen during the last 7-8 laps. I remember CS being too far back, then suddenly he was 3rd.
Ferrari made a terrible decision about CL today. They should double stack them. Splitting the strategies means yoy don't trust your weather radar.

[Redfive]

Very happy for Carlos! but sad to see MrLucky McLuck was handed another win on a silver platter.
Seriously, F1 2022 can't come fast enough.

[tifosi1993]

I would assume you have comparable lap times when comparing the 2??? If so, please post to back up this statement. I know you have the info.

Max pitted on Lap 26, Charles on Lap 35.

Charles was P13 and had to clear Vettel, Raikkonen, Ocon, Stroll and Russell from Lap 37-44, Max was in clear air.

Rain hit the track from Lap 45, and both Max and Sainz pitted for intermediates on Lap 48. By that time, Charles was already ahead and was fighting for P3 against Perez and Alonso.

Also, Charles was the fastest man on track during the wet-dry patch. But as soon as heavy rain started to fall, he lost out, just like Norris.

[tifosi1993]

Another positive aspect, Charles recorded the highest top speed during the race.

Charles 335.8 vs Sainz 322.1 (Both had access to the DRS)

[ntukza]

the conditions changed very quickly in one lap. not much they could do. Alonso and Vettel got caught too.

They could have stacked.

[ntukza]

A real pity about CL. He drove a great race. I'm please that Binotto saw the team's management of the last period as a weakness that they have to work on. He didn't make excuses or brush it off as bad luck. That is encouraging.

[ntukza]

As for Lewis, the only thing good about him winning the race is that Max came second. Not much between them having started on opposite sides of the grid.

[Cavallino]

Another positive aspect, Charles recorded the highest top speed during the race.

Charles 335.8 vs Sainz 322.1 (Both had access to the DRS)

very interesting indeed... perhaps an extra mile or two because Charles could have been in a drs train of 3 or 4 cars at one point.

[jgonzalesm6]

https://i.imgur.com/J7NKxVG.jpg

Max pitted on Lap 26, Charles on Lap 35.

Charles was P13 and had to clear Vettel, Raikkonen, Ocon, Stroll and Russell from Lap 37-44, Max was in clear air.

Rain hit the track from Lap 45, and both Max and Sainz pitted for intermediates on Lap 48. By that time, Charles was already ahead and was fighting for P3 against Perez and Alonso.

Also, Charles was the fastest man on track during the wet-dry patch. But as soon as heavy rain started to fall, he lost out, just like Norris.

Yep, once the rain hit on lap 45, it affected everyone's decision for inter's and time per lap. Thanks for the info.

[jgonzalesm6]

As for Lewis, the only thing good about him winning the race is that Max came second. Not much between them having started on opposite sides of the grid.

Max took 2 penalties in this race: 1) a 3 grid spot penalty from Monza and 2) new PU and component penalty. The latter penalty (new PU and component) was a huge penalty that brought him to the back of the grid. From P20 to finish the race P2.....you could'nt ask for anything better.

Lewis's turn to take on a new PU plus components. It's coming. Whether at Turkey or Mexico and Mexico is not a good track for Mercedes. Let's see if Lewis can do better than Max at Sochi when taking on a new PU plus components.

[jgonzalesm6]

Another positive aspect, Charles recorded the highest top speed during the race.

Charles 335.8 vs Sainz 322.1 (Both had access to the DRS)

Well, I have info on average speed per lap and both Leclerc and Sainz are 7th and 12th respectfully.

[Toothlessrage*]

Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto: “That was a very intense and difficult race today”


Mattia Binotto, the Team Principal at Scuderia Ferrari, was pleased to see Carlos Sainz Jr. secured a podium finish in the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday, although he was disappointed that the late-race rain prevented Charles Leclerc from scoring points.

Sainz led the early laps at the Sochi Autodrom, but early tyre graining saw him fall behind McLaren F1 Team’s Lando Norris, and an early pit stop had appeared to have put paid to his chance of a top result. However, the rain came, and a perfectly timed pit stop saw him grab third place.

