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Russia next but the sport’s thoughts are with Jules Bianchi
Jules Bianchi remains in a critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit of a Japanese hospital following his dreadful accident during last Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. The thoughts of everyone who follow the sport are with the young Frenchman at this time and everyone is praying for his recovery.
For those who have seen the accident it is hard to deny its ferocity and the catastrophic nature of the impact. The car seemed to strike the recovery tractor at an unabated speed as the Marussia aquaplaned off the circuit – tragically at the same point where Adrian Sutil had left the track a lap earlier. The consequences for Bianchi as he begins a desperately difficult period of recovery are dreadful, while the sport itself begins an investigation and thorough review of the incident and events leading up to it.
As the sport experiences and copes with one of its worst accidents for twenty years, the newest race on the Formula One World Championship calendar this weekend will be a sombre event. The first ever Grand Prix in Russia is being staged on a circuit not dissimilar to the Marina Bay circuit in Singapore set around the Winter Olympic venue of Sochi on the Black Sea. The sixteenth race of the season will provide an interesting spectacle for the drivers and the F1 watching public. Friday will be a day set aside for learning the nuances of the new track and it will be interesting to see who gets to grips with it first.
Whatever the situation, the race will be of prime importance to the main championship protagonists. The slenderest of ten points now separate Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg with four races left to run.
DAY 3
Lewis Hamilton won the Russian Grand Prix after a comfortable Sunday afternoon drive around the Black Sea resort of Sochi. With the win came the first Constructors' World Championship title for Mercedes while Lewis' team-mate Nico Rosberg finished second after an extraordinary drive from last at the end of the first lap. The German made an attempt to take the lead from the start but overcooked his outbreaking manouevre on Hamilton necessitating an immediate stop for fresh tyres. His remarkable performance then saw him make the set last for the entire race to claim second ahead of Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen.
Hamilton now leads the championship by 17 points with three races left to run.
Yallabahrain will continue to bring you the action and the news from Sochi along with unique, first-time, images of the track from our friends at Sutton Images.