Following a disappointment in Singapore, Ferrari's gem returned a blow and mercilessly competed with the competition in the qualifying rounds for the Russian GP. Charles Leclerc declared competition in Sochi, led by teammate Sebastian Vettl, and became the first Ferrari racer after Michael Schumacher to win four consecutive best starting positions with a red car.
Right from the start of the race weekend in Russia, Leclerc showed great form, crowning him with an epic lap at the conclusion of the qualifications, which overtook all the competition by almost half a second. Monacan's advantage would be even higher if he didn't make the mistake just before the end of the round and lose a few extra tens. Leclerc is hot and it will be hard to stop him in Sunday's race.
Lewis Hamilton actually did a very good job with the second place as he managed to break through in front of Sebastian Vettl, despite the apparent deficiency of Mercedes powertrain on the long plains of the Sochi track. At the same time, the British will start the race with a harder tire than both Ferrari's, which gives him more strategic options, but will be heavily exposed to Ferrari's attack at the start. The road to the first bend is extremely long and the power of the Ferrari powertrain is exceptional.
Despite third place, Sebastian Vettel is certainly one of the biggest losers of qualifying. The gap behind his team mate is enormous, and at the same time his first starting line was missed by Hamilton. The German also has a lot of problems in Russia and since the start of the race weekend he does not show the speed with which he could threaten the excellent Leclerc.
Undoubtedly, more was expected at Red Bull, and only Max Verstappen's fourth place was less disappointing for the Milton Keynes team. Verstappen will be fined five more starting points due to the engine changeover, but the ninth starting position will probably not allow him to fight to win, as he will have to deal with racers like Ricciardo, Hulkenberg and Grosjean in the opening rounds, who will definitely not be able to fight him. easily removed.
The performance of Valtteri Bottas, who usually showed his best runs on the Sochi track, is a minor disappointment. The Finnish will start the race from a different starting line due to Verstappen's penalty, and like Hamilton, the other Mercedes racer will start with a medium-hard version of tires.
Carlos Sainz offered a new top performance, which once again brought his McLarn to the “best of the rest” position. We can obviously expect a fight between McLarn and Renault again, while the form of Haas and Romain Grosjean is highly questionable.
So Charles Leclerc is well on his way to taking the top step again after a little disappointment in Singapore. The decision may fall from the beginning, since the path to the fourth bend is extremely long and the chic intermediate is very treacherous.
Matej Plesey
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