Sochi, 11 October – Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen set the eighth and ninth fastest times in qualifying, but will both move up one place on the grid of the first Russian Grand Prix, because of a gearbox-change penalty for Kevin Magnussen. Not the best of results, but not the worst either, as this new circuit proved from Friday practice onwards that it was going to deliver a slightly different pecking order to usual.
Yes, the front row is the usual Mercedes lock-out, with Lewis Hamilton taking his seventh pole of the season to stay ahead of Nico Rosberg, but for a moment, it looked as though the number one slot would go to Williams, as Valtteri Bottas posted the fastest times in the first two sectors, before overcooking it at the final corner. But it was good enough for third. Jenson Button, who had an excellent race in Suzuka last Sunday proved that the McLarens are enjoying a mini revival right now as the Englishman was fourth fastest. One might have expected Daniil Kvyat to be particularly motivated in his home grand prix, but the Russian was helped by the fact that Toro Rosso have been the best of the Renault-powered cars all weekend and he will start from fifth on the grid. With Magnussen dropping to eleventh, Daniel Ricciardo is sixth for Red Bull so that the two F14 Ts line up together on row 4.
With both the Medium and Soft tyre showing no signs of wear, a one-stop strategy is the logical way to go, apart for the quickest cars that might enjoy the luxury of two stops. But the single visit to pit lane is even more of a certainty for the majority, as the narrowness of the pit lane has prompted the Race Director to reduce the pit lane speed from 80 to 60 km/h.
Whatever happens in the inaugural Russian Grand Prix, every member of the Scuderia will be doing its utmost to produce a good result, for all the usual reasons with the further impetus of wanting to send out a positive message for Ferrari Driver Academy and Marussia driver Jules Bianchi.