Russian Grand Prix 2015: Winners and Losers from Sochi Race
Lewis Hamilton claimed his ninth win of the 2015 Formula One season in Sunday's Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom.
The reigning world champion started from second on the grid for the second consecutive race, but he soon took the lead after Nico Rosberg, his Mercedes team-mate and championship rival, suffered a technical problem before retiring.
Rosberg's withdrawal ended the fight at the front—and, almost certainly, the title race—but there were several impressive performances throughout the field at Sochi, with Sergio Perez securing Force India's third-ever podium finish and Valtteri Bottas reminding the paddock why he is a star of the future.
On a day when Kimi Raikkonen offered yet more evidence that his best days are behind him and Jenson Button added two points to McLaren-Honda's tally, here are the winners and losers from Russia.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton
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This is what happens when leading athletes are overwhelmed by the winning feeling.
For much of the Russian Grand Prix weekend, Lewis Hamilton was the slower Mercedes driver.
Nico Rosberg had established an advantage on Friday morning and carried it into Saturday, beating Hamilton in all three qualifying segments and eventually claiming pole position by a comfortable margin of 0.320 seconds, per BBC Sport.
Hamilton had settled for second on the grid after a mistake on his final qualifying run, but on the day it really mattered and the points were handed out, it was the reigning world champion who found a way to win.
Rosberg had prevented his team-mate from taking the lead with a perfectly judged first phase of the race.
But it is unrealistic to think, in his current form, Hamilton—who later told Sky Sports' television coverage it was a "shame" the Mercedes drivers were again denied a wheel-to-wheel battle—wouldn't have eventually forced his way past his team-mate, even without Rosberg's terminal mechanical problem.
After inheriting the lead on Lap 7, though, Hamilton controlled the grand prix with the style he has shown throughout 2015.
While there was more late-race drama for Hamilton—after the tyre-pressure commotion in Italy came slight concerns over his rear wing in the closing stages at Sochi—he finished comfortably ahead of Sebastian Vettel to secure Mercedes' second consecutive constructors' championship.
And it has moved him ever closer to the 2015 drivers' title, with Hamilton now able to secure his third crown at the United States Grand Prix.
Loser: Nico Rosberg
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After setting his second consecutive pole position on Saturday, Nico Rosberg told the FIA press conference how he hadn't even "thought about" his approach to the start of the race.
It was a strange admission by someone who has made substandard getaways since the new race-start procedure was introduced in August, especially after he fell from first to fourth within two corners of the recent Japanese GP having been outthought and outmuscled by Lewis Hamilton.
But despite taking a relaxed approach to his pre-race preparations, Rosberg's all too brief Russian GP proved he has learned the lessons from Suzuka.
At the end of the formation lap, Rosberg slowed his pace dramatically to bunch up the field and ensure those behind would gain no advantage in terms of tyre, clutch and engine temperatures, which no doubt contributed to his best start for several months.
After negotiating the kink that is Turn 1, he immediately switched to the inside line to defend against Hamilton into Turn 2 and, unlike last year, perfected his braking into the right-hander.
When the safety car was deployed for the opening lap crash, Rosberg again dropped his pace at the exit of Turn 4 and forced Hamilton to suddenly jump on the brakes—a statement of intent, making it clear his team-mate was in for a difficult afternoon—and the German managed the restart effectively and efficiently.
Everything about Rosberg's start to the race was done at his pace, on his terms and, at that point, he exuded confidence and complete control.
The one thing Rosberg couldn't control, however, was his car's reliability, and when his W06 suffered what Mercedes' official Twitter account confirmed was a "failed throttle damper," Rosberg was condemned to his second retirement in the last four races.
Now 66 points behind Hamilton in the drivers' championship with four races remaining, his already slim title chances are now effectively over.
But after a faultless start to the grand prix, Rosberg didn't deserve to go down without a fight in Russia.
Winner: Sergio Perez
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When Perez last found himself in contention for a podium finish, his race ended with a trip to the medical centre.
That, of course, was at the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix, where Perez moved in a braking zone and collided with Williams' Felipe Massa, sparking one of the most spectacular accidents of the modern era.
