Full Race Weekend LIVE Coverage
Russian Grand Prix
Sochi Street Circuit, Sochi
Russian Grand Prix, Race: Podium
1
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
Nationality
2
Max Verstappen Red Bull
Nationality
3
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
Nationality
4
Sergio Perez Racing Point
Nationality
Sochi Street Circuit, Sochi RACE TRACK, 27 Sep 2020
Winner
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
live

24 Sep 2020

LIVE | 2020 Russian Grand Prix

LIVE | 2020 Russian Grand Prix
<i>Image: Getty Images</i>
<i>Image: Getty Images</i>
Clive Mason/Getty Images
Last Updated
Live News Feed
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27 Sep 2020

Bottas wins and Verstappen second with Hamilton third. 

27 Sep 2020

Bottas sets new fastest lap 1:37.030 as he goes purple.

27 Sep 2020

Final lap.

27 Sep 2020

Fastest lap down by Verstappen with a  1:37.715.

27 Sep 2020

The great three-way battle between Norris, Albon and Gasly is brilliant to watch .

27 Sep 2020

Gasly pits and takes on medium compound tyres. He rejoins in P11. 

27 Sep 2020

10 laps to go. 

27 Sep 2020

Bottas increases his lead to 13.341 seconds over Verstappen.

27 Sep 2020

Pierre Gasly passes Kimi Raikkonen for P9.

27 Sep 2020

20 laps remaining of the Russian GP. Bottas leads from Verstappen and Hamilton. Bottas leads Verstappen by 12.5 seconds. 

27 Sep 2020

Hamilton back in a podium spot. 

27 Sep 2020

Kvyat pits and is passed by Hamilton, Perez, Ricciardo, Leclerc and Ocon. 

27 Sep 2020

Leclerc pits and rejoins ahead of Ocon in P7. The Ferrari driver is the meat in a Renault sandwich with Ricciardo in P6. 

27 Sep 2020

Race director puts Ricciardo under investigation for riding the sausage kerb. The Aussie is handed a five-second penalty. 

27 Sep 2020

Hamilton is now up to P5 behind Kvyat. 

27 Sep 2020

1:39.081 new fastest lap from race leader Bottas.

27 Sep 2020

Hamilton moves passed Vettel, and Ocon pitting means Hamilton is now P7.

27 Sep 2020

The former race leader has emerged in 11th place. 

27 Sep 2020

Hamilton serves his 10 second penalty. 

27 Sep 2020

"Start closing the gap to Lewis", Bottas told.

27 Sep 2020

Stewards close investigation Stroll and Leclerc incident as well as Perez incident in Turn 2.

27 Sep 2020

He has been hit with another five-second penalty for violation 1, so Hamilton has a total of 10 seconds to make up .

27 Sep 2020

Stewards order Hamilton a 5-second penalty for a practice start violation 2.

27 Sep 2020

And we're back racing. Hamilton leads Bottas and Verstappen.

27 Sep 2020

Safety car in this lap. 

27 Sep 2020

The stewards have cleared Sainz's and Stroll's cars off the track. Safety car should be in soon.

27 Sep 2020

A frenetic start to the race as Bottas got off the line well but Hamilton regained first place heading into the opening corner. 

27 Sep 2020

Alex Albon, George Russell and Lando Norris come into the pits and take on hard tyres. 

27 Sep 2020

It's the fifth first-lap SC in the last six years. 

27 Sep 2020

Safety Car is out on the opening lap. 

27 Sep 2020

LIGHTS OUT!
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#
Driver
Team
Time
Gap
Laps
1
Nationality
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
1:37.637
1:34:00.364
53
2
Nationality
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:37.332
7.729
53
3
Nationality
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:38.640
22.729
52
4
Nationality
Sergio Perez
Racing Point
1:39.505
30.558
53
5
Nationality
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault
1:37.886
52.065
53
6
Nationality
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
1:41.355
62.186
53
7
Nationality
Esteban Ocon
Renault
1:40.986
68.006
53
8
Nationality
Daniil Kvyat
AlphaTauri
1:40.806
68.740
53
9
Nationality
Pierre Gasly
AlphaTauri
1:38.941
89.766
53
10
Nationality
Alexander Albon
Red Bull
1:38.646
97.860
52
11
Nationality
Antonio Giovin...
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:40.095
1 LAP
52
12
Nationality
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
1:40.380
1 LAP
52
13
Nationality
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:40.393
1 LAP
52
14
Nationality
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:40.604
1 LAP
52
15
Nationality
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:38.565
1 LAP
52
16
Nationality
Nicholas Latifi
Williams
1:43.297
1 LAP
52
17
Nationality
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:42.318
1 LAP
52
18
Nationality
George Russell
Williams
1:37.352
1 LAP
52
R
Nationality
Carlos Sainz
McLaren
RETIRED
52 LAPS
0
R
Nationality
Lance Stroll
Racing Point
RETIRED
52 LAPS
0

27 Sep 2020

Can he carry this momentum into the next race? Or will Hamilton get back on track and match Schumacher's record tally of wins in the German's home country? We'll have to wait two weeks to find out, but, in what is set to be some seriously variable condito

27 Sep 2020

So, Bottas has finally returned to the top step of the pdoium for the first time since the start of the season. Granted, it was due to a penalty for Hamilton, but he put in a flawless drive nontheless. Besides, he won't care.

