 2021 Sochi Race 2
| ||
|---|---|---|
 The Sochi Autodrom in 2021 | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 26 September 2021 | |
| No. | 110 (17 of 2021) | |
| Event | Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix 2021
| |
| Location | Sochi Autodrom Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia | |
| Format | 170 km / 60 min (Feature Race) | |
| Lap length | 5.848 km (3.634 mi) | |
| Distance | 28 laps / 163.744 km (101.746 km) | |
| Qualifying Result | ||
| Pole Sitter |  Oscar Piastri
| |
| Team |  Prema Racing
| |
| Time | 1:47.465 | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver |  Liam Lawson
| |
| Team |  Hitech Grand Prix
| |
| Time | 1:50.917 on lap 20 | |
| Race Result | ||
| First | Second | Third |
| Oscar Piastri
|
 Théo Pourchaire
|
 Jehan Daruvala
|
| Winner Team | Prema Racing
| |
| Time | 53:20.402 | |
| Race Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
| 2021 Sochi Sprint Race
|
 2021 Jeddah Sprint Race 1
| |
The 2021 Sochi Feature Race, otherwise known as the 2021 Sochi Formula 2 Race 2, was the seventeenth race of the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship, staged at the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, on 26 September 2021.[1] The race would see Oscar Piastri win from pole position, controlling the race from the front barring a brief few moments behind Théo Pourchaire.[2]
Piastri had, for the third race in a row, secured pole position for the Feature Race in qualifying, the Australian rookie besting Jehan Daruvala with a late effort.[3] Pourchaire would also deliver a late effort to secure third ahead of Guanyu Zhou, who was half a second off of Piastri, with Ralph Boschung and Jake Hughes sharing the third row.[3]
Felipe Drugovich was ruled out of the race ahead of the start, the Brazilian racer declared unfit after his accident heading to the grid for the Sprint Race.[4] UNI-Virtuosi would not replace the Brazilian pilot for the Feature Race, meaning there would be 21 cars on the grid in completely dry conditions.[2]
At the start Piastri would dart into the lead, while Pourchaire got the jump on Daruvala to snatch second and leave the Indian pilot to fall to Boschung.[2] Behind the rest of the field plunged into the first chicane in their wake, with Roy Nissany spinning Bent Viscaal out of the race, while the sister Trident of Marino Sato had to take to the escape road with Lirim Zendeli.[2]
A Virtual Safety Car was called upon to remove Viscaal, although after a brief intervention the race resumed, with Piastri enhancing his lead at the head of the field.[2] Behind the order began to settle down, although Zhou was on the move in a bid to make amends for his poor start, picking his way back into the top five.[2]
Jüri Vips would be the second retirement of the day as he hit engine trouble on lap six, limping into the pits to retire, just as those on the medium tyres began to outpace those on the supersofts.[2] Indeed, Liam Lawson was on the march having dropped to twelfth in the opening laps, with the New Zealander breaking into the top six with quickfire moves on Richard Verschoor and Enzo Fittipaldi.[2]
Boschung, meanwhile, would be the first driver to pit to rid himself of the supers, with Piastri coming in on lap nine while Pourchaire gambled on trying an overcut on the Australian.[2] The Frenchman duly stopped a lap later and rejoined just ahead of Piastri, although on cold tyres Pourchaire was unable to prevent Piastri snatching the de facto lead at turn five.[2]
Those two would spend the next laps picking their way up through the drivers who were on the alternate strategy, headed by Lawson as the pace of those who started on the mediums was not that strong.[2] Indeed, with ten laps to go Lawson was in for supersofts, while Piastri was firing past de jure leader Guilherme Samaia to reclaim the lead on track and on strategy.[2]
Into the closing stages and Piastri was clear of Pourchaire, while the Frenchman had a sizeable advantage over third placed Boschung, who was struggling for grip as the race wore on.[2] A huge lock-up into turn thirteen would see the #21 Campos slide wide and hand third to Jehan Daruvala and cause a huge flat-spot on his front-left tyre, which duly caused a puncture for the Swiss pilot a few laps later.[2]
With that the race was run, with Piastri sweeping to a measured victory ahead of Pourchaire, while Daruvala kept Robert Shwartzman at arm's length to complete the podium.[2] Ticktum and Zhou were next up ahead of Lawson, who simply ran out of tyre life on the supersofts to mount a challenge but did take fastest lap, with Verschoor in eighth.[2] Christian Lundgaard and David Beckmann then rounded out the scorers, both aided by the late demise of Boschung.[2]
Background[]
The Sochi Autodrom was unchanged for the second and final FIA Formula 2 race of the weekend, with conditions a vast improvement compared to Saturday's running.[1] There would, however, be a change to the entry list, as Felipe Drugovich was forced to withdraw from the race after his heavy accident heading to the grid for the Sprint Race.[4] UNI-Virtuosi were able to repair the #4 car for after the Brazilian racer's accident, but did not replace Drugovich for the Feature Race.[4]
Stable Leads[]
Oscar Piastri had failed to score for the first time since the 2021 Baku Sprint Race 1, although the Australian racer's lead was still a fairly healthy fifteen points. Indeed, second placed Guanyu Zhou had also failed to score in the first race at Sochi, while third placed Robert Shwartzman had closed in on the lead duo with his home podium finish. Sprint winner Dan Ticktum had also gained ground in fourth ahead of Théo Pourchaire, with the Frenchman level on points with Jüri Vips.
