Rate the race: 2014 Russian Grand Prix

2014 Russian Grand Prix

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What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Russian Grand Prix.

F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought of every race during the season.

Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2014 Russian Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (2%)
  • 9 (1%)
  • 8 (2%)
  • 7 (6%)
  • 6 (12%)
  • 5 (20%)
  • 4 (18%)
  • 3 (18%)
  • 2 (11%)
  • 1 (12%)

Total Voters: 721

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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See the results for past seasons here:

2014 Russian Grand Prix

Browse all 2014 Russian Grand Prix articles

Image © Sauber

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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270 comments on “Rate the race: 2014 Russian Grand Prix”

  1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    12th October 2014, 13:35

    4.
    Easily the worst race of the season. Literally nothing happened.
    Very strong drive by Lewis and very nice recovery by Rosberg.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      12th October 2014, 13:52

      Out of interest, what deserves a 1 – 3 then!?

      1. I”d give 3, Why not 1-2 is ‘coz of first couple of laps, Rosbergs 52 lap drive, and most importantly “no one crashed” into barriers etc. – Very cautious by drivers after Suzuka.

      2. Did you watch the 2005 United States Grand Prix? Or last years WEC 6 Hours of Fuji? What if last week’s Japanese GP didn’t get restarted after the first red flag and the results were declared after 2 laps?

        I’ve never understood why people are so willing to give a race a 1 or 2 just because it was boring. Sure, it wasn’t exciting, but as long as you get a full Grand Prix distance with a full grid of cars then I can’t see how you can give the race a minimum score. If this race deserves a 1/10 then how would you rank the 2005 US GP?

        1. I believe @tophercheese21 said, “Easily the worst race of the season,” not of the entire F1 history. Just pointing out the fact.
          I also gave the Russian GP a 2. It was boring except for the first lap and ROS’s damage limitation.

    2. Certainly not the worst. Better than I thought but the first corner was ridiculous half the field cut the chicane and then hovered around waiting to drop one position, also perhaps more importantly Nico keeps messing it up against Lewis, Nico has had since the summer break many chances to prove his qualifying pace but today the only chance he had was possibly turn 1 or perhaps late on the mediums, as that as been an advantage of his of late. In the end I miss the start of the season with both drivers challenging each other.

    3. 1/10 race had to be cancelled. Putler to blame

    4. Completely agree with you Chris!

    5. it’s not a “recovery” when you can set fastest laps on 50 lap old tyres. If he had to 2 stop then made it back to 2nd then it would be a recovery but if he had stopped again he would of been luck to score any points just like Massa

  2. Utter snoozefest. I thought after qualy we would be in for a decent race, but Valencia Mk2 really hasn’t succeeded.

    1. @mouse_nightshirt agree… even after the first couple of laps… but then DRS kicked in yo, race settled and it was even worse that one of the contenders took himself out of contention in such a stupid way…

      so yeah, a 3 for me.

    2. so boring… words fail me.

      1. it wasn’t that bad. i think this year has just been really good (apart from a few duds at the beginning). people are so quick to judge.

  3. Very boring race, couldn’t stay focused on this one… This season is going to sleep, so it seems.

    1. Yes. The track is actually better than I was expecting but it failed to produce a cracking race… Nico’s over ambitious move might have contributed to the outcome, a battle fro P1 throughout the race would have made it more interesting.

      1. Poor tyre choice compared to other tracks. The fact Rosberg did almost the entire race on one set and was still matching Bottas at the end showed just how bad.

  4. 3.

    I mean, first two laps were fun, but really after that nothing happened. Most interesting after that were a few overtakes, and the trading of FLAPS with Bottas, Rosberg and Hamilton.

    1. What I will say is that it was pretty much an identical race to those during the Schumacher dominance, but with more overtakes. So maybe a 3 is slightly critical, but back in that day, the circuits were better. I don’t think Sochi is terrible, but it’s not good.

