F1 heads to Sochi for the country's inaugural race
Friday 10 October 2014 13:05, UK
The 2014 Russian GP preview: Everything you need to know about this weekend's race!
F1 heads to the Sochi Autodrom for the inaugural Russian Grand Prix around the site of this year’s Winter Olympics.
So read on below as Sky Sports Online provides your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about the grand prix weekend. You can also watch a virtual flyover of the brand-new circuit in the video above.
Track: Sochi Autodrom. Temporary Circuit.
Designer: Hermann Tilke
Race start time: 12pm UK time Sunday (3pm local).
Laps: 53.
Track length: 5.853 km (the third longest of the season after Spa & Silverstone).
Corners: 12 right and six left-handers.
Predicted average lap speed: 215 kph
Tyre allocation: Medium (white) and soft (yellow).
DRS Zones: Two with separate detection points – between turns one and two and turns ten and 13.
Driver steward: Danny Sullivan.
Thursday 9th October
12pm - Drivers' Press Conference - Live!
9pm – Classic F1 – 2000 Belgian GP.
11:15pm – Gear Up for Russia.
Friday 10th October
6:45am – Russian GP Practice One - Live!
9am – GP2 Practice – Live!
10:45pm – Russian GP Practice Two - Live!
12:55pm – GP2 Qualifying – Live!
2pm – Team Principals’ Press Conference.
3pm – The F1 Show – Live!
4pm – Classic F1 – 1994 Australian GP.
8pm - The F1 Show - Replay.
Saturday 11th October
6:30am – GP3 Qualifying – Live!
8:45am – Russian GP Practice Three - Live!
10:35am – GP3 Race One – Live!
11:20am – Russian GP Qualifying – Live!
1:35pm – GP2 Feature Race – Live!
3:05pm – Classic F1 – 2008 British GP.
7:50pm – Ted’s Qualifying Notebook.
Sunday 12th October
7:55am – GP3 Race Two – Live!
9am – GP2 Sprint Race – Live!
10:30am – The 2014 Russian GP – Track Parade – Live!
11am - The 2014 Russian GP – Race – Live!
2:30pm - The 2014 Russian GP – Paddock Live!
3:15pm – GP Heroes – Mario Andretti.
5:15pm – 2014 Russian GP Highlights.
6:15pm – Ted’s Race Notebook.
Sebastian Vettel, who drove the circuit in a road car in August, said: "Having driven the full circuit for the first time in the Infiniti Q50, it’s an interesting layout with a good mix of high speed corners and technical sections. It’s going to be a huge challenge in a Formula 1 car for sure and I’m really looking forward to coming back in October.”
Sergio Perez: “The location of the track inside the Olympic park is very unusual. If I get the opportunity I will definitely explore a bit. From the photographs I’ve seen it looks to be a very impressive facility. There are some long straights, some tight corners, and I think it will feel like a street circuit because the walls are close to the track in a lot of areas."
Nico Hulkenberg: “It’s hard to look at a track on paper and really get an understanding of how it will feel to drive. I prefer to go there and experience things before I make judgements and talk about track characteristics. So in that sense it’s too early for me to compare it with another circuit. What is clear is that there are some really quick sections and a lot of right-angled corners."
Ferrari Technical Director James Allison: "The dominant corner is a really quite aggressively fast long flowing left-hander, shortly after the start-finish straight. So you can see just by a casual look that this is going to be a track where there is going to be a competition between what you want on the straights and what you want for that series of slow speed corners. The slow speed corners are going to be crying out for downforce, the straights, the opposite."
This is first ever Russian Grand Prix so all drivers head to Sochi with an equal record.
Pirelli will bring the white-marked medium and the yellow-banded soft to Russia this weekend after carrying out “advanced computer simulations in collaboration with the teams to prepare for the demands of a new venue and predict the likely strategies”.
“Russia is a key territory for Pirelli, along with all the major automotive companies in the world, so we are very much looking forward to Sochi and the first Russian Grand Prix, which is a significant milestone in the sport’s history,” said Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery.
“From a tyre perspective it should be an interesting challenge; we’ve got a wide variety of corners that should test every aspect of performance. As has been the case at every grand prix this year, we’re aiming for between two and three pit stops per race and the nomination we have made reflects this. In terms of overall tyre energy demands, Russia is somewhere in the middle, and measurements also indicate low-abrasion asphalt.
“Regarding the weather, initial forecasts suggest that conditions will be temperate. Going to a new circuit is always exciting and it’s only when we get there that we will have a complete idea of what to expect, so the work done in free practice will be particularly important for everyone.”
Lewis Hamilton is favourite for the first Russian Grand Prix with Sky Bet following his victory at Suzuka. Check out the full range of odds here.