27 Sep 2020

The final order: P1 Bottas, P2 Verstappen, P3 Hamilton, P4 Perez, P5 Ricciardo, P6 Leclerc, P7 Ocon, P8 Kvyat, P9 Gasly, P10 Albon, P11 Giovinazzi, P12 Magnussen, P13 Vettel, P14 Raikkonen, P15 Norris, P16 Latifi, P17 Grosjean, P18 Russell. RET: Sainz, S

27 Sep 2020

A late charge saw Gasly move up to P9 ahead of the man who replaced him at Red Bull, Alex Albon.

27 Sep 2020

After getting ahead of his team-mate, Ocon will be disappointed to end up in P7. However, he did at least stay ahead of Kvyat and, with neither McLaren scoring a point, it's a big result for Renault.

27 Sep 2020

Leclerc is surely one of the drivers of the day after a long first stint was enough for him to come out in P6, and he stayed there. A great day for the Ferrari man.

27 Sep 2020

Bottas: "A nice moment to address my critics: to whom it may concern, f*** you."

27 Sep 2020

Perez was the best of the rest by quite some way all day and takes an excellent P4. Ricciardo meanwhile did enough to finish in P5, even with his time penalty.

27 Sep 2020

Verstappen comes home eight seconds later to take P2, while Hamilton finishes in a lowly P3.

27 Sep 2020

Valtteri Bottas wins the 2020 Russian Grand Prix!

27 Sep 2020

Final lap...

27 Sep 2020

Bottas goes purple himself.

27 Sep 2020

Verstappen has just set the fastest lap of the race.

27 Sep 2020

Albon finally passes the McLaren to get back into the points.

27 Sep 2020

Gasly does what Albon couldn't and takes P9 from Norris at Turn 2.

27 Sep 2020

Albon can't squeeze past Norris and Gasly makes the most of it to pass the Red Bull!

27 Sep 2020

Gasly pits and drops down to P11. On fresher tyres, he should be able to catch Albon and Norris ahead.

27 Sep 2020

Grosjean destroyed the bollards after going off while defending and a VSC has just been deployed for new ones to be put up.

27 Sep 2020

Vettel takes P14 from Grosjean with a rather aggresive dive down the inside.

27 Sep 2020

On fresher mediums, Albon is charging up the field. He's just taken P12 from Grosjean and will be aiming for a top 10 finish.

27 Sep 2020

Out front, Bottas leads Verstappen by 13 seconds and is 24 clear of Hamilton.

27 Sep 2020

Gasly passes Raikkonen to take P9. With Kvyat in P8, it's a good day for AlphaTauri so far.

27 Sep 2020

Vettel pits and comes out in P16, just behind Albon.

27 Sep 2020

Leclerc finally comes in and returns to track just ahead of Ocon who has passed Vettel.

27 Sep 2020

Bad news for the Aussie as he has been handed a five-second time-penalty for cutting the cornr and not returning to track via the bollards as instructed.

27 Sep 2020

Just as I say that, Ricciardo passes the German at Turn 3.

27 Sep 2020

Ricciardo, like Ocon before him, is stuck behind Vettel. Both he and Leclerc have done a good job making their tyres last and are in P2 and P7.

27 Sep 2020

The Dutchman quickly takes P3 from Kvyat. Ahead of him, Bottas has pitted and is 10 seconds clear of him.

27 Sep 2020

Verstappen pits and comes out six seconds ahead of Hamilton.

27 Sep 2020

Ocon obeys team orders and lets Ricciardo through for P8.

27 Sep 2020

Hamilton is complaining to his team for pitting him so early and says his tyres won't last to the end. We've heard that one before...

27 Sep 2020

Everyone who has pitted has put on hards and will go to the end.

27 Sep 2020

Perez pits and comes out behind Hamilton and ahead of Ocon.

27 Sep 2020

Hamilton has passed Vettel, and with others ahead of him pitting, is now in P7.

27 Sep 2020

Bottas is now going purple to try and take advantage while Hamilton is stuck in traffic.

27 Sep 2020

Hamilton has now pitted for hards, served his penalty and rejoined in P11, just behind Vettel.

27 Sep 2020

Ricciardo pits after being passed by Perez. He comes out in P14.

27 Sep 2020

Mercedes have told their lead man to come in, but he doesn't want, and judging by his lap times, he doesn't need too. He's currently the fastest man on track.

27 Sep 2020

Hamilton and Bottas are both picking up the pace and pulling away from Verstappen, who is over three seconds behind the leader.

27 Sep 2020

The Williams man locks up and loses out to both of them. He's now last.

27 Sep 2020

Russell, Norris and Albon are treating us to an excellent three-way battle. Sadly, it's at the back of the grid.

27 Sep 2020

He's unsurprisngly not too happy with the decision, and is just 1.7 seconds ahead of Bottas. If he were to serve his penalty now, he'd struggle to stay in the points.

27 Sep 2020

Actually, he's been given two! For two separate practice start violations. So, effectively, he has a 10-second time-penalty.

27 Sep 2020

Confirmation that Hamilton has a five-second time penalty!

27 Sep 2020

Hamilton nails his getaway to hold the lead. A clean restart for everyone.

27 Sep 2020

The track is clear and the SC is ending at the end of this lap. Let's hope there isn't a Mugello repeat at the restart.

27 Sep 2020

The Haas drivers were the biggest gainers on Lap 1, moving up to P9 and P10.

27 Sep 2020

Norris has pitted for repairs, while Albon and Russell have changed their tyres, sticking on hards.

27 Sep 2020

Verstappen missed his braking point at Turn 1 and dropped down behind Ricciardo but re-took P3 just before the SC came out.

