Russia – Qualifying: Rosberg keeps up his momentum, Hamilton breaks down again

During the first round of qualifying, several drivers had their initial times annulled due to going off track. Romain Grosjean was among those penalized because of a major brake lock-up. Far from these issues, the two Mercedes battled at the front. It was surprising to see Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton go for a second stint when they were already more than a second ahead of the rest of the field. In this little game, it was Lewis Hamilton who got the better of his teammate.

On the other hand, Daniil Kvyat had to work hard to escape the cut of Q1. Indeed, with three minutes remaining, he was still in 17th and first to be eliminated. But his final lap allowed him to climb to 10th place and secure his spot in Q2.

In his last lap, Kevin Magnussen managed to improve but not enough to displace Esteban Gutierrez from his 16th place. Similarly, Jolyon Palmer’s improvement was not enough to do better than 18th. Both Renaults are thus eliminated from Q1, as are both Saubers. The two drivers from the Swiss team made numerous attempts but without real success. Although Marcus Ericsson also improved on his last attempt, he couldn’t even beat Rio Haryanto’s Manor reference. The Swede finished last in the session.

Eliminated in Q1: Magnussen, Ericsson, Nasr, Palmer, Nasr, Wehrlein, Haryanto, Ericsson

During Q2, the duel between the two Mercedes continued, still far ahead of the rest of the competition. This time, it was Nico Rosberg who got the better of his teammate. The German was more than four-tenths faster than Lewis Hamilton.

The two Ferraris waited until the last moment to make their fast lap and position themselves again as the second force on the grid. But the Williams waited even longer as Felipe Massa didn’t set his first true time until a minute and a half before the end of the session, climbing up to 5th place. His time was then beaten by his teammate, Valtteri Bottas.

On the other hand, the Haas team is still struggling since Romain Grosjean could only beat his teammate, Esteban Gutierrez, to finish 15th. Daniil Kvyat once again waited until the last moment to slip into the top 10, knocking out Carlos Sainz. Daniel Ricciardo experienced a mishap on his last lap with the breakage of his right mirror. However, it did not have a significant impact on the Australian driver.

Similarly, although Jenson Button improved on his last attempt, he could do no better than 12th. He leads Nico Hülkenberg, who therefore did not manage to make it to Q3, unlike his teammate Sergio Perez. Fernando Alonso, who hoped to sneak into Q3, did not succeed, as he has to settle for 14th place.

Eliminated in Q2: Sainz, Button, Hülkenberg, Alonso, Grosjean, Gutierrez

Q3 started with a dramatic turn: Lewis Hamilton has another engine problem, just like in Shanghai!

This opens up a clear path for Nico Rosberg to claim the pole position. The German made his mark on the session from the first round of Q3, leading Sebastian Vettel by over 8 tenths. Nico Rosberg made another attempt but went off track, yet it did not cost him the pole position.

Valtteri Bottas delivered a very impressive performance during his first lap as he outpaced Kimi Räikkönen, who made a mistake during his last attempt at the final corner. With the penalty coming for Sebastian Vettel, this allows him to be on the front row. The Finn will therefore share the second row with Felipe Massa. Max Verstappen gave it his all on a single attempt, but it was not enough to do better than 9th place, behind Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull and Sergio Perez’s Force India.