Russian Grand Prix
The F1 action is expected to heat up despite the rainy weather forecast as the world’s best drivers take their act to Sochi for the upcoming Russian Grand Prix.
After 14 rounds in the 2021 calendar, the race to the world championship continues to witness a nip-and-tuck battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
In the previous race in Monza, neither Hamilton and Verstappen were able to take advantage as the two did not finish due to an unfortunate collision – paving the way for Daniel Ricciardo to win his first GP in a while.
Another race means another opportunity for both Hamilton and Verstappen. But as expected, they’ll be facing stiff competition from the rest of the playing field.
Here are some of the recent Russian Grand Prix 2021 updates.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen continue to go back and forth
With eight more races to go in the 2021 calendar, the championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen is only getting more intense.
The two racers saw their cars collide during the Italian Grand Prix and there was plenty of debate regarding who was to blame for the incident.
On the surface, it looked like it was Max Verstappen’s fault since he was meted a costly penalty here in Sochi. Regardless of how he does in the practices and in the qualifying, the Red Bull racer will start at P4 the highest.
Upon learning the news, Lewis Hamilton made a subtle jab, implying that perhaps the pressure of winning the championship is getting into Max Verstappen’s head.
“Obviously, he won’t admit to it and I’m not going to make an assumption but I’m just saying I remember what it was like when I had my first one and it definitely mounted up,” said Hamilton.
Verstappen quickly fired back saying: “Those comments, I mean it just shows you that he doesn’t really know me, which is fine, I don’t need to know him fully [either].”
“I just focus on myself and I really enjoy it out there at the front and of course hopefully we can do it for a really long time,” he added.
This isn’t the first time that Hamilton and Verstappen have butted heads on and off the paddock, and we expect more fireworks between these two title protagonists as the season winds down.
Can Daniel Ricciardo make it back-to-back?
Here at SBOTOP, we predicted that McLaren are bound to win at least one race and it was Daniel Ricciardo who did it. The 2021 Italian Grand Prix was his first GP triumph since the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix.
Monza was a sigh of relief for the Australian especially since he’s had a shaky start with McLaren this season. More importantly, this serves as vindication for Ricciardo, who has dealt with numerous trials since leaving Red Bull.
“I mean Monza did make everything worth it I guess but it was just nice to stand back up there and to do it with another team – there’s certainly a sense of pride in that,” said Ricciardo.
McLaren are in fine form and they’re one of the favourites here in Sochi, as other than Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris didn’t do so bad himself by finishing P2 in Monza.
But when asked about whether they can do it again, Ricciardo was dismissive of the notion.
“Ah come on mate, let’s just chill for a bit. We’re just going to keep doing our best. Victory aside, I’ve felt more comfortable and of course just excited to come racing,” replied the Australian.
History
It has already been established that Sochi is a happy hunting ground for Mercedes given that they’ve won in all six previous races since the race’s reboot in 2014.
Valtteri Bottas won in last year’s iteration as his teammate Lewis Hamilton settled for third due to penalties, while Max Verstappen finished at second.
Bottas won his first-ever F1 race in the 2017 edition. Coincidentally, the 2020 Russian Grand Prix was the Finn’s last GP victory and he’s been looking to win another one before moving on to Alfa Romeo next season.
What are the odds?
Despite being handed a three-place grid penalty because of the previous incident, Max Verstappen is the favoured driver by the Russian Grand Prix 2021 odds to win this weekend’s race.
He is priced at 1.77 while his championship rival in Lewis Hamilton owns the second-best odds at 2.05.
As far as the constructors are concerned, Mercedes hold the slim advantage at 1.42 compared to Red Bull’s 2.66, which suggests that Valtteri Bottas might join Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the podium.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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