Valtteri Bottas tops FP1 ahead of the Russian Grand Prix

Valtteri Bottas showed his class around Sochi once more as he topped free practice one ahead of the Russian Grand Prix. Bottas, who has two wins around this circuit, was 0.211 seconds quicker than his teammate Lewis Hamilton in second, while the Brit's title rival Max Verstappen was a tad slower, 0.227 seconds behind Bottas.

A circuit that clearly suits Bottas' driving style, Sochi treated the Finn well again, and he looked imperious throughout the session. The only man who rivalled him for top spot was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who was fastest in the very early running. The Monegasque driver ended up in P4, 0.690 seconds behind the leader, the only other driver under a second slower than Bottas.

Sebastian Vettel impressed in the Aston Martin, ending up fifth, while Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Sergio Perez, and Fernando Alonso rounded off the top 10.

After winning last time out in Monza, Daniel Ricciardo ended the session down in a disappointing 14th.

As it happened

The Ferrari of Carlos Sainz was the first car out on track, with the Spaniard setting a lap time over 3.0 seconds slower than his teammate Charles Leclerc. However, the former McLaren driver managed to close the gap on their second runs, but after 13 minutes, it was Leclerc who topped the session.

With a new engine in the back of his Ferrari, the Monegasque driver looked quick around Sochi, and bettered both Mercedes driver in the early stages of FP1. Valtteri Bottas then toppled Leclerc, but it was an encouraging sign for the Ferrari team. 

However, Mercedes looked imperious. Max Verstappen was able to better both Lewis Hamilton and Bottas after 20 minutes of the session, but the Dutchman completed his lap on the soft tyre, while both Merc drivers were on the hards. Once Hamilton and Bottas also put on the softs, the Finn went over a second quicker than Verstappen, while Hamilton was around 0.9 seconds clear at the halfway point of the session.

The Virtual Safety Car was then briefly deployed to remove some loose debris on the track, but other than that, very little changed. Sainz remained near the high-end of the standings, behind his teammate, Verstappen and the two Mercedes', as well as an impressive Sebastian Vettel, who was P5 with 20 minutes remaining, 1.354 seconds behind the leader Bottas.

Every driver except Bottas and Fernando Alonso was then on the soft tyre, burning up that rubber, and trying to gain as much data as possible. 

Verstappen closed in on the Mercedes drivers after setting a purple middle sector, with his time good enough for P3, and 0.227 seconds slower than Bottas in P1.

In the other Honda powered team, Pierre Gasly once again was showing Yuki Tsunoda how to do it, setting a time exactly 2.0 seconds quicker than his Japanese teammate. Gasly was up in 6th, while Tsunoda was down in 16th.

With the order not altering much at all, it became clear that every driver was completing race runs, in preparation for the wet weather and lack of data expected for Saturday.

After the session had ended, Lando Norris revealed "I've just crashed", long after the chequered flag had been waved.

Ferrari look strong

After they suffered a blow in their battle with McLaren last time out, Ferrari now look quicker than the papaya team. Around the Sochi circuit, both Leclerc and Sainz were quicker than their counterparts, and with a new engine, Leclerc especially looked rapid. The Monegasque already has two pole positions to his name this season, and while that's a feat unlikely to happen again, he could easily be on the second row for the start on Sunday if FP1 is anything to go by.

Final standings

Mercedes are looking strong again in Sochi #RussianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/PSFv1WS6UK

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 24, 2021