On behalf of the entire Petrolholics crew, I would like to begin this Race Weekend Review by wishing Jules Bianchi a speedy recovery from his accident in Suzuka last weekend. Our thoughts are with Jules, his family, and his friends.

It was obvious during the interviews throughout the weekend that every driver held Jules Bianchi in the back of their minds. Some pilots seemed more affected than others, but, nonetheless, all were eager to get back on the track. Felipe Massa claimed that—since he could not remember Hungary 2009—Suzuka was the worst Grand Prix for him. Massa has even considered leaving the sport because of the crash. Comments like this filled the interviews and press conferences from the weekend, which created a strange atmosphere for the event that has not been seen in a while. Out of respect for Bianchi, Marussia chose to run only one car this weekend.

On the bright side, this weekend was a very interesting and unique Grand Prix event. Most obviously, it was the inaugural Russian Grand Prix, which also happens to be the home venue of Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat.

Practice

During the free practice sessions, it was obvious that there was no change in the Mercedes’ domination. Surprisingly, however, McLaren seemed very strong during the first two sessions, with Button at P3 in the first and Magnussen at P4 in the second.  Toro Rosso appeared to be very comparable with its parent team Red Bull Racing—sitting near the middle of the pack for each session. During the final free practice session, Williams showed that it still has the potential to be the best-of-the-rest behind the silver arrows. Although Fernando Alonso was somewhat competitive for Mercedes during the first two sessions, both world champion drivers at Scuderia Ferrari sat in the middle of the pack for the third. Force India seemed to have lost any advantage it had in the beginning of the season from the Mercedes power unit.

Qualifying

There were a few surprises during qualifying that were sure to make the race more interesting. Not surprisingly, Max Chilton, Pastor Maldonado, and the two Caterhams did not continue onto the second session; however, joining them was Felipe Massa, who qualified at P18 due to a supposed fuel pump issue. In the second session, the two Saubers, the two Force Indias, the other Lotus, and reigning world champ Sebastian Vettel were unsuccessful in their attempts to proceed to the final session.  Vettel’s performance was reminiscent of the first few races of the season. Both he and Kimi Räikkönen—who is rumored to be his teammate for the 2015 season—have struggled with the new formula. Räikkönen took P9 one spot behind his teammate, Fernando Alonso. Vettel’s teammate Daniel Ricciardo took P7, which was surprisingly poor for the only non-Mercedes winner of the season. As foreshadowed upon in the free practice sessions, McLaren placed surprisingly well, with Button and Magnussen in P4 and P6 respectively, although Magnussen had to serve a five place grid penalty for changing gearboxes. Russian Daniil Kvyat placed on the grid between the two McLaren drivers, which was an unsurprisingly good qualifying result for Toro Rosso—making for a great debut home Grand Prix. Of course, the two Mercedes drivers led the pack, although they were nearly robbed of pole position by Valtteri Bottas. During Bottas’s lap, he flew around the track setting the fastest times in the first two sectors; however, as a result of going deep into the last corner, Bottas lost crucial time and ended up behind the silver arrows in Q3. Hulkenberg and Chilton also served five place grid penalties for gearbox changes, and Maldonado served a penalty as a continuation from last week. Hamilton took pole.

Race

The race itself was not as interesting as one would expect with the fastest car being in the back of the grid. During the first lap, Nico Rosberb momentarily passed Lewis Hamilton, but soon went too deep into the second turn. This caused damage to Rosberg’s tires, forcing him to pit at the end of the first lap. It soon became clear that this would be the only pit stop he would have for the entire fifty-three lap race. The early pit stop dropped the German into last place, allowing his teammate Hamilton to coast around the track without pressure. Rosberg fought his way up the pack, temporarily leading Felipe Massa up a few positions. The silver arrow kept creeping up, while the Williams could not; Massa finished in eleventh. The other Williams remained relatively comfortable trailing Hamilton for the entire race, while native Daniil Kvyat was not as lucky. Kvyat dropped nine places throughout the race, finally landing in fourteenth. The middle of the pack remained relatively constant, with most drivers swapping places, but without any drastic changes. Romain Grosjean made contact with Adrian Sutil and caused the Sauber to spin; because of this clash, Grosjean was awarded a five-second penalty and two points on his license. The one Marussia retired from the race, along with Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi—who later stated that he did not know the reason for the retirement. Up near the front of the pack, Jenson Button valiantly held onto his position, ending in fourth. His teammate, Kevin Magnussen, regained the positions that he had lost from the penalty and eventually landed in fifth. Jenson Button and he were limited in their advancements, as Nico Rosberg regained second place within thirty laps. He could not catch his teammate though, and Lewis Hamilton ended with another race win.

This was the second time this season that Hamilton had won four races in a row, and the win increased the gap between the two Mercedes drivers in the Drivers’ Championship; however, there is more to today’s win.  This weekend’s results secured the Constructors’ Championship for the German team, which is their first title as Mercedes. The title should be no surprise, as the silver arrows have utterly dominated the rest of the pack the entire season.

Congratulation to Lewis Hamilton on his ninth win of the season and to his team, Mercedes AMG Petronas, on their championship title.