In the Teams' Championship Prema Racing had increased their advantage to 72 points, as the Italian squad moved onto 272 points for the campaign. Behind, Carlin had moved up to second as they moved past the 200 point mark, displacing UNI-Virtuosi as Prema's closest challengers. Hitech Grand Prix were next up ahead of ART Grand Prix, while HWA Racelab had scored their first points since the opening round but remained at the foot of the table.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2021 Sochi Feature Race is displayed below:
- * Placeholder liveries are show for the second drivers in each team.
Practice[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying used the well established format for the FIA Formula 2 Championship, with a thirty minute session on Friday afternoon ahead of the Feature Race on Saturday.[3] All 22 drivers would venture onto the circuit during the session, and were allowed to complete as many laps as they could to set their qualifying time.[3] There was also a free choice of tyres, although drivers could not exceed their allocation of either compound of Pirelli tyres.[3]
Report[]
For the second race in succession it was Christian Lundgaard who led the field out of the pitlane as qualifying got underway, with all twenty-two drivers venturing onto the circuit in the first couple of minutes on the supersoft tyres.[3] The Dane would also lead the field onto their flying laps, with the first flurry seeing Ralph Boschung set the initial pace with a 1:48.130.[3] The field would then back off and complete a cool down lap to have a second run on the supersofts, with Lundgaard managing to drop back into the pack for the second runs.[3]
The second round of runs saw Guanyu Zhou hit the head of the timesheets, breaking into the 1:47.000s, with Oscar Piastri and Jehan Daruvala completing the top three.[3] The field then swept into the pits to have fresh tyres fitted for the second half of the session, with everyone back on track with ten minutes to go and enough time for two more runs.[3] The first bout on new tyres would see Piastri improve and overhaul Zhou to go fastest before the second cool-down laps, with Zhou and Daruvala having failed to improve.[3]
Into the final runs and Daruvala was the first to light up the timing screens, the #6 Carlin setting a new fastest first sector before going fastest with a 1:47.653.[3] Piastri was next across the line and would find two tenths on the Indian pilot to grab provisional pole, with Zhou chasing him across the line but failing to improve.[3] Théo Pourchaire would then dart into third in the final moments to relegate Zhou further down the order, while Robert Shwartzman, the lone Russian pilot in the field, secured seventh for his home race.[3]
Results[]
The final qualifying result for the 2021 Sochi Feature Race are outlined below:
| 2021 Sochi Feature Race Qualifying Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Ave. Speed | Grid |
| 1st | 2 | Oscar Piastri
|
Prema Racing
|
1:47.465 | — | 195.903 km/h | 1 |
| 2nd | 6 | Jehan Daruvala
|
Carlin
|
1:47.653 | +0.188s | 195.561 km/h | 2 |
| 3rd | 10 | Théo Pourchaire
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:47.891 | +0.426s | 195.130 km/h | 3 |
| 4th | 3 |  Guanyu Zhou
|
UNI-Virtuosi
|
1:47.994 | +0.529s | 194.944 km/h | 4 |
| 5th | 21 |  Ralph Boschung
|
 Campos Racing
|
1:48.024 | +0.559s | 194.890 km/h | 5 |
| 6th | 22 | Jake Hughes
|
 HWA Racelab
|
1:48.073 | +0.608s | 194.801 km/h | 6 |
| 7th | 1 | Robert Shwartzman
|
Prema Racing
|
1:48.098 | +0.633s | 194.756 km/h | 7 |
| 8th | 7 | Liam Lawson
|
Hitech Grand Prix
|
1:48.129 | +0.664s | 194.700 km/h | 8 |
| 9th | 8 |  Jüri Vips
|
Hitech Grand Prix
|
