FORMULA 1 2018 VTB RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX - RACE

FORMULA 1 2018 VTB RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING

FORMULA 1 2018 VTB RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 2

2018 Russian Grand Prix preview

The fifth Grand Prix ever in Russia is up next! I don't remember much from the previous races besides Raikkonen's and Bottas' crash so I will talk about the first race instead.

At the start Nico Rosberg challenged his teammate Lewis Hamilton for the lead but braked too late and had to cut the corner. He was told to let Lewis through and he responded that he would actually want to pit for new tyres. That was his only stop of the race and it seems that it was a good strategy. He was 2nd right after Lewis in the end.

The only man who could have challenged Rosberg for second place was Valtteri Bottas. He actually was 2nd for a long time but got overtaken by Rosberg eventually.

Rosberg overtook Bottas by forcing him off the track and after this maneuver Bottas didn't have the speed to overtake him back.

Now Bottas has taken Rosberg's place at Mercedes as we all know and I am sure he will do great this year.

I really hope they don't do any team orders! Can't believe Niki Lauda would approve that.

Valtteri Bottas had a great race in 2014 but we shall see if he is up for the challenge this year.

Here are some Vital statistics from Formula1.com:

Circuit: Sochi Autodrom

Circuit length: 5.848 km (only Spa and Silverstone are longer)

Circuit width: ranges between 13m to 15m

Number of corners: 18 (12 right, 6 left)

Projected maximum speed: 320 km/h (between Turns 1 and 2)

Projected average speed: 215 km/h 

Projected lap time: 1m 36.9s

Longest straight: 650m (between Turns 1 and 2)

DRS zones: 2 - the first is between Turns 1 and 2 with the detection point prior to Turn 1; the second is between turns 10 and 12 with the detection point prior to Turn 10

Race laps: 53

Race distance: 309.732 km

Fascinating fact: - Sochi Autodrom is the only racing circuit in the world to be located in an Olympic venue, Sochi having played host to the XXII Olympic Winter Games in February this year

Number of Russian drivers to have started at least one Grand Prix: 3 (Vitaly Petrov, Daniil Kvyat, Sergei Sirotkin)

Best finish by a Russian driver in F1: 2nd (Daniil Kvyat)

The last thing are my predictions:

Pole position: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

Fastest lap: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

Surprise: Keep an eye on Bottas. He might be very fast this weekend.

FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - RACE

FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING

FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 3

FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 1 & 2

2018 Italian Grand Prix review

First of all it was a very interesting starting grid with Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen on pole. I was sure that this would motivate him enough to give everything he's got and more. The Iceman took his best start of the season and stayed in front. His teammate Sebastian Vettel tried a little too much and smacked into Lewis Hamilton. Of course he blamed Hamilton for the crash... He dropped to the back and had to pit. This was clearly not Hamilton's fault because he was already ahead of Vettel... or if you disagree then please send me a message and explain your point of view. 

On lap 4 Hamilton overtook Räikkönen for the lead and when we all thought that Hamilton would fly to the distance the Iceman took the lead back!! I loved that! Finally we see some real racing for once! All it takes is a 4 time world champion and the oldest driver out there. At this point I was cheering for  Räikkönen and not because he is a Ferrari driver but because he is the legendary Iceman! Never really been a Ferrari fan. I love the cars but not the team. I mean look what they did to Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa for example! They are doing it to Räikkönen as well... everybody were saying before the race "how will Ferrari screw up Räikkönen's race this time so that Vettel gets ahead?". Räikkönen was lucky Vettel spun!

Räikkönen could have won the race easily but the tyres were too damaged. He could have saved the tyres more if he could have driven in the lead for a longer time. His tyres got bad when he had to drive behind Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas for too long.

Mercedes had a much better race compared to Ferrari, better tactics and scored more points. Just a pity they had to use Bottas as Hamilton's help. Bottas could have fought for the win as well but they kept him out longer to slow down Räikkönen.

Bottas had some drama with Max Verstappen when they had a slight collision. It was clear that it was Verstappen's fault and he got a 5 second penalty. He has done that move before as well and got a penalty for that time too so why not learn from your mistakes? Because of this Bottas moved ahead of Verstappen in the final results and was on the podium.

Räikkönen was chosen "driver of the day" and I couldn't have agreed more.

And now it's time for my predictions and the results:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. Räikkönen took pole for the first time this season.

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - WRONG. Räikkönen was 2nd and Bottas was 3rd.
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - WRONG. He was 4th.

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT

Surprise: Keep an eye on Esteban Ocon - He was surprisngly bad compared to his teammate.

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - RACE

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - QUALIFYING

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - PRACTICE 3