Leclerc was a man on a mission early on after starting on the back row of the grid, and at the end of lap one, he was running twelfth. He was in contention for points all day long only to lose out in the shuffle at the end after gambling on running longer on slicks despite the rain continuing to fall.

“That was a very intense and difficult race today, which ended with one of our drivers on the podium”, said Binotto. “Carlos had a great weekend, both yesterday in qualifying and today in the race and third place is a nice reward for all the hard work."

“Charles leaves empty-handed at the end of a weekend which started on the back foot because of the penalty, but today he once again proved just how talented he is. He made a great start, had a really strong race pace and showed the right amount of aggression for the overtaking moves.”

Although Binotto was delighted with the podium for Sainz, he was disappointed that the pit stops and tyre management were not at the level expected by Ferrari, and as such, they will be going away to learn what they can do better in the future.

“We know that as a team we must always try and improve in every area. Here, we introduced an update to the hybrid system for the power unit, which worked the way we had expected and produced a little bit more performance”, he said.

“However, we were not perfect in other areas, for example, the pit stops and tyre management with Charles in those final chaotic moments of the race, whereas with Carlos everything went according to plan and we will build on the experience gained today.”

[jgonzalesm6]

Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto: “That was a very intense and difficult race today”



“However, we were not perfect in other areas, for example, the pit stops and tyre management with Charles in those final chaotic moments of the race, whereas with Carlos everything went according to plan and we will build on the experience gained today.”

This sounds so "polictical." Of course everything went acccording to plan wih Sainz because HE CALLED IT on team radio before the pit box....So Carlos got the team ready. He became his own tire strategist when it started to rain.

It was "chaotic" with Leclec because WE(Ferrari) did'nt react quick enough to 1) bring him in after Sainz to double stack to change to inter's 2) Leclerc felt he could'nt come in because Sainz was in first.......really ????. Where's the confidence that Leclerc needed ot here like "BOX BOX BOX" immediately after Sainz.

Of course they will build and learn on the experienced gained today.........Ferrari needed to be pro-active instead of being reactive. You can build a better car but IF your pitwall is'nt up to snuff in moments like this, you're lacking when going up against Mercedes or RedBull in situations like this.

[wisepie]

This sounds so "polictical." Of course everything went acccording to plan wih Sainz because HE CALLED IT on team radio before the pit box....So Carlos got the team ready. He became his own tire strategist when it started to rain.

It was "chaotic" with Leclec because WE(Ferrari) did'nt react quick enough to 1) bring him in after Sainz to double stack to change to inter's 2) Leclerc felt he could'nt come in because Sainz was in first.......really ????. Where's the confidence that Leclerc needed ot here like "BOX BOX BOX" immediately after Sainz.

Of course they will build and learn on the experienced gained today.........Ferrari needed to be pro-active instead of being reactive. You can build a better car but IF your pitwall is'nt up to snuff in moments like this, you're lacking when going up against Mercedes or RedBull in situations like this.

Good points, and I just get the feeling that Carlos may be getting the benefit of being the new boy, he is consistent certainly but doesn't have the outright pace of Charles. OK so Carlos was ahead of the pit wall in demanding inters, wonder what would have happened if Charles had done the same when he was challenging for P3. He must have felt a bit peeved that they got him in only after he'd gone off, by then it was too late.

[Toothlessrage*]

Good points, and I just get the feeling that Carlos may be getting the benefit of being the new boy, he is consistent certainly but doesn't have the outright pace of Charles. OK so Carlos was ahead of the pit wall in demanding inters, wonder what would have happened if Charles had done the same when he was challenging for P3. He must have felt a bit peeved that they got him in only after he'd gone off, by then it was too late.

IMHO; I have the feeling that Binnoto is trying really hard to build a healthy structure that's strong in the long run and is also ensure that there's a healthy relationship between Charles and Carlos.

If/By chance Carlos outscores Charles this year.
Next year will probably be difficult in terms of Driver management, leaving out the status of the 2022 machine.

[Silent Bob]

This sounds so "polictical." Of course everything went acccording to plan wih Sainz because HE CALLED IT on team radio before the pit box....So Carlos got the team ready. He became his own tire strategist when it started to rain.