  5. You think Mercedes winning the constructors championship is an archievement? I just watched the entire 2014 Russian Grand Prix, beat that.

  6. Yawn… 3 (well I suppose they can’t all be good)

  7. On par with China and malaysia, aka very boring.

  8. Actually fell asleep watching it

    1. lol, same here (first time in 20 years.. O:)

      1. I watched it in Mexico at 5:00 am, i was sleep after the first 10 laps. Good think i didn’t miss anything

  9. I was considering to give a 5, but with the presence of Putin, my vote was a 4. But, beside that, this so called GP was a completely fraud, as tyres didn’t have no influence what so ever. Too bad imo.

    1. Yeah, pit in lap 1 and you still can get a purple in your last few laps

      1. The final few laps, the feed constantly cut to Putin. And he was hanging around the green room afterwards, no wonder the drivers were so quiet. Hideous.

        I gave the race a 2, up from a 1 because at least the grand stands were full.

        1. A real feel of ‘shake his hand or else.’ Ecclestone dragging down Formula 1 another notch.

          1. petebaldwin (@)
            12th October 2014, 14:03

            It was a step too far today. F1 not involved in politics? Sure….

          2. Exactly, I don’t see a problem holding a Grand Prix in Russia (the oil dictatorships, more so) but I do see a problem allowing so much publicity for Putin with cut aways during the race to him arriving, being serenaded, etc. The same goes for any politician, though for me much more so in his case given the political repression evident in Russia and its destabilization of other countries (though that goes for the US, the UK, France, China etc. too).

          3. This race was a disgrace, F1 just gave credibility and more power to Putin, doesn’t anyone see that. I’m sorry but Obama is not going to show up in Texas to promote his agenda it’s not the same.

          4. Hamilton seemed to blank him at first. Was disappointed when he finally turned round and shook his hand…

          5. :-) Well he assassinates people with radioactive substances. Best to just force a smile, shakes hands, say something generic and move on.

  10. First 5 laps were mental, the rest was ****.

    1. That reminds me of Kimi’s opinion regarding the Abu Dhabi circuit. Have to agree with that assessment.

  11. 4. Pirellis were too good!

    1. Agreed, races like these make us realise the importance of Pirelli’s ‘made to degrade’ tyres

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        12th October 2014, 13:50

        I don’t think it’s a matter of the Pirelli’s being too durable. It’s just that the track doesn’t promote good, wheel to wheel racing.

        Look at COTA in 2012, the tyres were even more durable, and it was a fantastic race!

        1. Mr win or lose
          12th October 2014, 13:56

          Look at COTA in 2012, the tyres were even more durable, and it was a fantastic race!

          I don’t think Schumacher would have agreed with that. The tyres were good, but the two-compound rule isn’t.

        2. @tophercheese21 No shortage of passing in GP2 or GP3..

          1. Indeed. Especially GP3 has seen pretty boring races this year, one of the culprits being that the chassis isn’t really good for overtaking.
            But then at Sochi the race came alive to easily produce one of the best GP3 races I’ve seen this year. The last few laps were great and the very last lap was incredible.

      2. Yes, a good reminder of what most races would be like if the tyres didn’t degrade.

        1. I actually think it was the fuel saving that made this race boring. Not the tyres.

  12. 1/10. Just for seeing Putin in the race.

    1. Indeed, the race should not have even happened.

      1. Why you think so? People in Russia dont deserve F1 in your opinion?

        1. Putin doesn’t

    2. I can relate

    3. I can’t but feel this race is getting rated unfairly low just because the Western world dislikes Russia and Putin.

      1. What was that charade at the beginning with the national anthem?

      2. I agree completely. It certainly skews the results and makes it unfair. If I’m honest the most interesting part of the race was Putin talking to the drivers and handing the trophies out lol

      3. I am sorry but i don’t look at politics when watching Sports. If i ever do that i can stop watching. I gave a 3 for the race because:
        1. wrong tyres should be ultra soft and soft
        2. Circuit is not demanding for the tyres at all and overtaking is difficults too narrow in some parts which could great to overtake.
        3. overtaking i didn’t see any good (maybe Rosberg surprising Bottas) only several tries.
        4. no high speed corners which every circuit should have one
        5. i had hope the several 90 degree turns would wreck havok on brakes but the speeds were too low for that.