1:48.139 | +0.674s | 194.682 km/h | 9 |
| 10th | 5 | Dan Ticktum
|
Carlin
|
1:48.171 | +0.706s | 194.625 km/h | 10 |
| 11th | 17 | Marcus Armstrong
|
DAMS
|
1:48.190 | +0.725s | 194.590 km/h | 11 |
| 12th | 9 |  Christian Lundgaard
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:48.255 | +0.790s | 194.474 km/h | 12 |
| 13th | 4 |  Felipe Drugovich
|
UNI-Virtuosi
|
1:48.286 | +0.821s | 194.418 km/h | 13 |
| 14th | 20 | David Beckmann
|
Campos Racing
|
1:48.428 | +0.963s | 194.163 km/h | 14 |
| 15th | 11 |  Richard Verschoor
|
MP Motorsport
|
1:48.587 | +1.122s | 193.879 km/h | 15 |
| 16th | 24 | Bent Viscaal
|
Trident
|
1:48.662 | +1.197s | 193.745 km/h | 16 |
| 17th | 12 | Lirim Zendeli
|
MP Motorsport
|
1:48.785 | +1.320s | 193.526 km/h | 17 |
| 18th | 16 |  Roy Nissany
|
DAMS
|
1:48.989 | +1.524s | 193.164 km/h | 18 |
| 19th | 15 | Guilherme Samaia
|
 Charouz Racing System
|
1:49.226 | +1.761s | 192.745 km/h | 19 |
| 20th | 25 |  Marino Sato
|
Trident
|
1:49.339 | +1.874s | 192.546 km/h | 20 |
| 21st | 14 | Enzo Fittipaldi
|
Charouz Racing System
|
1:49.465 | +2.000s | 192.324 km/h | 21 |
| 22nd | 23 | Alessio Deledda
|
HWA Racelab
|
1:50.389 | +2.924s | 190.174 km/h | 22 |
| 107% Time: 1:54.987[6] | |||||||
| Source:[6] | |||||||
Grid[]
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | 1 | ______________ |
| Oscar Piastri | 2 | |
| ______________ | Jehan Daruvala | |
| Row 2 | 3 | ______________ |
| Théo Pourchaire | 4 | |
| ______________ | Guanyu Zhou | |
| Row 3 | 5 | ______________ |
| Ralph Boschung | 6 | |
| ______________ | Jake Hughes | |
| Row 4 | 7 | ______________ |
| Robert Shwartzman | 8 | |
| ______________ | Liam Lawson | |
| Row 5 | 9 | ______________ |
| Jüri Vips | 10 | |
| ______________ | Dan Ticktum | |
| Row 6 | 11 | ______________ |
| Marcus Armstrong | 12 | |
| ______________ | Christian Lundgaard | |
| Row 7 | 13 | ______________ |
| David Beckmann | 14 | |
| ______________ | Richard Verschoor | |
| Row 8 | 15 | ______________ |
| Bent Viscaal | 16 | |
| ______________ | Lirim Zendeli | |
| Row 9 | 17 | ______________ |
| Roy Nissany | 18 | |
| ______________ | Guilherme Samaia | |
| Row 10 | 19 | ______________ |
| Marino Sato | 20 | |
| ______________ | Enzo Fittipaldi | |
| Row 11 | 21 | ______________ |
| Alessio Deledda | 22 | |
| ______________ | Felipe Drugovich |
Race[]
Report[]
Results[]
The final classification of the 2021 Sochi Feature Race is displayed below:
| 2021 Sochi Feature Race Race Result | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Strat. | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 2 | Oscar Piastri
|
Prema Racing
|
28 | 53:20.402 |  -
|
1:51.566 | 29 |
| 2nd | 10 | Théo Pourchaire
|
ART Grand Prix
|
28 | +1.928s | -
|
1:51.256 | 18 |
| 3rd | 6 | Jehan Daruvala
|
Carlin
|
28 | +12.601s | -
|
1:51.319 | 15 |
| 4th | 1 | Robert Shwartzman
|
Prema Racing
|
28 | +14.485s | -
|
1:51.732 | 12 |
| 5th | 5 | Dan Ticktum
|
Carlin
|
28 | +18.058s | -
|
1:51.457 | 10 |
| 6th | 3 | Guanyu Zhou
|
UNI-Virtuosi
|
28 | +22.177s | -
|
1:51.179 | 8 |
| 7th | 7 | Liam Lawson
|
Hitech Grand Prix
|
28 | +30.596s | -
|
1:50.917 | 8 |
| 8th | 11 | Richard Verschoor
|
MP Motorsport
|
28 | +33.451s | -
|
1:51.662 | 4 |
| 9th | 9 | Christian Lundgaard
|
ART Grand Prix
|
28 | +37.775s | -
|
1:51.365 | 2 |
| 10th | 20 | David Beckmann
|
Campos Racing
|
28 | +39.118s | -
|
1:51.916 | 1 |
| 11th | 17 | Marcus Armstrong
|
DAMS
|
28 | +43.824s | -
|
1:51.537 | |
| 12th | 14 | Enzo Fittipaldi
|
Charouz Racing System
|
28 | +44.482s | -
|
1:51.937 | |
| 13th | 15 | Guilherme Samaia
|
Charouz Racing System
|
28 | +45.798s | -
|
1:51.141 | |
| 14th | 25 | Marino Sato
|
Trident
|
28 | +51.902s | -
|
1:51.264 | |