It was "chaotic" with Leclec because WE(Ferrari) did'nt react quick enough to 1) bring him in after Sainz to double stack to change to inter's 2) Leclerc felt he could'nt come in because Sainz was in first.......really ????. Where's the confidence that Leclerc needed ot here like "BOX BOX BOX" immediately after Sainz.

Of course they will build and learn on the experienced gained today.........Ferrari needed to be pro-active instead of being reactive. You can build a better car but IF your pitwall is'nt up to snuff in moments like this, you're lacking when going up against Mercedes or RedBull in situations like this.

It was changing conditions at first. Only 1 part of the track was wet. Charles said he was gaining time on the dry part of the track and wanted to stay out. The teams do rely on the drivers to tell them how slippery the track is and whether or not it's time to switch tires. almost every driver told their pits they were staying out when it first started to rain. The difference between 1 lap and the next was pretty drastic, the rain came that quickly. On the other hand, what ever happened to teams putting a man out in the field where the rain is coming from and radioing the team about how bad the rain is and how quickly its coming in? Seems an easy way to determine if rain is going to hit the track.

[tifosi1993]

I think we're reading too much into it. It's good that Binotto has admitted of mistakes that were made yesterday, unlike some people here who seem think our pit-wall can't make any mistakes and it's always the driver's fault, typical example of blind fanboyish attitude.

Ferrari is targeting titles next year, but having great drivers and car isn't everything. We have the weakest strategy department in the paddock and that says it all.

And Leclerc needs a better race engineer. The race engineer is the bridge between the driver and the team. Just look at the relations between Hamilton-and his race engineer, Verstappen-and his race engineer, Norris-and his engineer and so on.
Leclerc's race engineer is only known for saying "slow button on" and "Plan A, B, C"....not good enough.

Charles is a generational talent. But he needs to have proper support to grow. And it can only be done with a good and competent race engineer.

[jgonzalesm6]

It was changing conditions at first. Only 1 part of the track was wet. Charles said he was gaining time on the dry part of the track and wanted to stay out. The teams do rely on the drivers to tell them how slippery the track is and whether or not it's time to switch tires. almost every driver told their pits they were staying out when it first started to rain. The difference between 1 lap and the next was pretty drastic, the rain came that quickly. On the other hand, what ever happened to teams putting a man out in the field where the rain is coming from and radioing the team about how bad the rain is and how quickly its coming in? Seems an easy way to determine if rain is going to hit the track.

I agree.

Look at Sainz's urgency to switch to inter's and look at the ones that did'nt have that urgnecy......let alone the teams not mandating that the drivers box. The drivers that did'nt box when the team told them to box costed the driver to lose places on the grid.

Lap 47...this was the field

1. Norris
2. Hamilton
3. Perez
4. Sainz
5. Alonso
6. Ricciardo
7. Max
8. Leclerc
9. Vettel
10. Stroll


Lap 53.....ths is how it ended

1. Lewis
2. Max
3. Sainz
4. Ricciardo
5. Bottas
6. Alonso
7. Norris
8. Kimi
9. Perez
10. Russell

Mercedes reacted quickly to both drivers by the pitwall. RedBull focused on Max then got Perez....they did'nt double stack. Thank-you Sainz for reacting quickly but Ferrari pitwall reacted to Sainz's call but the pitwall did'nt see the urgency to bring in Leclerc to double stack.

Norris should'nt have gotten DoD IMO. He disobeyed team orders to come in to change for inter's. Norris flately told the team on team radio "NO!!!! when they orderd him to come in for inters. He was gutted after the race. You live and learn from your mistakes and I'm sure Norris has learned his mistake.

[Greig]

Norris should'nt have gotten DoD IMO. He disobeyed team orders to come in to change for inter's. Norris flately told the team on team radio "NO!!!! when they orderd him to come in for inters. He was gutted after the race. You live and learn from your mistakes and I'm sure Norris has learned his mistake.

Norris was told the rain would not get any worse, which is why he said he would stay out, he did not ignore any orders at all.

As for the rest you make it sound like Sainz refused to stay out and decided to come in even though the team said not too, was a driver decision Charles decided to stay out.