Sochi, October 11, 2015 – Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has won an eventful Russian Grand Prix with a one-stop strategy. The Englishman started on the supersoft and then switched to the soft on lap 32, meaning that he spent more of the race on the supersoft tyre than the soft after starting from second on the grid. This was made possible by two safety car periods in the first part of the race. It was Hamilton’s 42nd win, equaling the recent total of Sebastian Vettel, and puts him close to another driver’s title at the next race.
As has been the case all weekend in Russia, conditions were quite cool with low track temperatures that made tyre warm-up an essential part of the race strategy. All the drivers used the supersoft tyres at the race start apart from Pastor Maldonado (Lotus), Felipe Massa (Williams), Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) and Fernando Alonso (McLaren).
A number of drivers – but not the leaders – took advantage of the second of two safety cars (from lap 11 onwards) to make a pit stop, with Force India’s Sergio Perez emerging as the top contender of those who stopped under the second safety car. In the end, the Mexican finished third from seventh on the grid, having managed his tyres very effectively all the way to the finish.
Lewis Hamilton –It’s just an amazing feeling today. I have a huge admiration for this team. Driving the car through that race, it just felt so good and this is what I’ve always dreamed of having. Even though you’re in the front, it’s still a hard race to stay in the zone and not make mistakes. We were only doing a one-stop, so you’re trying not to lock up and damage the tyres. I felt like it was a big challenge today. It’s a shame I didn’t get to race with Nico, which I was really excited about. I’m glad my car made it as the rear wing was getting a bit loose towards the end, so I had to stay off the kerbs and try not to damage the car. I’ve got to enjoy what’s going on now and cherish the moment; there are still lots of points available this year. To get the Constructors’ Championship feels very special and a great feeling to be a part of this and to have contributed to the team’s success. It’s really an amazing feeling and I’m very proud of them up there on the podium, to see all their smiling faces. I feel like a small part in the chain of many people; I’m proud of that part and I look forward to seeing the whole team tomorrow at the factory. I knew the guys were going to do a good job this year but they’ve done an even better job this year than last, which is phenomenal.
The Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz was forced to start from the back as the Spaniard missed qualifying due to his accident in FP3. Using a clever one-stop strategy allied with a strong race pace, he was able to climb into a points-scoring seventh place before retiring as a result of mechanical issues with six laps to go.
The low wear and degradation meant that the majority of drivers adopted a one-stop strategy: the default tactics in Russia because of the smooth asphalt surface. The two safety cars also increased stint lengths.
Before the start of the race, the news emerged that Pirelli has concluded a commercial deal to remain in Formula One for the 2017-2019 period. More details will follow as per the procedure laid down by the FIA: the governing body of world motorsport.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director: “First and foremost, we’re delighted to confirm that we reached a commercial agreement with Bernie Ecclestone to remain in Formula One for the 2017-2019 period. The process to the formal FIA official nomination will follow with its procedure.
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport –That was a day with every possible emotion: a bittersweet day on track, then a tense wait – and finally a confirmation that we have won a second world championship. Wow, there are never any simple days in this sport! But what a feeling it is to win a second title and a privilege to be part of this team. A world championship isn’t just about points on a scoreboard, it’s about many hours of hard work and sacrifice from every single member of the team, most of whom are away from the limelight and work with incredible dedication six or seven days a week. Well done to every one of them in Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart; you have done a sensational job. Likewise, it may sound like a corporate line, but I must say thank you to all of our partners who have supported us every step of the way to deliver this level of performance; they make a fundamental contribution to our success. As for the race itself, it was a bittersweet experience. Lewis drove a fantastic race and didn’t put a foot wrong even though he had some problems to manage, especially towards the end with an aerodynamic instability on his rear wing. But he brought the car home in a really controlled way and strengthened his lead, well done to him. But I’m gutted for Nico after a problem with his throttle mechanism forced him to retire. It shows how sport this cruel can be: he had a brilliant weekend and opening lap, and I can only take my hat off to him about how he handled the situation, both in the car trying to find a solution – and afterwards in his professionalism. It’s another reminder to us that, even with the steps forward we have taken on reliability this year, our work is never done and we need to keep focusing on every tiny detail. But now we can sit back and savour the moment: the party will start tomorrow back at base!
Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical) –Fantastic news to get the second World Championship. A very strange way to get this now as a result of the penalty but the result still stands; a great credit to the teams at Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart for the fantastic effort that brought us to this stage with such dominance to win the Constructors’ Championship before the end of the season. In the race itself, it was good to see both cars make a good start today and get cleanly through Turn Two. After the early Safety Car a problem emerged with Nico’s throttle control, preventing him from lifting off fully and in an inconsistent manner. Eventually this got so bad, we retired the car. It’s emerged as a mechanical failure of the throttle pedal damper, which was causing a blockage. We are very sorry to Nico to lose so many points from the lead. A much better day for Lewis; there were some issues to manage in terms of whether to pit under the safety car, but we picked the right strategy and had good pace and tyre consistency through the race to manage the gap well. He did have a bit of an issue with his rear wing towards the second half of the race which became worse towards the end, where we were seeing some loss of downforce during braking. We had to warn him about that and we will find out in due course what was causing that. A great win for Lewis in the end, so congratulations to him.