| 15th | 16 | Roy Nissany
|
DAMS
|
28 | +58.191s | -
|
1:51.727 | |
| 16th | 12 | Lirim Zendeli
|
MP Motorsport
|
28 | +1:08.370 | -
|
1:51.389 | |
| 17th | 23 | Alessio Deledda
|
HWA Racelab
|
28 | +1:24.953 | -
|
1:52.625 | |
| 18th | 22 | Jake Hughes
|
HWA Racelab
|
27 | +1 Lap | -
|
1:50.960 | |
| 19th* | 21 | Ralph Boschung
|
Campos Racing
|
25 | Puncture | -
|
1:51.668 | |
| Ret | 8 | Jüri Vips
|
Hitech Grand Prix
|
6 | Engine |
|
1:52.575 | |
| Ret | 24 | Bent Viscaal
|
Trident
|
0 | Collision |
|
— | |
| WD | 4 | Felipe Drugovich
|
UNI-Virtuosi
|
|||||
| Source:[6] | ||||||||
- Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
- Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
- * Boschung was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[6]
Milestones[]
- Third victory for Oscar Piastri.
- Prema Racing secured their 23rd victory as a Formula 2 entrant.
- Also Prema's 31st win at GP2/F2 level.
Standings[]
Come the end of the weekend in Sochi Oscar Piastri had been left in control of the Championship ahead of the ten week break to the final two rounds of the season, the Australian racer having moved onto 178 points. Guanyu Zhou had retained second but had slipped 36 points behind ahead of the enforced autumn break, while Robert Shwartzman held third a further seven behind. Dan Ticktum and Théo Pourchaire then completed the top five, 22 behind Zhou, with twenty drivers having scored.
In the Teams' Championship there was little chance of Prema Racing being overhauled even with two sets of three races to go, the Italian squad having secured 313 points to date. Carlin were their closest challengers, some 88 points behind, while UNI-Virtuosi occupied third on 201. Hitech Grand Prix were next up ahead of ART Grand Prix to complete the top five ahead of the final two rounds, while HWA Racelab had remained rooted to the top of the table.
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Only point scoring drivers are shown.
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 'FIA Formula 2 Championship 2021 season provisional calendar announced', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 10/11/2020), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/1lFF2lrhzJbOeFTnd2hPE4/fia-formula-2-championship-2021-season-provisional-calendar-announced, (Accessed 11/11/2020)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 'FEATURE RACE: Piastri extends Championship lead with Sochi victory ahead of Pourchaire', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 26/09/2021), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/2zT3Sgk1SmkY1aNlgwnss4/feature-race-piastri-extends-championship-lead-with-sochi-victory-ahead-of, (Accessed 03/04/2022)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 'QUALIFYING: Piastri beats Daruvala to Sochi pole with title rival Zhou in fourth', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 24/09/2021), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/2XaRrwRb221989mDSTQsiF/qualifying-piastri-beats-daruvala-to-sochi-pole-with-title-rival-zhou-in, (Accessed 03/04/2022)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 'Drugovich declared unfit for Sochi Feature Race', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 26/09/2021), https://www.fiaformula2.com/Latest/3k7gRU1aTcCpypZG0xCEKK/drugovich-declared-unfit-for-sochi-feature-race, (Accessed 03/04/2022)
- ↑ Archived, 'Teams and Drivers', fiaformula2.com, (FIA Formula 2, 2021), https://web.archive.org/web/20210816222954/https://www.fiaformula2.com/Teams-and-Drivers, (Accessed 27/03/2022) - Original
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Cite error: Invalid
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