Perez's manoeuvre at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was that of a driver almost bitter that a chance to win had passed him by, frustrated that his good work in the early stages of the race was set to come to nothing.
It was with much interest, therefore, that you watched Perez struggling to maintain third position in the closing laps of the Russian GP.
Force India's decision to pit the Mexican as early as Lap 12, during the second safety-car period, elevated him to third when the faster cars eventually made their stops. However, despite the advantage of fresher tyres, Bottas and Raikkonen were unable to make substantial progress through the pack.
That meant a podium finish, once highly unlikely, was suddenly within Perez's grasp when Bottas and Raikkonen finally caught him with just two laps remaining.
Would Perez, so near yet so far from the chequered flag, turn reckless in his desperation to keep them both behind? Or would he, with Force India set to extend their lead over Lotus in the constructors' championship, be compliant and accept that a podium was just out of reach?
In the event, he didn't have a say in the matter when Bottas and Raikkonen both passed him in the space of two corners.
Yet his increased maturity and newfound ability to keep his head when those around him lost theirs ultimately paid dividends when Raikkonen assaulted Bottas on the final lap, damaging both cars and allowing Perez to reclaim third.
It was symbolic that Perez's podium came on a day his team-mate, Nico Hulkenberg, spun into retirement at the first corner, solidifying his status as Force India's No. 1 driver.
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Loser: Kimi Raikkonen
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Friday at Sochi marked a decade since the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix, the scene of Raikkonen's greatest triumph.
Back then, Raikkonen, behind the wheel of the McLaren Mercedes MP4-20, was all-action, shudderingly quick and with the quiet confidence of someone who could make victory from 17th on the grid seem like a normal achievement.
Everything he had done before, and all he has done since, has been measured against that afternoon at Suzuka, where a final-lap pass on Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella was the final touch to the most magnificent of comeback performances.
Ten years on, he was again making a last-lap move on the car ahead, yet this time it only served to confirm how far Raikkonen, now almost 36, has fallen.
After tracking Bottas around the long left-hander of Turn 3, Raikkonen sensed an opportunity to claim his third podium finish of the season.
But where he would once skilfully line up his victims prior to the inevitable move, he now simply lunges in the general direction of the apex and hopes the driver ahead will see him coming.
Bottas, of course, didn't spot Raikkonen in his rear-view mirrors—how could he?—and he was duly punted into the crash barriers after the Ferrari locked up under braking, forcing Raikkonen to complete the final lap with his front wing scraping along the ground as his team-mate, Vettel, took another assured podium.
His contact with Bottas—which resulted in a 30-second time penalty, dropping him to eighth and gifting Mercedes the constructors' title—capped his latest unconvincing performance, which at one stage saw him run off track twice in quick succession.
These days, Raikkonen is not so much a shadow of his former self, but a complete and utter liability, and it's increasingly painful to watch his decline.
Winner: Valtteri Bottas
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Bottas' race may have ended with a one-way trip to the crash barriers, but Raikkonen's last-lap buffoonery should not be allowed to tarnish what was the new Flying Finn's most convincing performance for some time.
Despite claiming nine top-five finishes in 2015, there was a sense that the momentum behind Bottas had faded and that those who praise him as a future world champion risked being wide of the mark.
As noted ahead of the weekend, this made the Russian GP—an event where he almost claimed pole position in 2014—an important race for Bottas, offering an indication of where he really stands as he comes to the end of his third full season in F1.
And his response was emphatic.
Bottas was the closest challenger to the dominant Mercedes' cars for much of the weekend, finishing third behind Rosberg and Hamilton in all three qualifying segments and remaining relatively close to the Silver Arrows in the early stages of the race.
He was typically resolute when under pressure from Vettel at the end of the first stint, and while he perhaps should have encouraged Williams to make an earlier pit stop to guard against the threat of the Ferrari, it was his competence in wheel-to-wheel battle that defined his race.
When he was momentarily passed by Raikkonen while in pursuit of Daniel Ricciardo on Lap 36, Bottas ensured his compatriot wouldn't make the move stick and muscled Kimi aside to reclaim fifth position, offering a rare glimpse of his aggression behind the wheel.