27 Sep 2020

Safety Car! Stroll and Sainz are both out.

27 Sep 2020

And we're off! Hamilton gets away well as does Bottas who immediately takes P2! He then tries to take Hamilton down the inside at Turn 1 but can't quite do it.

27 Sep 2020

Magnussen was extremely slow to get off the line for the formation lap...

27 Sep 2020

Right then, here we go.

27 Sep 2020

To make matters worse, it's a warm day in Sochi with temperatures of 29'C. That won't help his tyre wear.

27 Sep 2020

With or without the peanlty, winning will be a tough task for the Brit today. Not only does he start on the least durable compound, but he's alo hugely vulnerable on the long run down to Turn 1, with Bottas sure to get a slipstream.

27 Sep 2020

If stewards choose to penalise Hamilton, he could recieve anything from a time penalty to a drive through.

27 Sep 2020

Big news from the paddock. Lewis Hamilton is under investigation for doing a practice start outside of the designated area.

27 Sep 2020

In case you're wondering, no, a Ferrari didn't make it to Q3. Leclerc is bumped up to P10 as a result of a five-place grid penalty for Alex Albon. With the Red Bull and Lance Stroll starting further back, we should see overtakes aplenty from the off.

27 Sep 2020

The full starting grid for today's race: P1 Hamilton, P2 Verstappen, P3 Bottas, P4 Perez, P5 Ricciardo, P6 Sainz, P7 Ocon, P8 Norris, P9 Gasly, P10 Leclerc, P11 Kvyat, P12 Stroll, P13 Russell, P14 Vettel, P15 Albon, P16 Grosjean, P17 Giovinazzi, P18 Magn

27 Sep 2020

Things are somewhat muddled up behind the top three. Perez starts just ahead of Ricciardo and Sainz, with their team-mates behind them. With very little to choose between Racing Point, Renault and McLaren all weekend in terms of pace, the battle for P4 sh

27 Sep 2020

Max Verstappen put in a stunning lap to split the Mercedes drivers and start P2. On mediums, both he and Valtteri Bottas will fancy their chances of keeping Hamilton from matching Michael Schumacher's record win tally today.

27 Sep 2020

Lewis Hamilton once again claimed pole position, but it was by no means plain sailing. Sebastian Vettel crashed in Q2 and brought out Red Flags during the Brits hot lap, meaning Hamilton had to switch to soft tyres to get through. Therefore, unlike those

27 Sep 2020

The race here often tends not to be the best one, but if today is anything like yesterday's qualifying, we're in for a treat.

27 Sep 2020

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 2020 Russian Grand Prix! All times are local to Sochi.
#
Driver
Team
Time
Gap
Laps
1
Nationality
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:31.304
-
19
2
Nationality
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:31.867
0.563
21
3
Nationality
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
1:31.956
0.652
19
4
Nationality
Sergio Perez
Racing Point
1:32.317
1.013
15
5
Nationality
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault
1:32.364
1.060
15
6
Nationality
Carlos Sainz
McLaren
1:32.550
1.246
15
7
Nationality
Esteban Ocon
Renault
1:32.624
1.320
20
8
Nationality
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:32.847
1.543
19
9
Nationality
Pierre Gasly
AlphaTauri
1:33.000
1.696
21
10
Nationality
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
1:33.239
10
11
Nationality
Daniil Kvyat
AlphaTauri
1:33.249
16
12
Nationality
Lance Stroll
Racing Point
1:33.364
11
13
Nationality
George Russell
Williams
1:33.583
11
14
Nationality
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:33.609
11
15
Nationality
Alexander Albon
Red Bull
1:33.008
1.704
19
16
Nationality
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:34.592
7
17
Nationality
Antonio Giovin...
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:34.594
6
18
Nationality
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
1:34.681
8
19
Nationality
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:35.267
5
20
Nationality
Nicholas Latifi
Williams
1:35.066
5
Russian Grand Prix, Qualifying 1
#
Driver
Team
Time
Gap
Laps
1
Nationality
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
1:32.656
-
5
2
Nationality
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:32.983
0.327
5
3
Nationality
Daniil Kvyat
AlphaTauri
1:33.511
0.855
8
4
Nationality
Esteban Ocon
Renault
1:33.557
0.901
6
5
Nationality
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:33.630
0.974
8
6
Nationality
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault
1:33.650
0.994
6
7
Nationality
Sergio Perez
Racing Point
1:33.704
1.048
3
8
Nationality
Pierre Gasly
AlphaTauri
1:33.734
1.078
7
9
Nationality
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:33.804
1.148
6
10
Nationality
Lance Stroll
Racing Point
1:33.852
1.196
6
11
Nationality
Alexander Albon
Red Bull
1:33.919
1.263
6
12
Nationality
Carlos Sainz
McLaren
1:33.967
1.311
3
13
Nationality
George Russell
Williams
1:34.020
1.364
8
14
Nationality
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
1:34.071
1.415
3
15
Nationality
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:34.134
1.478
6
16
Nationality
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:34.592
1.936
7
17
Nationality
Antonio Giovin...
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:34.594
1.938
6
18
Nationality
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
1:34.681
2.025
8
19
Nationality
Nicholas Latifi
Williams
1:35.066
2.410
5
20
Nationality
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:35.267
2.611
5

26 Sep 2020

Well that was frantic! Bottas tops the session three tenths clear of Hamilton, Kvyat is P3 in the AlphaTauri. Ferrari just survive but Grosjean, Giovinazzi, Magnussen, Latifi and Raikkonen aren't so lucky and miss out on Q2.

