Russia: pre-qualifying

The tyres this weekend are soft and supersoft. Lauda reckoned Mercedes were worried about a Singapore-style blip because of the smooth track surface (Mexico is reportedly similar), but we’ll see how that goes.

Alonso has a new and apparently improved Honda engine. Button does not, because there’s only one.

The first two practice sessions are worthless, as the first suffered a delay due to a massive diesel spillage and the latter was very wet. However, I’ve included the top 10s for the sake of completeness [top 8 for P2 as only 8 completed timed laps].

P1: had a German top group of Hulkenberg, Rosberg and Vettel, followed by Perez, Ricciardo and Sainz, with Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen and Raikkonen rounding out the top 10.

P2: Massa, Vettel, Bottas, Verstappen, Alonso, Kvyat, Sainz and Button.

The third practice session was curtailed when Sainz had a significant crash which brought out the red flag. Again, for the sake of completeness only, here’s the top 10:
Rosberg, Bottas, Hamilton, Perez, Massa, Hulkenberg, Button, Maldonado, Alonso and Nasr.

As he was taken to the ambulance on a stretcher, Sainz gave a thumbs up. Good to see after a lengthy extraction from the car (which was practically buried by the soft barrier).

The crash means the teams got about half an hour of dry-running in practice. Qualifying and race set-ups could be guesswork. For that matter, so will any betting.

The circuit does have significant straights, putting a premium on power and being advantageous for the Mercedes-powered cars. Qualifying should be dry.

Not much at all to go on for betting. Maybe the Force Indias to reach Q3. Instead of a list of potential bets, I just browsed Ladbrokes/Betfair to see what was there.

Nothing grabbed my eye, and giving the lack of running I’m not going to make a speculative bet. So, no tip for qualifying.

Let’s all hope Sainz is absolutely fine. I don’t think he’ll be in qualifying whatever his condition, so if he isn’t that may not be indicative he’s suffered a (serious) injury.


Morris Dancer

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