What. A. Race.
The action was intense enough before the rain, Lewis Hamilton only a second behind Lando Norris at the front of the race and different strategies being employed throughout the grid.
Once the weather changed, though, it went to another level, drivers unsure whether to pit or stay out and, as a result, making huge gains or suffering huge losses.
And the craziest thing of all? This happened in Sochi. Who would have thought?
1st. Lewis Hamilton – 9
Despite winning the race, Lewis Hamilton wasn’t at his mesmerising best in Russia.
His struggles in qualifying – including hitting the pit wall and a spin on his final run – meant the Briton only started fourth, a position he went backwards from at the start on Sunday after being boxed in on the run down to Turn 2.
Once released into clean air, however, the Mercedes driver’s pace was superb, although it is unlikely he would have been able to pass Lando Norris had conditions stayed dry.
The fact is, though, they didn’t, and Hamilton boxed for intermediates on the advice of his team, a decision that won him the race.
Back into the championship lead, he will have been disheartened to see Max Verstappen finish behind him in P2, giving him a swing over his rival of just 7 points.
Still, that shouldn’t deflect from his achievement of 100 F1 wins, another remarkable record achieved by one of the all-time greats.
2nd. Max Verstappen – 9.5
P20 to P2 represents a brilliant return for Max Verstappen in Russia.
Starting from the back after taking his engine penalty, the Red Bull driver began the race superbly, overtaking numerous drivers – including Valtteri Bottas – into Turn 13 to be into the top 10 by Lap 14.
Pitting at the same time as Hamilton despite being on the harder tyres, his progress stalled in the second part of the race, being passed for P6 by Fernando Alonso.
Then came the rain. Changing to intermediates at exactly the right moment, the Dutchman took advantage of those faltering ahead of him to take the second spot on the podium.
Just 2 points behind Hamilton after successive weekends at strong Mercedes tracks, Verstappen must surely now be favourite to take his maiden F1 title.
3rd. Carlos Sainz – 9.5
His third podium finish of the season, Carlos Sainz called the Russian Grand Prix his best weekend as a Ferrari driver.
It is not hard to see why. Qualifying in P2, the Spaniard overtook Lando Norris with a great move round the outside of Turn 2 on Lap 1.
He then led the race – the first time he has ever done so in F1 – for 12 laps before excessive graining on his tyres caused his pace to drop.
Another to have pitted for intermediates at the right time, Sainz recovered onto the podium in the final few laps, the 15 points he gained taking him back above teammate Charles Leclerc in the championship standings.
4th. Daniel Ricciardo – 9
Daniel Ricciardo’s renaissance continues.
It wasn’t quite the same sparkling performance as in Monza two weeks ago, but his fourth place represented his joint second-best result of the season.
From 5th on the grid, the Aussie started well, passing Hamilton on the opening lap and then keeping the Briton behind for the first third of the race as both got caught in a DRS train.
Pitting before the Mercedes driver, Ricciardo would have stayed ahead of Hamilton had it not been for a slow stop.
After beginning to fall down the order as his hard tyres grained, the Aussie and his pit wall then recovered by boxing early for intermediates.
5th. Valtteri Bottas – 6.5
How on earth did Valtteri Bottas finish 5th?
Running outside of the points and in the bottom six for the whole race, the Finn rocketed up the order after being one of the first to pit for intermediates.
In fairness, his race was compromised after taking another engine penalty, Mercedes swapping out his one-race old power unit for “tactical reasons”.
Still, in one of the fastest cars on the grid, he should have come through the field much better than he did. He also should have defended better against Verstappen, allowing the Dutchman through on the inside at Turn 13 on Lap 6.
6th. Fernando Alonso – 9
Through all the chaos, Fernando Alonso’s race went relatively unnoticed, bar his cheeky run off track at Turn 2 on the opening lap, something the Spaniard had practiced on the formation lap.
Once again, Alonso performed admirably, managing his tyres beautifully as he extended his first stint. A podium even looked on the cards at one point, the 40-year-old sitting in third as the rain started coming down after overtaking the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
Ultimately, he would drop back to 6th after pitting late for intermediates. Nonetheless, ahead of his teammate all weekend, Alonso’s 6th-place finish was his third of the season and second in three races, reflecting his excellent consistency following his initial slow start to the season.
7th. Lando Norris – 10
It was heart-breaking to see Lando Norris stationary off track, unable to keep his car on the road as the rain ripped his first ever F1 win from his grasp.
Whether it was his or his team’s fault for not pitting for intermediates – even though the 21-year-old said he wanted to stay out, his team could have told him to box instead of just asking, especially considering they could see the pace advantage of the intermediate tyres with others having already pitted – the Briton should still be commended for a magnificent performance in Sochi.
After becoming the fifth youngest pole sitter in F1 on Saturday, Norris managed his race beautifully, re-overtaking Sainz for the lead on Lap 13.
Such was his pace, the McLaren driver had Hamilton under control prior to the rain, both drivers also being 30 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
It will be little consolation to the Briton, but that first race win is definitely coming.
