Russian Grand Prix 2016 Preview: Start Time, TV Info, Weather, Schedule, Odds
After opening the season in Australia, Bahrain and China, Formula One returns to Europe for the third running of the Russian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton won the first two races at the Sochi Autodrom, but his Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg, has opened the 2016 season with three straight victories (added to the three races he won to finish 2015). Meanwhile, Ferrari and Red Bull are lurking, should the Silver Arrows slip up.
F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone made headlines again for saying he thinks Russian president Vladimir Putin should be in charge of Europe, per the Guardian's Anushka Asthana and Rowena Mason. That is no surprise, though, as Ecclestone has long supported Putin, despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine and human rights abuses, among other problems.
Still, the show will go on.
And what a show it has been so far this season! Despite all the off-track distractions about qualifying formats and engine regulations, the three races so far have all been entertaining.
Also, two familiar faces are returning to the paddock this weekend. Toro Rosso hired John Booth, formerly of Manor, as their new director of racing, and Renault announced their signing of former Sauber test driver Sergey Sirotkin to a development contract that includes a free practice outing in Russia.
Keep reading for a full race weekend preview, including TV times, current championship standings, a circuit map and guide, tyre and DRS information, weather forecast, odds and session times.
Current Standings
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As mentioned, Rosberg is three-for-three so far this year and leads Hamilton by 36 points in the drivers' championship. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo is a somewhat-surprising third, thanks to three fourth-place finishes and reliability problems at Ferrari (even if he did lose a mini-kart race to Felipe Massa's son).
Here are the top 10 drivers going into the Russian Grand Prix:
| Position | Driver | Points |
| 1. | Nico Rosberg | 75 |
| 2. | Lewis Hamilton | 39 |
| 3. | Daniel Ricciardo | 36 |
| 4. | Sebastian Vettel | 33 |
| 5. | Kimi Raikkonen | 28 |
| 6. | Felipe Massa | 22 |
| 7. | Daniil Kvyat | 21 |
| 8. | Romain Grosjean | 18 |
| 9. | Max Verstappen | 13 |
| 10. | Valtteri Bottas | 7 |
On the constructors' side, Mercedes are way out in front, but Ferrari and Red Bull are in a close battle for second. Behind them, just 12 points separate Williams, Haas and Toro Rosso.
Here are the current constructors' standings:
| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mercedes | 114 |
| 2. | Ferrari | 61 |
| 3. | Red Bull | 57 |
| 4. | Williams | 29 |
| 5. | Haas | 18 |
| 6. | Toro Rosso | 17 |
| 7. | Force India | 6 |
| 8. | McLaren | 1 |
| 9. | Renault | 0 |
| 10. | Sauber | 0 |
| 11. | Manor | 0 |
Sochi Autodrom
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The Sochi Autodrom is built in and around the Olympic park that hosted the 2014 Winter Games. It is partially made up of public roads and, like other street circuits, the barriers are quite close to the track in many places (just ask Romain Grosjean).
At 5.848 kilometres, the Hermann Tilke-designed track is the third-longest on the current F1 calendar, behind only Spa and Silverstone.
(Note that the turn numbers in the image above have been revised. Turn 3 in the image is now included as part of Turn 4. Subtract one from each turn number, starting with Turn 4 in the image to follow along below.)
Turns 1, 2, 3 and 4
From the start-finish line, it is a relatively short run to the first corner, which is really just a right-hand kink that the drivers will take at more than 300 km/h before entering the first DRS zone.
After braking hard for Turn 2, the 90-degree right-hander where Rosberg ran deep on the first lap in 2014, they power through the challenging, flat-out Turn 3. The cars will reach nearly 300 km/h before breaking again for Turn 4, another of the 90-degree corners typical for street circuits.
In the team's race preview, McLaren's Fernando Alonso said: "I particularly enjoy Turn Three; it's a sweeping, multi-apex left-hander that requires a lot of precision; it's easy to get out of shape as you go around the corner, so good balance and car control are very important."
Turns 5, 6 and 7
Turns 5 and 7 are two more approximately right-angle corners, separated by a short straight with another little kink (Turn 6).
The first timing sector ends just before the braking zone for Turn 5, which is taken at 135 km/h.
Turns 8, 9 and 10
After another short blast to Turn 8, the drivers brake to 170 km/h before what, with the Turn 9 kink following almost immediately, is more like a single, double-apex corner.
The second DRS detection point comes just before Turn 10, a (you guessed it!) 90-degree right-hander. It is essential to get this corner right, as it leads onto the longest straight on the track with a good overtaking opportunity at the end.
Turns 11, 12 and 13
Turns 11 and 12 continue the Sochi Autodrom's penchant for calling flat-out kinks "corners," and drivers will reach speeds of more than 330 km/h through Turn 12, which also marks the end of the second timing sector.