  13. 4. They should go with supersoft/soft instead

  14. For some reason the vote button doesn’t work for me. I’ll cast my vote later, which is a full two points. This race was bad, I genuinely feel bad as I’ve convinced a friend of mine to watch the race. If you’d tie down a hyperactive kid and make him watch a replay of the race, he’d fall asleep in less than 10 laps. Horrible, horrible, 2nd coming of the Valencia circuit.

    1. Ditto, I can’t vote for some reason either, also agree this is like the second coming of Valencia.

      1. ColdFly F1 (@)
        12th October 2014, 14:14

        Seems Russian cyber police is blocking the voting, until they find a way to rig it.

        1. They learn from the best

          1. @gicu @alanore @coldfly @maksutov @bascb @gregwtravels @greg-c @george @bascb @alanore

            Apologies, should be working now. I can confirm the problem existed no matter what you tried to enter!

        2. I tried a 10 to see if it was true (surely that vote would be allowed if it were them), but even that doesn’t work, so its probably just some issue @coldfly

          1. ColdFly F1 (@)
            12th October 2014, 15:20

            @bascb, they got your vote – 10 is at 3% after 28votes. Must be 1 vote; can only be your test!

          2. ha, @coldfly, I guess others must have tried it (4-5 of them), its not mine, as I can still cast a more measured vote :-)

    2. Same here.

      1. you cant vote minus- guys .

    3. I have the same issue – neither the “vote” button nor the “view results” works for me, despite being logged in @keithcollantine

      1. Same here.

  15. 5/10
    I guess I was expecting too much after the GP3 and GP2 races. The gaps between team mates (i.e. equal machinery) were too big, therefore the only battles we saw had predictable outcomes. Rosberg’s mistake could have made for a thrilling finish but he was too good to recover!

    1. Rosberg was lucky the tyres could so easily last the whole race. Now his blunder hardly cost him anything. He simply made his pitstop a “bit” earlier.

    2. I think a 5 is still quite high for it!

    3. I felt 5 as well, the first ten or so laps were pretty entertaining I thought with some great racing, after that the field really spread out though. I was a little disappointed Rosberg didn’t have any trouble at the end of the race, it was like a reverse of Vettel at Monza a few years ago.

      I think it was a race to show the advantages of the degrading tyres we’ve taken somewhat for granted, I was very much reminded of the Bridgestone era races.

  16. Fikri Harish (@)
    12th October 2014, 13:42

    A little bit too conservative on the tyres there methinks. Still, it’s really nice to see cars going side-by-sde on Turn 4. Really nice corner that.

    1. a “little bit” is VERY nicely put. lol…. I don’t think they EVER got it this wrong…. I reckon they could have finished the race on the softs they started on.

      1. And that was the only reason this race wasn’t the big succes it could’ve been.

    2. Funny not to hear the usual winging about degrading tyres we often get from the “golden era of F1” brigade. Tyres play a part in keeping it intersting, but in this case teh track had waaaay too many long straights that just filtered out the cars by performance. It was like watching a P1 session at Valencia (snoooze)…

  17. 4. Very dull race unfortunately.

  18. Nico seems to be choking. There’s been no battle for a win since Spa.

    1. I’m also sick of the fuel conservation. They should increase the fuel flow and total fuel and let them turn the engines up. The circuit had potential, but everyone was in cruise mode after lap 5.

      1. Great point @slowhands

        the tyres were not to durable,
        Who could push,

        on board shots of Lewis saw him in cruise mode,

        a couple of passing attempts, ie Vergne, but radio comms for others saying fuel critical.

        How can you go fast when you cant burn the fuel?