8th. Kimi Raikkonen – 8
A bit like Bottas, how did Kimi Raikkonen finish in the points on Sunday?
Unlike his compatriot, Raikkonen at least had a reason for being outside the points for much of the race, driving a far slower car.
Being one of the first to pit for intermediates, the Finn then vaulted himself up into 8th on his return to the grid after a two-race absence with Covid. His best finish of the season, it was only the fourth time Alfa Romeo have finished in the points all year.
9th. Sergio Perez – 8
Running just behind Hamilton prior to the first pit-stops, Sergio Perez was enjoying a strong race in Russia.
A slow stop then put him 15-seconds behind the Mercedes driver, with Daniel Ricciardo also jumping the Mexican.
Perez nonetheless made progress, overtaking the McLaren driver with a great move down the inside of Turn 13 and then round the outside of Turn 14.
Just as a podium looked on the cards, however, the rain came, and Perez’s race was ruined for a second time as he pitted too late for intermediates.
10th. George Russell – 8.5
For the second time in four races, George Russell outqualified Lewis Hamilton despite being in a Williams.
The Briton, who will be Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes next year, produced yet another remarkable qualifying lap to start from P3.
He stayed there during the opening stages of the race, heading a DRS train but looking comfortable as he kept Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo, and Lewis Hamilton behind him.
Having pitted early to unsuccessfully cover Stroll’s undercut, Russell then struggled for pace as his tyres grained, dropping down to 11th and outside of the points.
He recovered to 10th after coming in before others for intermediates. His fourth points finish in the last five races, Russell has now scored the same amount of points as Perez (16) in the last five races, an incredible statistic.
11th. Lance Stroll – 6
Lance Stroll’s weekend was going very well until the final few laps of the race, the Canadian pushing his teammate into the wall, spinning, and then hitting Pierre Gasly after being unable to control his car in the rain.
Prior to that, Stroll had outqualified Vettel, being the only Aston Martin to progress into Q3. He also enjoyed a great start, placing his car perfectly on the run down to Turn 2 to be up to P4 before dropping down the order after pitting early, the weaker strategy in Sochi.
12th. Sebastian Vettel – 6.5
These are the sort of days that Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin need to take advantage of.
The German, who had missed out on Q3 by 0.059 seconds, had overtaken George Russell to be running in the points prior to the rain.
He dropped down the order after coming in for intermediates too late, however. The German also wasn’t helped by his teammate pushing him into the wall, the second time in two races that Stroll has compromised Vettel’s race.
13th. Pierre Gasly – 6
Pierre Gasly was unusually quiet in Russia.
Failing to progress through to Q3 for the first time since the British Grand Prix in July, the Frenchman wasn’t helped by a late collision with Lance Stroll, the Canadian hitting Gasly and turning him round.
14th. Esteban Ocon – 6
Esteban Ocon endured a difficult weekend in Sochi.
Despite progressing through to Q3, the Frenchman lacked pace relative to his teammate.
The head of a DRS train that was outside of the points for much of the race, Ocon was beaten by Fernando Alonso for the third consecutive race, falling further behind the Spaniard in the championship standings.
15th. Charles Leclerc – 7.5
Having started from the back of the grid after taking an engine penalty, Charles Leclerc looked set for a good result in Sochi, keeping pace with Max Verstappen after being overtaken by the Dutchman.
Unfortunately for the Monegasque, he stayed out far too long on his slick tyres, falling down the order as the rain started pouring.
16th. Antonio Giovinazzi – 5.5
This could be the final nail in the coffin on Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo F1 career.
1.5 seconds behind teammate Kimi Raikkonen in qualifying, Giovinazzi then finished 8 places behind the Finn despite the chaos that ensued, although it must be said that he had no team radio for the whole race.
It is shame for the Italian, who had enjoyed strong performances at Zandvoort and Monza, albeit only in qualifying.
17th. Yuki Tsunoda – 5.5
While Yuki Tsunoda has already been signed for next year, the AlphaTauri driver really needs to start improving if he wants to have a long career in the sport, especially with Alex Albon back on the grid with Williams next year.
The Japanese driver lost 8 places on the first lap alone, before failing to make any positions up after the rain started falling at the end of the race.
As a result, he finished behind teammate Pierre Gasly once again, despite the Frenchman having an off weekend by his standards.
18th. Nikita Mazepin – 5.5
The sort of weekend where the deficiencies of the Haas car may be cancelled out by the unpredictability of the weather, Nikita Mazepin was the only driver to finish 2 laps down on the leader.
He was also an incredible 4 seconds off his teammate in qualifying at his home race, albeit still ahead of Max Verstappen after the Dutchman didn’t set a lap because of his engine penalty.
The Russian was nonetheless at the centre of a heart-warming moment, giving a young boy with cerebral palsy a tour guide of his garage, also allowing him to sit in his Haas car. Credit where credit is due.
DNF – Nicholas Latifi; Mick Schumacher
