2017 Russian Grand Prix
The 2017 Russian Grand Prix (Russian: Гран-при России 2017 года, romanized: Gran-pri Rossii 2017 goda), officially known as the 2017 Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix,[1] was a Formula One motor race that took place on 30 April 2017 as the fourth round of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship.[5] The fifty-two lap race was held at the Sochi Autodrom, marking the fourth running of the Russian Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship. Sebastian Vettel started the race from pole, with his teammate Kimi Räikkönen in second in Ferrari's first front-row lockout since the 2008 French Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas won the race by 0.617 seconds over Vettel, the smallest winning margin since the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
2017 Russian Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 4 of 20 in the 2017 Formula One World Championship
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Layout of the Sochi Autodrom | |||||
Race details[1] | |||||
Date | 30 April 2017 | ||||
Official name | 2017 Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix[2][3] | ||||
Location |
Sochi Autodrom, Adlersky City District, Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia | ||||
Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
Course length | 5.848 km (3.633 mi) | ||||
Distance | 52 laps, 304.096 km (188.956 mi) | ||||
Scheduled distance | 53 laps, 309.745 km (192.466 mi) | ||||
Attendance | 150,000[4] | ||||
Pole position | |||||
Driver | Ferrari | ||||
Time | 1:33.194 | ||||
Fastest lap | |||||
Driver |
| Ferrari | |||
Time | 1:36.844 on lap 49 | ||||
Podium | |||||
First | Mercedes | ||||
Second | Ferrari | ||||
Third | Ferrari | ||||
Lap leaders
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Going into the race, Vettel led Lewis Hamilton in the World Drivers' Championship by seven points, with Bottas third; they remained in the same order after the race. In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari was in the lead ahead of Mercedes before the race, with Red Bull Racing third; Mercedes was ahead of Ferrari after the race.
Report
Background
Driver changes
Sergey Sirotkin made his first appearance of the season with Renault, driving in place of Nico Hülkenberg in the first free practice session.[6]
Race
The initial start was aborted, as Fernando Alonso was unable to start, pulling up in the opening to the pit lane because of engine issues. Team radio from the initial parade lap suggested issues with the MGU-K electronic power supplementary unit leading to a loss of hybrid power.[7][8] Without the energy recovery system (ERS), the MCL32 would be uncompetitive and racing would put an unnecessary wear upon the rest of the power unit. Alonso's McLaren teammate Stoffel Vandoorne had already been given a 15-place grid penalty, having exceeded the limit of four exchanges of power unit per driver and car throughout the season stipulated by the 2017 regulations. With Alonso's car already being at least partially on its fourth power unit of the season on only race 4 out of 20, in the light of the charge failure, a decision was made to retire Alonso from the race in order to preserve the car.[9] Alonso was unable to even complete the formation lap, suffering from a total car failure before being able to return to the pitlane.[10] Carlos Sainz Jr. was given a 3-place penalty as a result of causing a collision with Lance Stroll at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Because of Alonso's car obstructing the track, the start was aborted by the FIA's race director Charlie Whiting, and the cars were sent on an additional formation lap. The race was accordingly shortened by a lap. Valtteri Bottas attained his maiden victory after taking first place at the start, passing both Ferraris before turn 2 – aided by starting from the clean side of the grid, and picking up the slipstream behind Vettel. Hamilton attempted the same, but was squeezed on both sides by the Ferrari of Räikkönen, now running 3rd – and Ricciardo of Red Bull, challenging for 4th from 5th. This caused him to be held up and hemmed into his starting grid position, where he would stay for the remainder of the race. Vettel meanwhile pulled away from tight racing of the main straight, and pursued Bottas. Vettel briefly led the race when Bottas went into the pits following his one-stop strategy, but then lost his position again after his own pit stop. He again spent the final third of the race gradually closing the distance between himself and Bottas, coming to within 0.7 seconds just a few laps before the end. Lapped traffic, particularly the delayed Williams of Massa, however, ultimately prevented him from overtaking the race leader, leading to a secure second place for the German. Kimi Räikkönen rounded off the podium. He once again set a late fastest lap of 1:36.844 on lap 49, recording not only the fast lap of the race, but also the fastest ever lap at the circuit. At the chequered flag, he was followed by Lewis Hamilton, finishing a distant 4th. Hamilton had struggled with overheating throughout the race.[11]
Non-finishers were Fernando Alonso, who failed to make it to the grid with a hybrid-charge failure, as well as Jolyon Palmer and Romain Grosjean who crashed on the first lap, causing a safety car deployment. Daniel Ricciardo retired with brake problems while running in 7th. Felipe Massa was running in 6th when he obtained a slow puncture and had to pit for new tyres, falling to 9th behind the Force Indias of Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon as well as the Renault of Nico Hülkenberg.[12][13]
