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Ratings | Which teams dealt best with the chaotic Russian GP?

Ratings | Which teams dealt best with the chaotic Russian GP?

27-09-2021 16:19

GPblog.com

The devil was in the tail in Russia. With the late rain, the field was shaken up and it was important for the teams to call their drivers in for the intermediates at the right moment. Some teams did this significantly better than others. GPblog again rates all the teams based on the Russian Grand Prix.

Mercedes: 9

Mercedes clearly had the fastest car in Russia. Difficult weather conditions, a mistake by Lewis Hamilton and a new engine for Valtteri Bottas prevented the team from being on the front row of the grid. In the race, the leader in the world championship did significantly better. Partly because the drivers were brought in on time Hamilton won the race and Bottas finished fifth. Mercedes is now 15 points ahead of Red Bull Racing in the championship.

Red Bull Racing: 9

The same applies to Red Bull Racing as to Mercedes. A disappointing qualifying for Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen who started from the back due to an engine change. In the race, however, both Perez and Verstappen managed to work their way up. When the rain comes down, Perez falls from fourth to ninth place and Verstappen rises from seventh to second place. As a result, Verstappen has suffered very little from his engine change and is just two points behind Hamilton in the championship.

McLaren: 7.5

Determining a grade for McLaren for the Russian Grand Prix coincides with the question of whether the team should have brought in Lando Norris for intermediates, despite him not wanting to. The fact is that it was the wrong decision to stay out and the team should've had more information about the conditions than Norris himself. An almost certain victory was scuppered as a result. A fourth place for Daniel Ricciardo was a poor consolation with Norris only seventh.

Ferrari: 7.5

At Ferrari, Charles Leclerc had to start from the back due to the introduction of a number of updates. Carlos Sainz meanwhile cleverly drove to the front row of the grid. The Spaniard even takes the lead at the start, but due to an early pit stop he can't keep it up. When the rain starts Sainz survives the chaos and comes third. For Leclerc, it doesn't work out as well and he drops back from fifth to fifteenth place.

Alpine: 6

Fernando Alonso was in good form all weekend in Russia. In qualifying, he scored the sixth fastest time and in the race the double world champion has a good speed with eventually a sixth place. Esteban Ocon however has a rather colourless weekend and only finished 14th in the race. In the battle for fifth place in the championship, however, the team is doing good business.

AlphaTauri: 4

For the second race in a row AlphaTauri scored zero points. Pierre Gasly openly criticised the team's decisions which cost him points. The Frenchman finished thirteenth and Yuki Tsunoda seventeenth. Unworthy of a team fighting for fifth place in the championship.

Aston Martin: 5

Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel seem to have quite the speed in the race, yet both drivers fall further and further back during the race. The low point was when Stroll completely missed his teammate and pushed him into the wall. Both drivers can continue their way, but they don't get any further than an eleventh and twelfth place.

Williams: 6.5

George Russell once again managed to set the third-fastest time in qualifying. That the Williams doesn't really belong there on pure speed everyone knows by now and in the race Russell can't keep up at the front for long. Nevertheless, the team scored points for the fourth time in five races and that is very impressive for the current Williams.

Alfa Romeo: 6

The team finally scores points again in Russia, only the fourth time this season, with an eighth-place finish for Kimi Raikkonen. However, Alfa Romeo will have to go crazy if it is to catch up with Williams in the championship.

Haas: 4

For the American team, it remains to be hoped that a big step can be made next year, as there is little honour to be gained for Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Schumacher does qualify ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi and that is a small victory for Haas.