26 Sep 2020

Make that Kvyat!

26 Sep 2020

Ocon leaps up to P3!

26 Sep 2020

Raikkonen is off at Turn 2. That's him out of qualifying!

26 Sep 2020

Back out on to the track they all come.

26 Sep 2020

Five minutes to go and it's Ocon, Raikkonen, Giovinazzi, Grosjean and Latifi who find themselves in the elimination zone.

26 Sep 2020

Red Bull are struggling a little. Verstappen finds himself in P5, 1.3s slower than Bottas, but four tenths ahead of his team-mate Albon.

26 Sep 2020

Nobody can get within a second of Bottas yet. Perez in P2 is 1.048s down on the Finn.

26 Sep 2020

A 1:32.6 from Bottas sets the early benchmark. Hamilton goes P2 initially but then has that time deleted for track limits.

26 Sep 2020

Russell abandons that lap and returns to the pits. "The track is very very different" he says on the radio.

26 Sep 2020

Seems the teams may be concerned by those clouds as the drivers flood out onto the track. George Russell is on the medium compound tyres while everyone else are on the softs.

26 Sep 2020

The green light goes on, Q1 is underway. Not to jinx things, but there are rain clouds which seem to be heading for the track from over the hills.

26 Sep 2020

Just a few minutes until Q1 gets underway. Track temp is 34c now that it has clouded over here at Sochi. This session will eliminate the five slowest drivers.

26 Sep 2020

Romain Grosjean went through every emotion possible in FP3, but P14 is a solid starting point for qualifying, even if he was at a loss for words over the struggles going on with the Haas.

26 Sep 2020

Sebastian Vettel it seems is back to somewhere near his best form after a solid outing in FP3. He would finish P7, just under three tenths down on Verstappen. His team-mate Charles Leclerc has a two-tenth deficit to address.

26 Sep 2020

Despite losing out to Renault and McLaren throughout practice Verstappen is still a strong favourite for that P3 spot. Alex Albon saw his best time deleted in FP3 so we are yet to see truly what he is capable of.

26 Sep 2020

Behind the Silver Arrows it's a lottery in the battle for P3. Carlos Sainz secured P3 in FP3, but Racing Point, Red Bull and Renault are also looking strong. Don't count out Ferrari or Pierre Gasly either.

26 Sep 2020

Valtteri Bottas may have dominated Friday practice but his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton struck back earlier today by topping the final practice session. It's set to be a battle for pole between the Mercs this afternoon.

26 Sep 2020

Hello and welcome back to the Sochi Autodrom. Qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix is only 30 minutes away! All times are local.
Russian Grand Prix, Qualifying 2
#
Driver
Team
Time
Gap
Laps
1
Nationality
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault
1:32.218
-
9
2
Nationality
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
1:32.405
0.187
13
3
Nationality
Carlos Sainz
McLaren
1:32.757
0.539
9
4
Nationality
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:32.835
0.617
13
5
Nationality
Sergio Perez
Racing Point
1:33.038
0.820
9
6
Nationality
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:33.081
0.863
13
7
Nationality
Pierre Gasly
AlphaTauri
1:33.139
0.921
15
8
Nationality
Alexander Albon
Red Bull
1:33.153
0.935
13
9
Nationality
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:33.157
0.939
15
10
Nationality
Esteban Ocon
Renault
1:33.196
0.978
14
11
Nationality
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
1:33.239
1.021
10
12
Nationality
Daniil Kvyat
AlphaTauri
1:33.249
1.031
16
13
Nationality
Lance Stroll
Racing Point
1:33.364
1.146
11
14
Nationality
George Russell
Williams
1:33.583
1.365
11
15
Nationality
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:33.609
1.391
11

26 Sep 2020

1.25s was the margin which Hamilton made it to the line with. Bono was panicking like crazy over the radio. "Need to go! Need to go!"

26 Sep 2020

Hamilton makes it up to P4, 0.6s slower than Ricciardo. He has rescued it! Both Ferraris are out as Leclerc, Kvyat, Stroll, Russell and Vettel miss out on Q3.

26 Sep 2020

Hamilton makes it by the skin of his teeth! Less than a second surely.

26 Sep 2020

Hamilton almost loses it at Turn 2 as Mercedes urge him to overtake the cars ahead. This is going to be close!

26 Sep 2020

Stroll is pushed back to his pit box, looks like he has an issue.

26 Sep 2020

Green flag. As long as Hamilton makes it to the line and improves he will start on the softs with Bottas on the mediums. That will be interesting.

26 Sep 2020

Hamilton hasn't got himself anywhere near the front of the queue in the pit lane. Mercedes are playing a dangerous game! It's the soft tyres for the Briton.

26 Sep 2020

A nice lesson in tidying up after yourself there as Seb heads back to the pits with his front wing under his arm.

26 Sep 2020

Vettel takes too much kerb and loses it straight into the wall. His team-mate Leclerc then very narrowly misses the stricken Ferrari.

26 Sep 2020

Vettel has had a major crash. Thankfully he is okay but that is the session red flagged. Once the lights go green, Hamilton will have just over two minutes to get around the track to the line or he is out in Q2!

26 Sep 2020

Bottas improves to P2 as he secures the medium tyres for his first stint in Sunday's race.

26 Sep 2020

So the drivers in the drop zone ahead of these final runs are Albon, Stroll, Russell, Vettel and Hamilton. Plenty of big names there who need to pull a lap out of the bag.

26 Sep 2020

Hello Daniel Ricciardo! A 1:32.2 from the Renault driver who takes over P1. That's Mercedes territory.

26 Sep 2020

Make that P1 for Sainz. Hamilton's time is deleted again for track limits. This time at Turn 18.

26 Sep 2020

Hamilton comes flying out of the blocks here in Q2. A 1.32.085. Sainz pips Bottas to P2 early on.

26 Sep 2020

"A few drops of rain" reports Perez. Let's have a few more drops please.

26 Sep 2020

The green light goes on for Q2, time to eliminate another five drivers.
Russian Grand Prix, Qualifying 3
#
Driver
Team
Time
Gap
Laps
1
Nationality
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:31.304
-
19
2
Nationality
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:31.867
0.563
21
3
Nationality
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
1:31.956
0.652
19
4
Nationality
Sergio Perez
Racing Point
1:32.317
1.013
15
5
Nationality
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault
1:32.364
1.060
15
6
Nationality
Carlos Sainz
McLaren
1:32.550
1.246
15
7
Nationality
Esteban Ocon
Renault
1:32.624
1.320
20
8
Nationality
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:32.847
1.543
19
9
Nationality
Pierre Gasly
AlphaTauri
1:33.000
1.696
21
10
Nationality
Alexander Albon
Red Bull
1:33.008
1.704
19

26 Sep 2020

More Hamilton dominance in qualifying, but the race is far from settled! Join us tomorrow as Mercedes attempt to extend their dominance of the Russian Grand Prix.

26 Sep 2020

Starting from P3 isn't always a bad thing here, as Sebastian Vettel proved last year by taking the lead at the start from that grid spot. It will be vital for Bottas to clear Verstappen at the start to get the best out of his alternative strategy.

26 Sep 2020

Well then, Sochi is a place Bottas enjoys, but Hamilton is right at home here this weekend. Can the Finn do anything to stop his rampant team-mate?

26 Sep 2020

Perez will join Bottas on the second row, with Ricciardo, Sainz, Ocon, Norris, Gasly and Albon completing the top 10 on the grid for the Russian Grand Prix.

26 Sep 2020

It's P2 for Verstappen! He relegates Bottas to the second row. Verstappen's team-mate Albon is all the way down in P10, almost 1.2 seconds slower than Max.

26 Sep 2020

Bottas doesn't manage it! Bottas P2 at best as Hamilton improves. It's pole for Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Russian Grand Prix!

26 Sep 2020

Here come the final flying laps! Can Bottas snatch pole?

26 Sep 2020

Verstappen pips Ricciardo to P3 in the opening runs by 0.004s.

26 Sep 2020

Give it a rest Lewis! Provisional pole for Hamilton with a 1:31.391. Bottas is eight tenths adrift.

26 Sep 2020

A 1:32.3 for Ricciardo. Sainz is seven tenths shy.

26 Sep 2020

Ricciardo is on a real lap here! That Renault looks planted!

26 Sep 2020

Here we go, Q3 is underway!
Russian Grand Prix, Practice 1
#
Driver
Team
Time
Gap
Laps
1
Nationality
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
1:34.923
-
13
2
Nationality
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault
1:35.430
0.507
22
3
Nationality
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:35.577
0.654
22
4
Nationality
Sergio Perez
Racing Point
1:35.796
0.873
23
5
Nationality
Lance Stroll
Racing Point
1:35.965
1.042
21
6
Nationality
Esteban Ocon
Renault
1:36.061
1.138
23
7
Nationality
Daniil Kvyat
AlphaTauri
1:36.230
1.307
22
8
Nationality
Alexander Albon
Red Bull
1:36.254
1.331
24
9
Nationality
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:36.323
1.400
23
10
Nationality
Pierre Gasly
AlphaTauri
1:36.706
1.783
25
11
Nationality
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
1:36.896
1.973
23
12
Nationality
Carlos Sainz
McLaren
1:36.970
2.047
8
13
Nationality
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:37.110
2.187
28
14
Nationality
Antonio Giovin...
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:37.201
2.278
17
15
Nationality
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:37.230
2.307
23
16
Nationality
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
1:37.430
2.507
22
17
Nationality
George Russell
Williams
1:37.595
2.672
24
18
Nationality
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:37.649
2.726
24
19
Nationality
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:37.716
2.793
18
20
Nationality
Nicholas Latifi
Williams
1:37.784
2.861
11

25 Sep 2020

A number of drivers, including Hamilton, made mistakes and therefore didn't gather too much useful data this morning. Therefore, FP2 will probably be a busy one. The session will get underway at 15:00 local time, so join us here in just under two hours fo

25 Sep 2020

The full order: P1 Bottas, P2 Ricciardo, P3 Verstappen, P4 Perez, P5 Stroll, P6 Ocon, P7 Kvyat, P8 Albon, P9 Vettel, P10 Gasly, P11 Leclerc, P12 Sainz, P13 Norris, P14 Giovinazzi, P15 Raikkonen, P16 Magnussen, P17 Russell, P18 Grosjean, P19 Hamilton, P20

25 Sep 2020

It's fair to say that didn't throw up too many surprises. Bottas took P1 comfortably with a 0.5s margin to the rest of the field. Behind him, there was little to choose between Renault, Red Bull and Racing Point.

25 Sep 2020

That's that for the first session of the weekend.