There were very few on-track overtakes after the safety car period.[14] Despite making up two places before turn 2, Max Verstappen's Red Bull did not advance further, finishing in 5th, a minute behind Bottas, once again showing Red Bull's struggles to keep up with Ferrari and Mercedes. The team's problems were compounded by the retirement of Daniel Ricciardo, their third mechanical failure in four races.[15]
Classification
Qualifying
Pos. | Car no. |
Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Final grid | ||
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Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |||||
1 | 5 | Ferrari | 1:34.493 | 1:34.038 | 1:33.194 | 1 | |
2 | 7 | Ferrari | 1:34.953 | 1:33.663 | 1:33.253 | 2 | |
3 | 77 | Mercedes | 1:34.041 | 1:33.264 | 1:33.289 | 3 | |
4 | 44 | Mercedes | 1:34.409 | 1:33.760 | 1:33.767 | 4 | |
5 | 3 | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 1:35.560 | 1:35.483 | 1:34.905 | 5 | |
6 | 19 | Williams-Mercedes | 1:35.828 | 1:35.049 | 1:35.110 | 6 | |
7 | 33 | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 1:35.301 | 1:35.221 | 1:35.161 | 7 | |
8 | 27 | Renault | 1:35.507 | 1:35.328 | 1:35.285 | 8 | |
9 | 11 | Force India-Mercedes | 1:36.185 | 1:35.513 | 1:35.337 | 9 | |
10 | 31 | Force India-Mercedes | 1:35.372 | 1:35.729 | 1:35.430 | 10 | |
11 | 55 | Toro Rosso | 1:35.827 | 1:35.948 | 141 | ||
12 | 18 | Williams-Mercedes | 1:36.279 | 1:35.964 | 11 | ||
13 | 26 | Toro Rosso | 1:35.984 | 1:35.968 | 12 | ||
14 | 20 | Haas-Ferrari | 1:36.408 | 1:36.017 | 13 | ||
15 | 14 | McLaren-Honda | 1:36.353 | 1:36.660 | 15 | ||
16 | 30 | Renault | 1:36.462 | 16 | |||
17 | 2 | McLaren-Honda | 1:37.070 | 202 | |||
18 | 94 | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:37.332 | 17 | |||
19 | 9 | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:37.507 | 18 | |||
20 | 8 | Haas-Ferrari | 1:37.620 | 19 | |||
107% time: 1:40.623 | |||||||
Source:[16] |
- Notes
- ^1 – Carlos Sainz, Jr. was given a three-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident with Lance Stroll at the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix.[17]
- ^2 – Stoffel Vandoorne received a fifteen-place grid penalty for changing various engine components.[18]
Race
Notes
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- "2017 Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix". Formula One Administration. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- Mitchell, Malcolm. "2017 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
- Mitchell, Malcolm. "Sochi Autodrom - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
- "F1 reveals overall rise in 2017 attendance". Gpupdate.net. 8 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017.
- "FIA Announces World Motorsports Council decisions". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 30 November 2016. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- "2017 Russian Grand Prix – Entry List". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017.
- "2017 Russian Grand Prix team radio highlights: Race". F1 Fanatic. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- "More misery for Fernando Alonso as engine problem ends Russian GP challenge". Newsandstar.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- Akai, Kunihiko (24 March 2017). "Honda already working on major F1 engine changes for later in 2017". Autosport. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- Elizalde, Pablo (30 April 2017). "Honda believes ERS failure stopped Alonso starting Russian GP". Autosport. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- Collantine, Keith. ""I was out of the race from the get-go" – Hamilton". F1 Fanatic. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- "Race – Bottas takes nail-biting maiden win in Russia". Formula1.com. Formula 1 World Championship Ltd. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- "F1: Russian Grand Prix – as it happened". Guardian. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- "2017 Russian Grand Prix – Lap Chart". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 30 April 2017.
- Caygill, Graham (30 April 2017). "Vettel extends Formula One championship lead while Hamilton toils: Russian Grand Prix talking points". TheNational.ae. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- "2017 Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix – qualifying". Formula1.com. Formula 1 World Championship Ltd. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- "Carlos Sainz gets grid penalty for Lance Stroll clash". EuroSport. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- Anderson, Ben. "F1 Russian GP: Vandoorne gets McLaren's first 2017 grid penalty". autosport.com. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- "Гран-при России по автогонкам «Формулы-1»" [Grand Prix of Russia in Formula One racing] (in Russian). Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia: The Russian Presidential Press and Information Office. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- "2017 Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix – Race Result". Formula1.com. Formula 1 World Championship Ltd. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- "Russia 2017 - Championship". statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2017 Russian Grand Prix. |
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