When he needed to pass Ricciardo to keep his hopes of catching Perez alive, he was decisive and uncompromising in battle.
And when, on the penultimate lap, Bottas was allowed to use the most powerful engine setting to overtake Perez, he made sure he took full advantage, forcing his way down the inside of the Force India at Turn 12.
That should have allowed him to claim his second podium finish of the season, but although Bottas has nothing to show for his afternoon's work, he did at least confirm he's back to his best.
Winner: Felipe Nasr
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Since resolving his mid-season braking issues by switching from Brembos to Carbon Industries at the Singapore GP, as reported by F1 journalist Peter Windsor, Felipe Nasr has returned to the form he showed at the beginning of 2015.
The Brazilian ended a run of six races without a point at Marina Bay and, after a disappointing weekend in Japan, he produced his best performance since the season-opening Australian GP in Russia.
As he told Sauber's official website, the premature end to FP3 meant Nasr was among the drivers unable to sample the super-soft tyres ahead of qualifying, with his 12th-placed finish in Q2—with a lap just 0.204 seconds slower than Max Verstappen, per BBC Sport—a reflection of his natural feel for a racing car and judgement of conditions.
After locking up at Turn 2, Nasr was fortunate to avoid the incident that collected his team-mate, Marcus Ericsson, on the first lap, but he drove maturely from there and crossed the chequered flag just 8.942 seconds behind Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat, per the official F1 website.
The two long straights at the Sochi Autodrom presented Sauber with a chance to extract the most from their updated Ferrari power unit.
And although the trials and tribulations of Rosberg, Ricciardo, Bottas and Raikkonen flattered the Swiss team, Nasr's eventual sixth-place finish has solidified their eighth place in the constructors' standings on a day ninth-placed McLaren-Honda recorded a rare points finish.
Nasr's result has also kept Sauber in contention for seventh, with the team now just 11 points adrift of Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Loser: Nico Hulkenberg
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As his team-mate paraded his third-place trophy and sprayed podium champagne for the second time as a Force India driver, Nico Hulkenberg was once again left to wonder where it all went wrong.
The German had produced his best qualifying performance since June's Austrian Grand Prix to start sixth at the Sochi Autodrom, but—not for the first time in his F1 career—he was unable to extract the most from his car on the one day it was good enough for a top-three finish.
His unforced error at Turn 2—where, as he told Force India's official website, he "locked the rears" before spinning into retirement—was reminiscent of his mistake at the Canadian GP, where he spun at the final chicane while battling Vettel.
And while he was perhaps unfortunate to be hit by Marcus Ericsson, Hulkenberg—despite a brief return to form in Japan—is now facing the most testing period of his grand prix career.
Popular opinion suggests Hulkenberg deserves a chance in a race-winning team, but he's no longer the best driver in his current team.
Winner: Jenson Button
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McLaren-Honda's decision to change Fernando Alonso's power unit and incur a 35-place grid penalty, per F1 journalist Andrew Benson, suggested the team had limited expectations at the Russian GP.
With the two long straights at the Sochi Autodrom set to expose their lack of straight-line speed, the team had seemingly opted to take their punishment at a venue where they were bound to be uncompetitive before resuming their pursuit for points at the Circuit of the Americas.
Yet the Russian GP saw McLaren produce their most impressive performance since July's Hungarian GP, with Button central to the team's return to the top 10.
In a qualifying session defined by the treatment of the tyres, Button was 0.405 seconds faster than Alonso, per BBC Sport—after starting from the back of the grid, the Spaniard probably decided qualifying was a pointless exercise, anyway.
Most significantly, though, Button outqualified the Mercedes-powered cars of Pastor Maldonado and Felipe Massa.
Like Nasr, Button benefited from the madness ahead to stay out of trouble and finish ninth, ending McLaren's run of four races without a point.
Button told McLaren's official website how the team "haven’t made massive progress with the car’s performance," but his claim that they "did lots of interesting things" in terms of setup suggests they may have identified a way to compensate for the MP4-30's biggest flaws.
Following his recent contract extension, Button proved why the team simply couldn't afford to let him go.
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