Russian GP: Lewis Hamilton fears ‘struggle’ on first F1 record shot
Written by News on 27/09/2020
Lewis Hamilton has a great chance to make Formula 1 history from pole at today’s Russian GP – but the record-chasing Englishman insists he’ll “struggle” against Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas and expects them to “fly by” with a potentially crucial strategy advantage.
After six wins out of nine to start the 2020 season, Hamilton has his first chance to equal Michael Schumacher’s unprecedented record of 91 F1 victories come lights out today at 12.10pm, live only on Sky Sports F1.
But while Hamilton will lead the 20 cars off the grid at Sochi following an incredible recovery in qualifying, the Q2 drama during that shootout means he will be starting the race on the soft tyre compared to rivals Verstappen and Bottas on the more race-friendly mediums – and with a very long run down to the first braking zone and corner.
“Ultimately, I’m starting on the soft tyre, which is not good,” admitted Hamilton. “It’s nice being on pole but here is probably the worst place to be on pole, with the draggier cars we have this year.
“So, undoubtedly I’m most likely to get dragged past and both the cars I’m racing against, they are both on the medium, so definitely it’s going to make it hard to win the race.”
Verstappen, the Red Bull star who surprisingly split the Mercedes, and Bottas, Hamilton’s team-mate who was quicker for most of the weekend before qualifying, represent big threats.
“I generally expect one of these two to come flying by at some point,” said Hamilton. “So, I think I’m just going to focus on my race and just try to run the fastest race I can.
“Obviously I’m on the worst tyre to start on the race, so that’s going to be a struggle. I don’t know if that puts me onto a two-stop, I don’t know, unlikely because the pit lane is too slow, so I’m just going to have to nurse those tyres as far as I can.
“These guys, if they get by, they’re going to be pulling away so I’m going to sit down to try to figure out if there’s a different kind of race I can do to keep my position.”
Can Verstappen and Bottas delay Hamilton’s record?
Hamilton’s different strategy compared to Verstappen and Bottas was born out of necessity as he was forced into a quick out and flying lap at the end of Q2 following Sebastian Vettel’s crash and subsequent red flag.
Bottas, in particular, believes that may play into his hands.
“I think [the medium] is the right tyre to be on,” said the Finn. “And with race pace, I’m confident it’s going to be good. Definitely confident and there’s all to play for.”
Verstappen, on paper, could have an even better chance from the front row – his first start there since early July – although has had disastrous getaways in each of the last two Grands Prix.
“Overall I think the Mercedes guys are a bit faster in race pace so I’ll try my very best to stay with them and see what happens,” said Verstappen. “I would like to have a good start, and by start I mean once I go full throttle to have full power, that would be nice and then not get taken out! After two retirements I think it’s good to score some points again.”
Behind F1 2020’s usual front three, Sergio Perez leads what should be an extremely competitive midfield, with Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz his closest rivals.
Russian GP Provisional Grid
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
4. Sergio Perez, Racing Point
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault
6. Carlos Sainz, McLaren
7. Esteban Ocon, Renault
8. Lando Norris, McLaren
9. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
10. Alex Albon, Red Bull
11. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
12. Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri
13. Lance Stroll, Racing Point
14. George Russell, Williams
15. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
16. Romain Grosjean, Haas
17. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo
18. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
19. Nicholas Latifi, Williams
20. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo
(c) Sky Sports 2020: Russian GP: Lewis Hamilton fears ‘struggle’ on first F1 record shot
