Max finishes fourth Russian Grand Prix: 'Pretty boring race'

Published on 29 September 2019 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen came in fourth fastest at the Russian Grand Prix. The Dutchman managed to moved up to the fifth spot after starting from ninth on the Sochi Autodrom. He subsequently  took an additional spot due the dropping out of Sebastian Vettel. Lewis Hamilton took the victory home for Mercedes, claiming his ninth win this season. Valtteri Bottas topped it all off for Mercedes when he took the flag in second place. Charles Leclerc rounded up the podium on behalf of Ferrari.

“It was a pretty boring race”, says Max after the Grand Prix. “At the start, we managed to get through well. I got a bit stuck in Turn two but apart from that it was okay. In the beginning everyone around me had DRS, so I couldn’t really get by, but at a certain point it went fine.” After his pitstop, Max drove a relatively lonely race with P4 being the maximum achievable: “We were not fast enough. Unfortunately these are not the most competitive weeks, but that’s how it is.”

In the closing stages of the race, there was a possibility to go for the fastest lap. Did this ever cross your mind? “We were in any case too slow and at the front they were running on relative fresher tyres, so they were also able to give it a shot for the fastest lap”, explains the Dutchman. “The degradation of the tyres was not so bad, so I didn’t think about it.”

Max concludes with a preview of the Japanese Grand Prix, the home race of engine supplier Honda: “I am looking forward to it, but you don’t want to create any false hope. We are simply running short and I don’t suddenly expect it to be a magical weekend. We still have our work cut out for us.”

It is ten past one Dutch time when the last race on European soil gets underway. Sebastian Vettel gets well off the line and immediately overtakes Lewis Hamilton. Entering Turn two, he also makes small work of team mate Charles Leclerc. The moment we see Max Verstappen pass Nico Hulkenberg for the eighth spot, Romain Grosjean is suddenly in the barriers. The Frenchman was hit on his rear wheel by Antonio Giovinazzi, who in turn had to take evasive action to avoid an fast approaching Daniel Ricciardo. As a result of the incident the safety car is sent out.

At the end of the third lap, the field is let loose again. Vettel picks a right moment to get back on the throttle and retains the lead of the race. In the meantime, Verstappen tries to find a way to get pass Sergio Perez’ Racing Point. On lap eight he finally succeeds in overtaking the Mexican.

Ahead of the field, Sebastian Vettel in ordered to let his team mate by, but because the gap between the two is only increasing, Ferrari let the team order for what it is at that moment. Getting on to lap twelve, Max has closed the gap to Lando Norris and manages to overtake the Briton in Turn two with a superb brake action. After this the top six is formed by Vettel, Leclerc, Hamilton, Bottas, Sainz and Verstappen.

Max is making tracks and closes the gap to his front runner Carlos Sainz with every lap. After seventeen laps, the youngster manages to make small works of the McLaren in Turn two and is now in P5. At the same moment, we see Nico Hulkenberg come in for the first pit stop of the race.

On lap twenty two, Charles Leclerc is the first one of the top teams to pit for a fresh set of rubbers. The Monegasque switches to the mediums and is in fourth after he rejoins. Four laps later, we see Daniel Ricciardo report to his ream and drop out due to damage he sustained at the start of the race.

Some time later, race leader Sebastian Vettel also comes in for his pit stop. The four-time world champion loses his spot to Leclerc, but that is the least of his worries as the German suddenly grinds to a bitter halt towards the end of his out-lap. Race control decides to deploy the safety car. Mercedes maximize their opportunities by calling in both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Both drivers suffer minimal time loss and we even witness Hamilton taking over the lead of the race. Max also comes in. The youngster gets the mediums strapped on to his RB15.

Moments later the safety car is out on track again, as George Russell’s brakes have failed entering Turn nine. Team mate Robert Kubica also drops out. He reports back to his team but sees the car gets pushed back into the garage. This brings the total drop outs at that moment to five.

Leclerc goes back in once more, during the safety car, and switches from the mediums to a set of the red-striped tyres. This drops him down to P3. This puts Mercedes, against all odds, on course for a one-two finish. At the end of lap thirty two, the safety heads back in. Hamilton is in the lead, followed by Bottas, Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz and Magnussen.

For the remainder of the race, Leclerc has nothing to answer to Bottas; this subsequently gives Mercedes their eighth one-two. After a flawless race, Max takes the flag in fourth, followed by team mate Alexander Albon. He started the race from the pit lane and managed to superbly work his way back to a fifth fastest finish.

Results Grand Prix Russia: