Nail biting stuff
0.6 seconds. That's all that separated the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas from the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. Two cars that look so different, visually; two cars opting for completely different strategies; yet, after 300 kilometers of hard racing, it all ended up within 0.6 seconds. If the distance from New York to London were the whole race, and you were starting from the Empire State Building, you wouldn't even make it to the Midtown Tunnel.
After three years of Mercedes domination, this is most certainly a two horse race. Ferrari are back, there's no doubt about it!
Valtteri proves he's a legit Flying Finn
For a country with 5 million people, Finland has produced a surprising number of motorsport greats - Flying Finns as we affectionately call them. A pitch perfect start followed by an impeccable first stint won him the race. Towards the end, he kept his cool under immense pressure, flat spotted tyres well past their prime, and held on. Reminiscent of Kimi, his radio message "Less talking" was classic. This is a true Flying Finn, make no mistake about it.
It was also great to see Kimi back on the podium. Two Flying Finns on the podium - how about that! After a tough start to the season, he was on pace with Seb throughout the weekend. It was very marginal, but hey, that's what one needs in Formula 1. I hope to see Kimi challenge Vettel in the future.
Vettel redeems himself
Such a massive change from last year, where all Vettel was known for were his extremely grumpy, foul-mouthed tirades on the radio. He's back to winning ways, and he's very happy. It's not the arrogant Red Bull Vettel either - this time he's genuinely cheerful and playful. I hope the 2017 Vettel continues into the future - this is the champion we want.
He lost out on the start - no fault of his own, it was just Bottas nailing the start and getting the tow. Mercedes were running a lower downforce setup, which further aided Valtteri's start. Seb didn't quite match the leading pace in the first stint, but managed to keep pace while going long. That gave him fresher tyres for the end of the race, and boy did he push hard! He gave it his best shot, but Valtteri held on.
Sochi's a bore
What can I say, this is a boring track. It's pretty interesting to see a single facility that hosted the Winter Olympics, will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and also has a Formula 1 track snaking through it all. But the track's just no good. The sweeping semi-circular Turn 3 is cool, but the rest of the track is pretty much straights with 90 degree corners. Was there a single overtake in today's race? I doubt it.
The surface is way too smooth, too perfect. Even the ultrasoft tyres go the distance. It was pretty amusing to see Vettel keeping pace with the frontrunners who had switched on to fresh supersofts, even after 30 laps. To be fair, Ferrari did make the most of it.
I blame Putin
It has become quite a tradition - Putin shows up at the last minute for the presentations. It's always fun to see him chat with the drivers in the green room. Yeah, he was pretty much boasting about how Russia is the fastest growing market for Formula 1. Bernie tagged along too - those two are buddies, aren't they? Makes sense... This track is going to be on the calendar for the foreseeable future - I guess it does bring in the dosh and political might.
McLaren woes continue
Or more accurately, Honda. The McLaren doesn't look half bad. Alonso claims they are losing 3 seconds on the straights, which does mean were it outfitted with a Mercedes engine it would be somewhere in the top 6.
Sadly, that Honda engine won't even start. Poor Alonso, yet another DNF, or indeed, a DNS. He must be anxious to head on to that Indy car...
They'll get it right, eventually. This team is too big to fail.
As for Sauber switching to Honda - well, can't be worse than running a year old Ferrari engines, right?
Tight midfield battle
I'd argue Red Bull are there own midfield right now. No where near the Mercs and Ferraris, but ahead of the rest. They were the chosen ones - Adrian Newey's men simply haven't designed a quick car. Newey's approach of elegance and simplicity over all is perhaps not the right approach for the new regulations. The Ferraris and Mercs have all kinds of appendages jutting out, and it seems to be working well. Like McLaren, I'm sure they'll get their act together, but it hasn't been a good start.
Behind them, it was very tight between the Force Indias, Hulkenberg and the Toro Rossos. Small margins, but the Force Indias won big at the start yet again. There's just something in that car that makes it jump off the line. Massa is the best of the midfield, of course - sorry to see that slow puncture. Once again, Stroll is not good enough. Let's give him more time, but he's no Mad Max.
We're back to Europe next round. It's been a pretty interesting start to the season - we just need the Red Bulls in the mix to spice things up!