F1 - Impressive ITALIAN / SPANISH performance Scuderia FERRARI, Carlos Sainz and MAX Verstappen !- dramatic Russian GP - 100th win Hamilton, 2. Verstappen and podium for Carlos Sainz Scudería Ferrari ! - NAANII GLOBAL Luxury/Quality Family Lifestyle MAGAZINE 'en Vogue' - NAANII GLOBAL Quality & Luxury Family Lifestyle - MAGAZINE 'en Vogue'-

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100th win Lewis Hamilton Mercedes  / Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow took its fourth podium of the season in the Russian Grand Prix courtesy of Carlos Sainz who came home in third place.

Charles, who was starting from the back, produced a masterly performance but came away empty handed after the final crazy stages of the race when the rain fell.

A great first lap. Both Carlos and Charles drove great opening laps. The Spaniard started from the dirty side of the track, but managed not only to fend off those behind, but also to exploit the slipstream to overtake Lando Norris and lead the race. Charles, who started from the back row, was 12th come the end of the first lap having made no less than seven overtaking moves.

All about tyres. From then on the race was all about tyre performance for the two Ferrari men. Carlos, who started on Mediums, began to suffer from a bit of graining after a dozen or so laps, which led to him pitting earlier than his nearest rivals. The situation was better on the Hards and the Spaniard was third when the rain came. Charles had a great pace on the Hards and he was also competitive on the Mediums, to the extent he was fighting for a good position before the chaotic final stages.

Timing. As the rain got progressively harder, choosing the right moment to change tyres was the key factor. It all went well for Carlos, but Charles came in a few laps later, which cost him dearly, depriving him of a good points haul that had seemed to be within his grasp.

Next stop Istanbul. The championship resumes in a fortnight with the 16th round of the championship, when the ninth running of the Turkish Grand Prix takes place from 8 to 10 October at the Istanbul Park Circuit.

Carlos Sainz #55
This was a tricky but positive weekend for me, with a good quali and a strong race where I gave absolutely everything. We made a perfect start from the dirty side, braking late into turn 2 and risking it on the outside of Lando to get into the lead. Unfortunately we suffered from graining and couldn’t hold P1 for much longer and had to pit early.
After the first stop, we had a very good stint, managing the Hard tyre in traffic and then pushing in clean air, on course for a reasonably comfortable P3 before the rain came and made everything a lot trickier. With the used Hard it was clear to me we needed to box for Inters and together with the team we made the right decision at the right moment, regaining P3!
It’s a happy podium but I think as a team we need to keep analysing what we can do better to make sure next time a Ferrari is leading we are less vulnerable. We’ve got some time before the next race so we will keep pushing.

Charles Leclerc #16
What a disappointing end to an otherwise extremely positive race!
I had a good start, gaining a few positions. Everything looked really promising, I made lots of overtakes and my pace was strong.
Things suddenly changed when it started to rain at the very end of the race. Carlos was ahead and decided to pit for Inters, while I still had some doubts. I tried to do another lap on slicks, hoping that the rain would decrease. But it started pouring down and it was just impossible to go on without pitting with two laps to go. That was basically the end of my race, which is a real shame.
A good job from the team and Carlos to bring home a third place today.

Mattia Binotto Team Principal
That was a very intense and difficult race today, which ended with one of our drivers on the podium. Carlos had a great weekend, both yesterday in qualifying and today in the race and third place is a nice reward for all the hard work. Charles leaves empty handed at the end of a weekend which started on the back foot because of the penalty, but today he once again proved just how talented he is. He made a great start, had really strong race pace and showed the right amount of aggression for the overtaking moves.
We know that as a team we must always try and improve in every area. Here, we introduced an update to the hybrid system for the power unit, which worked the way we had expected and produced a little bit more performance. However, we were not perfect in other areas, for example the pit stops and tyre management with Charles in those final chaotic moments of the race, whereas with Carlos everything went according to plan and we will build on the experience gained today.

RACE Highlights copyright @Formula1

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QUALIFYING
RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX – FRONT ROW THANKS TO A BRAVE STRATEGY FOR CARLOS

Sochi, 25 September 2021 – Carlos Sainz and Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow put on a great performance in qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi. The Spaniard secured the best result of his Formula 1 career, qualifying on the front row for the very first time. Charles Leclerc only took part in Q1, even though he made it through to the next part, given that he starts from the back of the grid tomorrow because of taking on a new power unit. He just did a few laps to get a feel for the SF21 on a wet track.

