2019 Russian Grand Prix Race Summary

Going into the 2019 Russian Grand Prix before qualifying, you’d expect a 1-2 Mercedes result considering they’ve never lost. But some, including me, thought Ferrari had an edge after their car performance improvements they saw in Singapore. It turns out, we were right. Ferrari dominated the weekend and Hamilton just barely pipped Vettel to start on the front row. Vettel used the sling shot to overtake both Hamilton and Vettel for first place going into the third turn. It all fell apart though as he suffered from an MGU-K problem and was forced to retire. He had company with the following drivers also retiring:

  • Kubica
  • Russell
  • Ricciardo
  • Grosjean

This left the door open to Leclerc but was once again thwarted by Mercedes strategy and safety cars fell into Lewis Hamilton’s hands. In the end, it was another Mercedes 1-2 and Ferrari lose out on a lot of points to mechanical and internal issues. Here are the final results for the Russian Grand Prix. 

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Sebastian Vettel was asked about the strategy shortly after he was located following the conclusion of the Russian Grand Prix race:

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Sebastian Vettel On Ferrari Strategy At The Russian Grand Prix
I don’t know exactly what happened. We had an agreement. I spoke with Charles in particular before the race, I thought it was quite clear but maybe I missed something. We wanted to have the cars one and two. It’s not the result we wanted. We talked about a strategy to find a way past Lewis. I think we did just race, until the pit stop in a way. Up to that point, that’s what we did. It’s bitter, because this year has been tough. I was really on top of it, finding the rhythm and fastest up until the stop. But it was only a half-job.

2019 Russian Grand Prix Race Conclusion

I am sure just about everyone but McLaren and Mercedes are looking forward to the mini-break ahead of Suzuka. Which will be a fascinating one as Red Bull look to be top there. Although the situation seems relatively clear, look for tensions to begin to boil over at Ferrari and Mercedes to come back more united than ever. Suzuka marks the first opportunity Mercedes has to clinch a sixth consecutive constructors championship – Red Bull seem like the favorites to spoil that. 

    Want More? Here’s Our Russian Grand Prix Qualifying Summary Notes

    This video highlights the summary of the qualifying session the Russian Grand Prix. You can also see the full summary and breakdown of the Russian Grand Prix qualifying article.