Couch Critic provides his betting tips for the Russin Grand Prix which takes place in Sochi on Sunday 29th September
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE LAST RACE?
It’s not often that no one from the front row goes on to win the race but that’s exactly what happened under the night lights of Singapore. A very tactical race saw first Hamilton and the Leclerc himself suffer at the hands of the, now well renowned, under-cut. A bitterly disappointed Leclerc saw his chance of three-in-a-row go out the window as his team’s pitstop strategy had him eating fumes behind his team mate all the way to the chequered flag.
The surprising thing about this race was the pace of the Ferrari’s throughout the weekend. Not many gave them a chance of continuing their strong recent run of form at a track which many thought would not suit the Scuderia.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN SOCHI
The Russian Grand Prix has only been hosted for the past five years and the lone constructor sipping the winning Champagne has been Mercedes Benz on all five these occasions. Of these five wins three have belonged to Lewis Hamilton. Yet, the tale of the tape is not quite so straight forward in terms of fancying Lewis in Russia. Bottas, having started on pole and controlled the race, had to obey team orders this time last year by letting his team mate pass whilst Valtteri also won in 2017 (Vettel was on pole that day). In 2016 Rosberg was the fastest of the Silver Arrows, with Hamilton again not taking charge on the Saturday.
With Vettel and Bottas clearly playing second fiddle to their team mates it promising some exciting action coming to a track where both have actually shown some decent form (though no victories for the German). Red Bull have clearly fallen out of the real fight upfront, but this should still be another mouth-watering affair as Ferrari and the Merc fight it out over the course of the weekend.
The Russian track offers a combination of long straights as well as a number of tight, technical corners so it’s tough trying to decipher which of the cars will benefit most on around this layout.
VERDICT
On the one side we have the undeniable Scarlet Red’s on the charge. On the other hand, we have a team who have dominated at this venue. For all his team’s success in Sochi this can hardly be classified as Hamilton’s favoured venue – he could only manage one pole out of the five Benz victories. Vettel will have reclaimed some much-needed confidence, but Leclerc will be hungry and has been absolutely flying in qualifying.
My second pick might come as a bit of a surprise. I feel the Mercs will have the better race pace. Bottas loves it around Sochi and as an added bonus Hamilton will feel he owes his team mate one after what happened here last year. The Finn offers some value at the price.
BETOLIMP Bets for the Russian Grand Prix:
Fastest Qualifier – C Leclerc @ 2.45
To win the race – V Bottas @ 6.50
Note, odds are subject to change