Spot on strategy. In Q3, some parts of the track were still damp, but a dry line was emerging. Carlos put in a timed lap on intermediate tyres but then he and the team chose the almost perfect moment to switch to slicks. Carlos pitted to take on a set of new Softs, going back out knowing he had enough time to do two warm-up laps to get the tyres up to temperature. With just seconds remaining before the chequered flag, he started a flying lap right on the limit, setting an excellent time of 1’42”510, for which he was eventually rewarded with second place on the starting grid.

Poles apart. Scuderia Ferrari thus has its cars at opposite ends of the grid, with Carlos at the front and Charles at the back of the pack. They can both expect a tough Sunday, with Sainz trying to maintain position, while on the other hand, Charles will be attacking as much as possible, trying to work his way up into the points. The start is at 15.00 local (14.00 CET) and the forecast is for variable conditions, although the current prediction is that it should not rain.


Carlos Sainz #55
“It’s been a tough quali session but I’m proud how we managed the situation to end up putting a great lap together for P2. I like these tricky conditions and I really enjoyed that last attempt on the slicks. We were one of the first ones to cross the line and the wait until P2 was confirmed was tense, as the track was drying quickly! Front row for tomorrow is a good result, and I’m happy, but I would have preferred to keep pole!
Tomorrow it’s very likely to be dry and we had a decent pace yesterday. Graining on the front tyres will be challenging but I will give it all from the very first lap until the end. Congrats to Lando on his first pole! It’s good to start beside him.”


Carles Leclerc #16
“The conditions today were not ones we experience very often during a season, but they are those with which, recently, we have struggled the most. So, despite knowing that we would start from the back row tomorrow, we decided it was a good opportunity to get out, rack up some mileage and learn for the future. I think we achieved that goal today.
I really enjoyed driving, as the track had very high grip in the rain and we were quite competitive right from the start. That was good to see. I’m happy for the team and Carlos for the good result today and we will both give it our all in the race.”



Laurent Mekies, Racing Director

“A very closely contested qualifying, run in very tricky track conditions, ended with one of our drivers on the front row of the grid. Carlos did a very good job on his final lap on dry tyres, as it really wasn’t easy to find the right feeling in these conditions. The team worked well with the driver, making the right choices at the right time.
Charles’ qualifying was obviously conditioned by the fact that, because of his penalty, he will start from the back of the grid. The choice we made comes at a heavy cost for now, but it will pay off in the coming races. We decided he should at least go out in Q1 so he could check the handling of his car in the wet and in fact Charles was very competitive. Tomorrow we will start from opposite ends of the grid with Carlos on the front row and Charles on the last one. As usual, our aim is to get the best possible result, trying to make the most of any opportunity that comes our way.”

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Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 TEAM

Facts & figures from Sochi:
Last weekend's Russian Grand Prix would have been hard to beat in terms of excitement. In a tense final stage, which was characterised by increasingly heavy rain, Lewis Hamilton secured his fifth victory of the season and retook the lead in the Drivers' World Championship. After 15 of the 22 races on the 2021 calendar, he leads the championship by two points ahead of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman finished the race in second place, while Valtteri Bottas fought his way up to fifth after having to start from the back of the grid following a power unit change. It was a result that consolidated the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team's 100 percent winning record in Russia, a streak that began with two victories for the Benz marque in 1913 and 1914. The Sochi Autodrom, which winds its way around the campus of the 2014 Winter Olympics, hosted its first Grand Prix in that same year, and the team has won all eight races at the circuit since. Lewis is the most successful driver at the venue with five wins.

100 victories:
The win at Sochi not only earned Lewis valuable points towards the Drivers' World Championship but also made Formula One history.
This 100th Grand Prix victory marks yet another milestone in his career and breaks through a ceiling that no other driver has approached so far. After making a podium appearance on his F1 debut in the 2007 Australian GP, Lewis then scored a maiden victory in Montreal in only his sixth Grand Prix. Between 2007 and 2012, he won a grand total of 21 races as a McLaren-Mercedes driver, including the first hybrid victory in F1 history in Hungary in 2009. After joining the Mercedes factory team in the 2013 season, his first appearance on the top step of the podium as a Mercedes F1 Team driver came in the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix. Since then, he has won 79 Grands Prix in his 171 races with the team. And it should also be noted that Lewis achieved all of his 100 race wins with Mercedes power in the engine compartment of his car.

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