25 Sep 2020

Well, it looks like Bottas is set to top yet another FP1 session. Business as usual.

25 Sep 2020

Hamilton has yet to put in a quick lap today after locking up on an earlier run. He's currently in P19.

25 Sep 2020

Ricciardo takes P2 from his former team-mate.

25 Sep 2020

Vettel is currently in the dizzy heights of P6, while Leclerc is P9. Not a bad session for Ferrari compared to recent weeks.

25 Sep 2020

On softs, Verstappen goes P2, six tenths off Bottas.

25 Sep 2020

We're back underway. 25 minutes left.

25 Sep 2020

He carried too much speed into the corner and lost control, flying into the tyre barrier. That'll be a hefty repair job for the mechanics.

25 Sep 2020

Red Flag! Latifi's in the wall at Turn 10.

25 Sep 2020

Hamilton locks up and goes off, while his team-mate does a 1:34.923 to go a second and a half clear of the field on mediums.

25 Sep 2020

Kvyat also span but managed to avoid the wall.

25 Sep 2020

We have a Virtual Saftey Car while the remains of his rear-wing are cleared up.

25 Sep 2020

Replays show he got too much kerb by Turn 7 and span, going backwards into the barriers. He's now back in the pits and repairs are underway.

25 Sep 2020

Sainz is driving around with a rather destroyed rear-wing. Not sure why as of yet.

25 Sep 2020

Bottas goes just under two seconds quicker. Expect those times to keep on dropping.

25 Sep 2020

Verstappen, on hard tyres, moves up to top spot with a 1:36.751, a tenth ahead of Ricciardo and Perez.

25 Sep 2020

Kvyat now takes P1 ahead of Perez, with a 1:37.124. We were going to call him the local boy, but he was born just under 1500 miles away from Sochi, such is the size of Russia, so not strictly accurate.

25 Sep 2020

A few more drivers out doing quick(ish) laps now.

25 Sep 2020

Daniil Kvyat splits the Mercedes boys to go P2.

25 Sep 2020

Most are kicking things off with long fuel runs, so don't expect too much action on the time sheets for a while.

25 Sep 2020

After plenty of outlaps, Hamilton and Bottas give us the first times of the weekend. The Finn goes fastest of the two with a 1:37.313 on mediums.

25 Sep 2020

We're underway. Verstappen is the first man out.

25 Sep 2020

Max Verstappen isn't hopeful of challenging Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Instead, he expects he and Red Bull to be much closer to the teams behind. Given how Renault in particular fair at low downforce tracks of this nature, he may be right.

25 Sep 2020

Mercedes head into it and every other session as heavy favourites. The German team has won every race here since it was added to the calendar in 2014, and this season have been as dominant as ever.

25 Sep 2020

The first practice session of the 2020 Russian Grand Prix here at Sochi will get underway in just under 25 minutes.

25 Sep 2020

Formula 1 races into Russia this weekend for round 10 of the 2020 World Championship. Lewis Hamilton can surpass Michael Schumacher's record of 91 wins, Kimi Raikkonen is set to make his record-equalling 322nd start and fans will be present.
Russian Grand Prix, Practice 2
#
Driver
Team
Time
Gap
Laps
1
Nationality
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
1:33.519
-
37
2
Nationality
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:33.786
0.267
33
3
Nationality
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault
1:34.577
1.058
27
4
Nationality
Carlos Sainz
McLaren
1:34.723
1.204
36
5
Nationality
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:34.847
1.328
33
6
Nationality
Sergio Perez
Racing Point
1:34.890
1.371
35
7
Nationality
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:35.048
1.529
30
8
Nationality
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
1:35.052
1.533
35
9
Nationality
Esteban Ocon
Renault
1:35.139
1.620
28
10
Nationality
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:35.183
1.664
35
11
Nationality
Pierre Gasly
AlphaTauri
1:35.210
1.691
35
12
Nationality
Alexander Albon
Red Bull
1:35.242
1.723
31
13
Nationality
Daniil Kvyat
AlphaTauri
1:35.461
1.942
37
14
Nationality
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:35.516
1.997
33
15
Nationality
Nicholas Latifi
Williams
1:35.563
2.044
31
16
Nationality
George Russell
Williams
1:35.575
2.056
30
17
Nationality
Lance Stroll
Racing Point
1:35.627
2.108
34
18
Nationality
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
1:35.729
2.210
32
19
Nationality
Antonio Giovin...
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:36.053
2.534
36
20
Nationality
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:36.858
3.339
32

25 Sep 2020

The action here at Sochi will resume tomorrow morning when the final practice session takes place. Qualifying will then follow it, so join us right here for live coverage of both.

25 Sep 2020

The final FP2 timesheet: P1 Bottas, P2 Hamilton, P3 Ricciardo, P4 Sainz, P5 Norris, P6 Perez, P7 Verstappen, P8 Leclerc, P9 Ocon, P10 Vettel, P11 Gasly, P12 Albon, P13 Kvyat, P14 Raikkonen, P15 Latifi, P16 Russell, P17 Stroll, P18 Magnussen, P19 Giovina

25 Sep 2020

Verstappen will still be hoping he is, but right now he's much closer to the Ferraris than the Mercedes. To make matters worse for Red Bull, Albon ended FP2 behind both Leclerc and Vettel.

25 Sep 2020

If he can't, it won't be much fun, because nobody else is anywhere near the Mercedes pair. Finishing both sessions as the highest non-Merc driver though, Ricciardo has to be favourite to be closest to them.

