F1Everything is going as well as possible for German Nico Rosberg. The classification of the Russian Grand Prix was a new episode in the Mercedes team turnaround that has given the situation a new pace within the competition. If last year, all problems seemed to affect the German pilot, this season have issues have moved shop next door to his teammate, Lewis Hamilton.

While Rosberg achieved unquestionably the top position on the starting grid with sheer strength, Hamilton suffered a new problem in the power unit that prevented him from leaving the track in the third round of qualifying and will start from the tenth place.

The second fastest time was at the hands of Sebastian Vettel, but the German from the Ferrari team was penalized five positions for changing the gearbox. Therefore, he will start from the seventh position, leaving his place in the front line to the Finn Valtteri Bottas Williams.

The ones further behind are Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, followed by Ricciardo and Perez. The battle between Ferrari and Williams to become the second best team in the World behind the untouchable Mercedes squad, is a hard job, now even tougher when British cars are getting closer to the Maranello team.

The point is without Hamilton in the horizon and Vettel away from the front lines, the race is comfortably laid out for Rosberg. The German has so far won the three races that have been disputed and has now an advantage of 36 points over teammate, Hamilton.

A very substantial difference considering that 75 points is the most anyone can have at this point. If no mistakes are made on Rosberg’s side and Mercedes does not suffer any mechanical problems, it seems unlikely that any of his rivals can dispute what would be his fourth victory of the year and the seventh consecutive, if we add the last three last season. The German has strengthened his mentality and everything around him seem to have been divinely put together for him to have no issues taking the win. “If I can keep my Mercedes in one piece, I think I can do a good race. But still do not know what place I will go out tomorrow, ” added Hamilton.

As the Mercedes team establishes itself in the top, things have definitely changed in the McLaren team and this became apparent when both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button escaped without difficulty in the first round of qualifying. In the second, they found the cars that are now competing with them and succumbed again in their attempt to qualify in the top 10.

Both Button and Alonso were looking for a good time until the last minute, raising expectations. But in the end, the rise of the two from Red Bull, namely Daniel Ricciardo and Kvyat Daniil, who took the last two places on the round, knocking off the two McLarens. Button will start on the 12th position and the Spaniard was bumped back to the 14th spot.

“It will be difficult, starting far behind,” Alonso said. “We are still at a stage where we have no possibility to ensure Q3”. With only two tenths more they would have been among the top ten, but this was not the case. The strategy is clear for everyone. A single stop seems the preferred option. And now they need the maximum amount of time reprieved in which tires they decide to start the next race.

The escalation of the Red Bulls also affected Madrid’s Carlos Sainz decisively. The Toro Rosso driver seemed to have virtually secured the tenth place in the second round, but ended up staying out only from a five hundredths of a second difference, the time it took Kvyat.

Sainz will go out in the eleventh position. Instead, his teammate, Max Verstappen did manage the time to be in the final round of qualifying. And then he benefited from the problems in Hamilton’s car, allowing Verstappen to start from the ninth position.

The British – who was called out by for a strange maneuver in the workshop-, will start from the tenth position. “We had more than enough time to be in Q3, but I have met with Kvyat, that was behind me from the start and kicked me out in the end. I think we have a good chance to be in the points in the race. “

 

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