The hard braking for Turn 13, the slowest corner on the track at just 110 km/h, provides one of the best overtaking opportunities on the track.
Turns 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18
These five corners to finish the lap are reminiscent of the last turns in Monaco: tight and technical, without much chance of overtaking.
The pit-lane entry is on the short straight between Turns 16 and 17. Turn 18 is taken at just 115 km/h before the drivers blast back out onto the main straight to complete their lap.
All corner speeds are taken from the FIA race preview.
Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Russian Grand Prix Tyres and DRS Zones
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The Sochi Autodrom has a very smooth surface, which means tyre degradation and wear will both be low, according to Pirelli's race preview.
With the race moving from October to May, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said, per the same press release:
"[...] We can probably expect conditions in spring to be different from how they were last autumn. This is one of the lowest degradation tracks we visit all season, so we can expect to see some quite long stints even on the supersoft, as Lewis Hamilton showed last year. However, the performance increase that we have consistently observed from the 2016 cars will increase wear, so free practice will be very important to get an accurate read on tyre behaviour in these new conditions with the latest generation of cars.
"
As in the first three rounds, the supersoft, soft and medium tyres are available in Sochi.
As in China, all team-mates have chosen the same number of each compound, but there are still significant differences among the teams, as Pirelli's graphic below shows.
For example, Ferrari have chosen six sets of soft tyres and six sets of supersoft for each of their drivers, while Red Bull have selected just two sets of soft and 10 sets of supersoft.
"#RussianGP orders are in! See which #PZero tyres your #F1 drivers picked! #F1Sochi https://t.co/571UAUGyH4 pic.twitter.com/nu5Zcu617r
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) April 19, 2016"
DRS Zones
There will be two DRS zones for the Russian Grand Prix, each with a separate detection point.
The first point comes on the main straight, just past the start-finish line. The activation point is just after Turn 1, on the straight that leads to a 90-degree, right-hand Turn 2 and the long, multi-apex Turn 3.
The second detection point is immediately before Turn 10, with the activation point on the gently curving back straight.
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Russian Grand Prix Weather Forecast
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Sochi is a popular resort for Russians on summer holidays, and its location on the Black Sea coast gives it a mild, subtropical climate. The city typically gets about 200 days of sunshine each year, according to the official F1 website.
Both the 2014 and 2015 races were dry, although it did rain on Friday last year.
As of the time of publication, the BBC weather forecast is calling for clouds and high temperatures of 17 to 18 degrees Celsius over the weekend. There is a possibility of rain on each day, although nothing too heavy.
Russian Grand Prix Odds
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Despite Rosberg's impressive run, Hamilton remains a co-favourite for the Russian race. The two Ferrari drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, are up next—and one of them has finished second at each of the last two races.
The top 10 favourites are:
| Driver | Odds |
|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 5-4 |
| Nico Rosberg | 5-4 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 6-1 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 16-1 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 22-1 |
| Daniil Kvyat | 50-1 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 100-1 |
| Felipe Massa | 125-1 |
| Carlos Sainz | 200-1 |
| Max Verstappen | 200-1 |
Selected Others
Daniil Kvyat finished third in China and is 13-2 to grab a home podium in Sochi (even though home advantage does not exist in F1).
Both Mercedes drivers are 20-1 to retire on the first lap. They have finished all three races so far this year, but there has been plenty of carnage in the opening laps.
Vettel is about 6-1 to snag pole—and if anyone not driving a Mercedes is going to do it, you have to figure it would be him.
All odds are taken from Oddschecker and correct at the time of publication.
Russian Grand Prix Session Times and TV Times
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Here are the times for the three free practice sessions, qualifying and the race:
| Session | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Friday | 10 a.m. |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 2 p.m. |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 12 p.m. |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 3 p.m. |
| Race | Sunday | 3 p.m. |
The above times are in local Sochi time (MSK, UTC+3). You can convert the times to your local time zone using the helpful tool on the official F1 website.
TV Times
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports F1 has live coverage of all the sessions. The programming start times are as follows (all times BST):
| Session | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Friday | 7:45 a.m. |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 11:45 a.m. |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 9:45 a.m. |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 12 p.m. |
| Race | Sunday | 11:30 a.m. |
Channel 4 will show free-to-air highlights from qualifying and the race.
In the United States, NBC has live coverage of all the sessions on various platforms, including NBCSN, CNBC and NBC Sports Live Extra, with programming start times as follows (all times EDT):
| Session | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Friday | 3 a.m. (Live Extra) |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 7 a.m. (NBCSN) |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 5 a.m. (Live Extra) |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 8 a.m. (CNBC) |
| Race | Sunday | 7 a.m. (CNBC) |
Enjoy the race and the rest of the weekend!
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