As astonishing as it may seem, it took until 2014 for Russia to host its first Formula 1 Grand Prix. Numerous attempts to organize or bring about an agreement between Bernie Ecclestone and the Russian state have always ended in failure.<\/p>\n
The trigger was the arrival in F1 of the first Russian driver: Vitaly Petrov. A multiple winner in GP2 and runner-up in the category behind Nico Rosberg in 2009, he was signed for the 2010 season with Caterham. This allowed Mister E and Vladimir Putin to reach an agreement to hold a race in Sochi.<\/p>\n
Sochi? Yes, the Olympic village, a key venue for the organization of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Hermann Tilke used this theme to create a track winding between the various sports facilities.<\/p>\n
This is thus a new urban and unique circuit added to the calendar shortly after these Olympic Games. With a length of 5.848km, 53 laps must be completed to see the checkered flag after nearly 310km. That’s 5km more than the minimum required distance.<\/p>\n
This first Grand Prix begins in a somber atmosphere following the accident of Jules Bianchi a week earlier on the Suzuka track in Japan. Numerous tributes are paid to the French driver. It had been several years since F1 had experienced such a tragedy.<\/p>\n
This track could be the favorite track for Mercedes. Since the first edition, it has always been a silver arrow that won the race. Among the three winners, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas, the English driver and two-time defending champion, has won four times. It was also in 2014, after this race, that Mercedes clinched its first constructors’ title.<\/p>\n
In 2020, Mercedes’ domination is unquestionable, and Lewis Hamilton leaves only crumbs for the competition. This is why the editorial team’s predictions lean in this direction.<\/p>\n
For the suspense in the race, we place Bottas ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen.<\/p>\n
Regarding pole position, Bottas, who is in form on this track and skillful on a speed lap, wins our votes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The tenth round of this 2020 season takes place in Russia. After an eleven-day break since the first Tuscan Grand Prix, will Lewis Hamilton’s opponents have managed to recuperate enough to finally find the path to success?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":36955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1749],"tags":[13,1275,1491],"class_list":["post-9245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","category-news","tag-13","tag-preview","tag-sotchi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n