    2. Since Spa? The last battle for the win was in Bahrein.

  19. 3/10 – zzz… .The only action we had was to check if Rosberg could sustain2nd . overall disappointing and the track looks good. Pirelli messed up.

  20. 4/10. Most boring race of the 2014 season. Still, it was better than the whole of last season. :D

  21. 1/10. Rosberg overtaking Bottas forcing him off the track but no 5 sec penalty like Magnussen. And seeing Putin “the puta” just makes me vomit.

    1. How can this even happen? Huge disrispect to all of F1 community, they get all very sensitive about one of their guys suffering an accidental injury, but will happaly entertain and humor the murder of thousnds of his own citizens and those of neigbohring nations. Makes me vomit aswell.

  22. Bridgestone/10

  23. 2/10 Sleeping would have been a better use of my time. If sorts lasted the entire race, then bringing ssoft+soft next year isn’t going to make any difference. This is a bad track for racing.

  24. didn’t think the race was too bad to be honest, Yes it wasn’t action packed but there was some overtaking going on & the early laps in particular were brilliant.

    The GP2 races were both fantastic & both featured lots of overtaking so the reletive lack of in the F1 race is clearly not because of the track, Its more down to the F1 cars, Tyres & fuel management which spread everyone out.

    1. This is what had me thinking. It really feels like fuel economy and difference in engines played the most prominent role in this race. GP2 and GP3 really showed that racing can be good here.

  25. I see a lot of negative votes. Sad really as this race was just nothing more than an average race. It really isn’t needed to give it anything under a six. There was plenty of normal overtaking as we have seen on many other tracks. That long left hander surely proved an asset to the calender. I’m not saying this was the best race of the season but the fact it wasn’t the best hardly had anything to do with the actual track lay-out.

    It wasn’t the processional race everyone thought it was going to be. Every fight ended with an actual overtake. The difference between the drivers, or should I say cars, was just to big to really have on track battles. The fact Pirelli came with the most conservative tyres possible was also not really helping the spectacle. If this race had been run on the super soft everyone would’ve complained how the tyres didn’t last.

    My conclusion is the average F1 is very bias and rarely content. It can’t all be spectacle and overtakes gallore. This was a very decent race which would get a normal 7 by most people if it was not in Russia and some other irelevant excuses to downvote the race.

    1. I couldn’t care less if it were in Russia or my backyard. A dull race is a dull race no matter where it is held. The first 5 laps were fantastic, but interesting moments were few and far between after that.

      I was super critical of this track earlier in the weekend and I must say I’ve retracted much of that criticism since then, although the novelty of curved straight into tight corners wore off very quickly and killed a lot of possible close racing.

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      12th October 2014, 14:06

      Not worth anything less than a 6!? What are you considering a 1? A really bad F1 race or going to the shops?

      1 is a bad F1 race and 10 is an amazing F1 race. If today didn’t deserve below a 6, what does!?

    3. Word mate. Many comments _are_ biased.

    4. Sorry to disturb your argument there @xtwl, but races that were about as exciting as this one rather averaged at 5,something so far on F1F, not a 7, its not because of Russia.

      It might be because of the folly of building a completely new track that has too tight a pitlane, needs SC on track (or red flags during FP sessions) for each and any car that gets stranded on track and then loading it up with an extra bunch of 90° corners when there would have been all the room in the world to try and make something exciting. At least Abu Dhabi tried a gimmick with the strange pitlane entry. But the excitement factor from the track is about lvl.
      And the political/money background tends to pull that race down too, because really apart from getting a lot of money from it, there isn’t much reason to go to the place.

      Sure, a couple of years back a majority of races were like processional like this. But most of us are glad that racing has been better recently, so that is not an argument to say this was an average race either.

  26. It is almost midnight in my part of the world. I’ve wasted 91 minutes of my life watching the race that I’m not even going to cast a vote because I can’t rate 0.