25 Sep 2020

Bottas is becoming quite the Friday specialist, isn't he? He once again tops the session, two tenths up on Hamilton. If he can take this form into tomorrow, we could be in for an excellent battle for pole.

25 Sep 2020

As expected, no late improvements, and the session is over.

25 Sep 2020

Hamilton and the Haas drivers are the only ones running soft tyres in the final few laps. They'll have high fuel loads though so won't be going green.

25 Sep 2020

Ricciardo is the only driver within a second of the Mercedes drivers. At this rate, they could quite easily make Q3 on the hard tyre.

25 Sep 2020

Anyway, back to FP2. Not too much happening in terms of lap times at the moment as most are doing longer runs.

25 Sep 2020

Well, some rather big news has just been confirmed. Stefano Domenicali will be replacing Chase Carey as the CEO of the sport at the end of the season.

25 Sep 2020

The track is full of cars running the soft tyre at the moment.

25 Sep 2020

Sainz jumps up to P4 just ahead of Norris. This has been a much better session for McLaren.

25 Sep 2020

Leclerc and Vettel are in P8 and P10, with the former effectively as quick as Verstappen and the latter just a tenth down.

25 Sep 2020

The Dutchman is an unhappy man indeed, displeased with both the pace and the stability of his car.

25 Sep 2020

Verstappen can only manage P6 on his quick lap and has just gone off-track at Turn 13. He's currently behind Ricciardo, Norris and Perez.

25 Sep 2020

A good lap from George Russell puts him in P8.

25 Sep 2020

The Brit returns to the pit complaining about big vibratiosn. That's presumably as a result of locking up and flatspotting his tyres.

25 Sep 2020

Hamilton was on track to go purple before locking up at Turn 13 and ruining his lap. That's the second time he's done that today.

25 Sep 2020

Bottas goes within a tenth of his team-mate.Both he and Vettel have almost spun but just about held it.

25 Sep 2020

Ricciardo and Verstappen take P2 and P3, but the Dutchman isn't happy with his car.

25 Sep 2020

Lance Stroll is the first spinner of the session.

25 Sep 2020

Hamilton does a 1:34.890 on medium tyres.

25 Sep 2020

Bottas quickly returns to P1 with a 1:36.065.

25 Sep 2020

Norris gets the ball rolling with a 1:36.130.

25 Sep 2020

FP2 is underway.

25 Sep 2020

FP1 also featured incidents aplenty. Carlos Sainz and Nicholas Latifi both brought out Red Flags when they lost control and hit the barriers, while Daniil Kvyat and Romain Grosjean spun but avoided the walls.

25 Sep 2020

Behind Bottas, things were tight, as Max Verstappen predicted. The Dutchman finished the session in P3, just behind Daniel Ricciardo and just ahead of the Racing Points.

25 Sep 2020

Lewis Hamilton ended it in P19 after locking up and ruining tyres for what was meant to be his qualifying run. Expect him back at the top this afternoon.

25 Sep 2020

As per usual at this track, Mercedes topped FP1. As per usual in 2020, they did so courtesy of Valtteri Bottas, who just loves those Friday morning sessions.

25 Sep 2020

Hello and welcome to live coverage of FP2 of the Russian Grand Prix. All times are local to Sochi.
Russian Grand Prix, Practice 3
#
Driver
Team
Time
Gap
Laps
1
Nationality
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:33.279
-
16
2
Nationality
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
1:34.055
0.776
19
3
Nationality
Carlos Sainz
McLaren
1:34.096
0.817
17
4
Nationality
Esteban Ocon
Renault
1:34.239
0.960
13
5
Nationality
Sergio Perez
Racing Point
1:34.252
0.973
14
6
Nationality
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:34.306
1.027
11
7
Nationality
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:34.594
1.315
14
8
Nationality
Lance Stroll
Racing Point
1:34.732
1.453
13
9
Nationality
Daniil Kvyat
AlphaTauri
1:34.768
1.489
14
10
Nationality
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault
1:34.787
1.508
12
11
Nationality
Pierre Gasly
AlphaTauri
1:34.792
1.513
12
12
Nationality
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
1:34.806
1.527
14
13
Nationality
George Russell
Williams
1:34.979
1.700
16
14
Nationality
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:35.257
1.978
14
15
Nationality
Nicholas Latifi
Williams
1:35.292
2.013
14
16
Nationality
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
1:35.451
2.172
14
17
Nationality
Antonio Giovin...
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:35.590
2.311
15
18
Nationality
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:35.599
2.320
15
19
Nationality
Alexander Albon
Red Bull
1:35.603
2.324
14
20
Nationality
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:35.981
2.702
17

26 Sep 2020

Join us in a few hours' time for what is going to be a very unpredictable qualifying session ahead of the Russian Grand Prix.

26 Sep 2020

Well then, the usual story of Mercedes at the front, but heading into qualifying it's all to play for between Bottas and Hamilton. As for 'best of the rest', well it's Sainz's to lose, but that midfield pack is so tight.

26 Sep 2020

Perez could be in a bit of trouble before qualifying, he slowed right down on the racing line and almost had Gasly in the rear end of his RP20.

26 Sep 2020

Gasly is P11, followed by Leclerc, Russell, Grosjean, Latifi, Magnussen, Giovinazzi, Raikkonen, Albon and Norris.

26 Sep 2020

Ocon, Perez, Verstappen, Vettel, Stroll, Kvyat and Ricciardo complete the top 10.

