Mercedes was 1-2 while Renault, McLaren, and Ferrari also placed both drivers in the top ten.
SOCHI, Russia—September 25th—The Sochi Autodrom certainly has been one of Valtteri Bottas’ favorite circuits. On Friday, the Finn showed why, topping the time sheets at 1:33:519, 0.267 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ teammate Lewis Hamilton. The two are expected to challenge for the title at Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix.
Hamilton improved his time late in the afternoon session but locked up on soft tires going down to turn 13–and that ended his chance at a better time.
Red Bull, a favorite to challenge both Mercedes, put in a disappointing performance. Max Verstappen ended up seventh, while teammate Alex Albon finished out of the top ten in 12th. With both cars performing unpredictably, it will be a difficult weekend if things don’t improve during Saturday’s qualifying sessions.
While Red Bull was struggling, it was a different story at Renault. Daniel Ricciardo performed brilliantly, taking third, 1.058 behind Bottas. Also, in the hunt were both McLarens. Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris timed fourth and fifth, respectively. Norris was running with a new, tighter Mercedes-style front nose cone.
Sergio Perez was sixth in his Racing Point. For Ferrari, this Friday offered hope. Both Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel placed in the top ten: the Monegasque finished 8th, while and his German teammate clocked in at ten.
For the day, Renault, Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari all placed both drivers in the top ten.
If Friday’s outcome is a predictor, it seems likely that Sunday will be another Mercedes domination. For the expected 30,000 fans, the big question Sunday will be whether Hamilton will tie Michael Schumacher’s race-win record of 91 victories. If so, they’ll be witnesses to history.
