Russian GP 2015

OCTOBER 9, 2015

Practice 1 Report - A Diesel Wins

Nico Hulkenberg
© Active Pictures

 

Diesel won FP1. Diesel fuel that is. A vehicle dumped diesel fuel on the track, which caused Free Practice 1 to be delayed 30 minute, and left the track slick even after the cleanup.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Red Bull Renault - Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. Williams Mercedes - Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari - Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. McLaren Honda - Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. Force India Mercedes - Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Toro Rosso Renault - Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Lotus Mercedes - Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. Marussia Ferrari - Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi. Sauber - Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.

Jolyon Palmer replaced Grosjean in FP1.

Hot off his win in Japan two weeks previously, Hamilton arrived in Russia ready to repeat his win in the inaugural race in Sochi in 2014.

"Suzuka was a really special weekend for me and another fantastic result for the team," he said. "Everyone is doing such an incredible job once again this season and every bit of this success is well deserved. The car was unbelievable to drive in Japan, so hopefully it'll be more of the same at the remaining races - starting in Sochi.

"Last year was the first experience I'd had of Russia in my racing career and we had a great race there. The circuit is really well put together - quite long, with some interesting corners and opportunities to overtake.

"Hopefully now fans have seen what a great facility they have there and how beautiful Sochi is, we'll see plenty more people in the stands this year too. It was great to win the first race for Formula 1 in Russia and a fantastic moment for the team to take the title there last time out. Fingers crossed we can add to those great memories again this weekend - I'll be pushing as hard as I can to make that happen."

His Mercedes teammate Rosberg arrived in Russia ready to continue to fight for the championship in which Hamilton has 277 points and he has 229.

"Once I got back from Japan, I was able to focus on the positive elements from my weekend in Suzuka: pole position, the on-track pass on Bottas and then having the speed to undercut Vettel's Ferrari at the second pit-stop," Rosberg said. "I'm not backing down in my fight for the championship and gaining those positions back fair and square showed that.

"We have five races to go and, although the championship gap to Lewis is quite big, in my mind it's definitely not over yet. The way the whole team has performed this year - from the factories to the garage - has been just incredible and I have the car I need to get back to the top step.

"I really enjoyed our first trip to Russia last year and it was an awesome weekend for the team - one that I will always remember after seeing all the hard work they've put in during my time here. So, I'm aiming to put all those tools they've given me to good use and bring home a top result."

Things did not get off to a good start in FP1 because a vehicle dumped a tank of diesel fuel on the track at Turn 8 and there was a delay of minutes while workers cleaned it up. FP1 was supposed to be 90 minutes, but it would not be extended to cover the delay.

Ericsson and Alonso were the first out on the 3.637-mile (5.853-km) 18-turn (12 right and 6 left) Sochi street track for what was now a 60-minute FP1. Officials declared that the session was "wet" so the drivers were on the intermediate or full wet Pirelli tires.

Alonso, first on the slicks, posted the first lap time: 2:00.736. He then improved that to a 1:56.327 and then a 1:53.854.

When Ericsson tried the slicks he radioed: "It's really slippery." His engineer told him to have a look at the rest of the track. The Swede then set a time of 1:56.926.

With 22 minutes remaining in the session, Button set a 1:55.781. Then he clocked a 1:50.920.

With 18 minutes remaining in the session, it started to rain lightly at Turn 2. Next Alonso set a 1:49.240.

With 10 minutes remaining in the session, Bottas set a 1:47.959.

With 8 minutes remaining in the session, Hulkenberg did a 1:45.987. Then Vettel set a 1:45.491. He would improve that to a 1:44.986. But Hulkenberg responded with a 1:44.355.

The top 10 ended up as: Hulkenberg, Rosberg, Vettel, Perez, Ricciardo, Sainz, Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen and Raikkonen.