26 Sep 2020

Right that's session over. It's a Merc one-two as Hamilton tops FP3 ahead of Bottas. Sainz is P3 for McLaren.

26 Sep 2020

Grosjean has a spin at Turn 15, he had improved to P14 slightly earlier in the session. Safe to say the Frenchman has experienced all possible emotions in this session. "I have no words, it's as simple as that," he says.

26 Sep 2020

Albon's time has indeed been deleted. Just a few minutes left in the session.

26 Sep 2020

Ricciardo just casually adjusting the mirror as he ploughs down the back straight. Right now all he will be able to see in that is a plane passing over him in the sky. That will need adjusting before qualifying.

26 Sep 2020

Indeed Alex went for a bumpy ride over the kerb at Turn 2. That lap may end up being deleted for track limits.

26 Sep 2020

Only P7 for Albon on the softs, but apparently off-camera he had an issue at Turn 2.

26 Sep 2020

George Russell is up to P11 in the Williams.

26 Sep 2020

A solid effort from Sainz who goes P3, eight tenths down on Hamilton. The only downside for McLaren is that he was using the old front wing, so that might not be what the team wanted to see.

26 Sep 2020

Stand by, flying laps are being pumped in all over the place!

26 Sep 2020

Called it on Mercedes, a 1:33.279 from Hamilton fires him into P1. Bottas encounters traffic on his flying lap. He complains of being blocked but there was very little to complain about really.

26 Sep 2020

Vettel pumps in a 1:34.5 to go from P15 to P4. Leclerc slots into P5, two tenths behind his team-mate. It's good to see Seb properly taking the fight to Leclerc again this weekend.

26 Sep 2020

Bottas improves to a 1:34.055. It feels like the Mercs aren't showing their hand yet.

26 Sep 2020

The track has gone quiet for now before the drivers re-emerge for a final quali simulation run.

26 Sep 2020

Verstappen can't quite improve on his next flying lap but he is still only a tenth down on Bottas' benchmark.

26 Sep 2020

Esteban Ocon very nearly spins at Turn 17 but corrects the slide of his Renault just in time.

26 Sep 2020

Verstappen joins the action. Armed with the soft rubber he goes only 0.017s slower than Bottas. Game on?

26 Sep 2020

Gasly goes for a spin at the chicane as his front left lifts off the track thanks to a big bump in the road. Thankfully he keeps his AlphaTauri out of the wall and returns to the pit lane.

26 Sep 2020

Albon's first run on the mediums produces a 1:35.7. That leaves the Red Bull driver in P11.

26 Sep 2020

Romain Grosjean goes on an extended rant over team radio, telling Haas there is nothing he can do with the VF-20. They didn't like that very much.

26 Sep 2020

Bottas improves to a 1:34.2 as Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri goes P2. 0.641s is the gap between Bottas and Gasly who both were running the soft rubber.

26 Sep 2020

Kimi Raikkonen with a handy lap. He was on the soft rubber compared to Ricciardo on the mediums, but gets within a tenth of the Aussie.

26 Sep 2020

Danny Ric is already looking mighty as he splits the Mercedes in P2. Bottas in P1 has half a second over the Renault driver with 20 minutes gone in the session.

26 Sep 2020

A scruffy lap for Hamilton who goes P3. The Briton struggled at the same spot as Bottas. That Sochi tarmac isn't very grippy!

26 Sep 2020

Hamilton is setting off on his first flying lap now on the soft rubber.

26 Sep 2020

Bottas sets off on a flying lap but asks a little too much of his soft tyres and runs well wide at Turn 7.

26 Sep 2020

Norris pumps in an early flying lap on the medium C4 tyres - a 1:36.423.

26 Sep 2020

Finally some action on the track. Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz head out in the McLaren MCL35s.

26 Sep 2020

We have traded in the gravel of Mugello for the run-offs of Sochi, and the FIA have issued an update on track limits. Any driver who goes beyond the exit kerb at Turn 18 will find their lap time deleted.

26 Sep 2020

There's the green light! FP3 begins.

26 Sep 2020

Three minutes to go until FP3 gets underway. Beautiful blue skies greet the drivers at the Sochi Autodrom today. 38c track temperature, 26c air temp.

26 Sep 2020

Ferrari, while nowhere near the front of the pack like they were in Russia last year, did at least look competitive in the midfield on Friday. Charles Leclerc said the lap times were exceeding his expectations.

26 Sep 2020

It could well be another frustrating weekend for Max Verstappen who found himself down in P7 at the end of FP2. Red Bull knew Sochi wouldn't be a track that favoured them, but the fact that Renault, McLaren and Racing Point all seem to be at our slightly

26 Sep 2020

Behind Mercedes the battle for P3 looks set to be one of the tightest battles of the season. Daniel Ricciardo had the edge on Friday, but can he keep his advantage in FP3 as the teams move into qualifying mode?

26 Sep 2020

Bottas' team-mate Lewis Hamilton bounced back from a "poor" FP1 to move into P2 in the afternoon session, but heading into Saturday he has 0.267s to find on Bottas. You get the feeling that if Bottas can't win here then his already fading belief will vani

26 Sep 2020

Valtteri Bottas was looking mighty on Friday, as he traditionally does here. The Mercedes man topped both practice sessions as the Silver Arrows put a one-second gap between themselves and the chasing pack.

26 Sep 2020

Hello and welcome to the final practice session here at the Sochi Autodrom ahead of the Russian Grand Prix. All times are local.
Race Date:
Length:
Lap Record:
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