Starting Grid 2019 Russian F1 GP
2019 Russian GP Top 3 qualifiers : 1. Leclerc, 2. Hamilton, 3. Vettel
Event: Russian Grand Prix
Track: Sochi Street Circuit
Start time: 14:10 (local) | 12:10 GMT | 04:10 PT
Charles Leclerc again scored pole position for Ferrari in Sochi. The only other driver who ever scored 4 consecutive poles for Ferrari was the legendary Michael Schumacher.
Pole favourite Max Verstappen wasn't able to fight for P1 and even ended up behind on P4 and was almost 7 tenths to slow.
Start Grid 2019 Russian F1 GP
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Lap Time | Pole gap |
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31,628 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:32,030 | +0,402s |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:32,053 | +0,425s |
| 4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:32,632 | +1,004s |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | 1:33,222 | +1,594s |
| 6 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 1:33,289 | +1,661s |
| 7 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:33,301 | +1,673s |
| 8 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:33,517 | +1,889s |
| 9 | 33 | *Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:32,310 | +0,682s |
| 10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:33,661 | +2,033s |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Racing Point | 1:33,958 | +2,330s |
| 12 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1:34,037 | +2,409s |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:34,082 | +2,454s |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | 1:34,233 | +2,605s |
| 15 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo | 1:34,840 | +3,212s |
| 16 | 10 | *Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1:33,950 | +2,322s |
| 17 | 63 | George Russell | Williams | 1:35,356 | +3,728s |
| 18 | 88 | *Robert Kubica | Williams | 1:36,474 | +4,846s |
| 19 | 26 | *Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | no time | - |
| PL | 23 | *Alex Albon | Red Bull | 1:39,197 | +7,569s |
*Penalties:
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull no. 33 - 5 places grid penalty additional power unit elements.
- Alexander Albon, Red Bull no. 23 - 5+15 places grid penalty additional power unit elements and required to start from pit lane after floor was replaced for a different specification under parc ferme conditions.
- Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso no. 10 - 5 places grid penalty additional power unit elements.
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso no. 27 - starts from the back for using multiple additional power unit elements.
- Robert Kubica, Williams no. 88 - starts from the back for using multiple additional power unit elements.
2019 Russian F1 GP Race Strategy
As has traditionally been the case at the 53-lap Russian Grand Prix, a one-stopper is going to be the quickest strategy – but which one stopper?
In theory, the fastest way is to start on the soft for 15 to 19 laps and then go to the hard. In practice, there might be an advantage to start on the medium instead for 14 to 22 laps and subsequently switch to the hard. This strategy also offers more flexibility in the event of a safety car, for example.
A slightly slower one-stopper is to start on the soft for 22 to 26 laps and then switch to the medium for the rest of the race: this would probably require some degree of pace management.
A two-stopper will always be slower under normal circumstances, but the fastest two-stopper on paper is: start on the soft for 16 to 18 laps, move on to the soft again for another 16 to 18 laps, then medium to the end.
2019 Russian F1 GP Race Notes
- Strategy. The beginnings of a big strategic battle were already seen in qualifying, with Mercedes adopting a very different approach to Ferrari. This means that they will both be using opposite tactics on race day.
- Performance. The pace has often been slightly quicker than last year, despite a tyre selection that's a step harder compared to 2018. This should allow the drivers to push hard throughout each stint, so expect a fast race tomorrow.
- Pit stops. There's low wear and degradation, so both the 'undercut' as seen in Singapore, as well as the 'overcut' – gaining an advantage by staying out longer than your rivals – are far less likely to be effective.
- Red Bull and Toro Rosso. Each of these teams will be starting with a car at the back of the grid, after Alex Albon crashed in Q1 and Daniil Kvyat sat out qualifying. All the Honda-powered cars are also taking grid penalties: what can they do in the race?
Below you can see the video comparison between the onboard laps of pole sitter Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton who will start from P2 and was over 4 tenths slower than Leclerc:
Where was the battle for pole won and lost?
Watch carefully... 👀 #RussianGP 🇷🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/MPCr9P1aec
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 28, 2019
✅ Check out Post-Quali Comments 2019 Russian F1 GP
✅ Check out 2019 Russian F1 GP Qualifying Report & Classification
✅ Check out 2019 F1 Championship Standings
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