  27. This is what comes of all the bitching about Pirellis.

    They tried to do the right thing, and got a kicking for it, so they’ve seen the same light that Bridgestone saw.

    1. i fully agree with your comment,
      first we have tires dont last long enough,
      now for the first time they can last a race and what are the consequences? BORING.

  28. Actually, I will knock that down to a three, because of Vladmir Stalin’s appearance.

    1. Surely you meant Putin.Stalin is Logn gone

      1. Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
        12th October 2014, 22:34

        I think it was a metaphor…

  29. Race wasn’t brilliant but i’ve seen far worse, There was at least some overtaking at times through the race.

    I also don’t think it was really totally down to the track, Fuel consumption was high so everyone was managing that, They were also managing tyres a bit through the 1st stint & both saw the field spread out a lot.

    I also don’t think FOM helped as they missed a lot of the good racing/overtaking that was happening. For instance we saw nothing of Rosberg/Massa coming through the field early on & in the closing laps Massa was right on the back of Perez (Which I was watching on one of Sky’s OnBoard feeds) yet FOM kept showing cars with bigger gaps between them & it was the same through most of the mid-part of the race.

    I gave it 7/10.

    1. Gave it a 7/10 aswell. It was a very decent race. It only shows how bias a lot of F1 fans can really be. I mean, you seriously voting less because the president of a country came to the race…

      1. Obviously, I must agree since I gave it a 7 too…

      2. “7 out of 10” and “decent” are oxymorons

    2. +1. There were several more boring races in 2011 and early 2012.

  30. Can’t seem to vote, but it’s a 3 for me.
    After the start it just felt like nothing happened. I don’t know if it was the coverage or if I just wasn’t paying enough attention, while I knew things were happening I don’t remember seeing them – e.g. Rosberg coming through the field.

    I had a similar feeling during qualifying yesterday, I struggled to feel the excitement.

  31. 5. It was mostly a boring race, But it was interesting seeing Rosberg overtake the field, and Putin at a F1 event.

  32. 4/10 – I gave it points because I enjoyed qualifying, and it was interesting to see Nico manage to go the entire race on one set of tyres (just for the technical achievement).

    The rest, though, was very dull. If it hadn’t been for Twitter and the Live Feed here at F1Fanatic, would have likely have fallen asleep.

  33. 10 for Bathurst in Australia today, 1 for Sochi – what a boring race.

    1. 11 for bathurst for me,

      1. The hour stoppage let me install hand rails in the staircase and hang the washing out .

  34. petebaldwin (@)
    12th October 2014, 13:55

    2 for me. I can’t remember being that bored watching F1 before…. It could have been worse I suppose – people could have been hurt for example – but frankly, that is the benchmark for terrible races.

    Sadly, because Bernie’s best mate appears to be heavily involved, I can see this going the way of Abu Dhabi and being promoted to one of the premium events.

  35. I can’t vote for some reason?! Would’ve got 4/10 for the snoozefest, and pushed down to 3/10 for the abysmal cuts to Bernie and Putin :( I thought it wasn’t about politics?

  36. I’m so disappointed in Rosberg.

    After Bahrain, I really thought we’d see a season-long battle between him and Hamilton, with many exciting races as a result. When mechanical problems haven’t denied us that opportunity, Rosberg has almost always messed it up. Today he was lapping faster than Hamilton at the end of the race, but was too far back to challenge for the lead because of the unforced error he made right at the start. In Italy he had to use the escape road on two occasions so Hamilton didn’t even have to pass him on the track. In Belgium it was Rosberg’s fault that the two of them collided. And so on.

    The only way I can see Hamilton not winning this title now is a mechanical failure in Abu Dhabi. Regardless of where your loyalties lie, you have to admit that would be a travesty. I’m not Hamilton’s biggest fan myself, but he’s won 9 races to Rosberg’s 4 and still has one DNF more. He has proven himself to be the better driver. Mental strength is a big part of that, and I never would have thought I’d be saying that about Hamilton a couple of years ago.

    With a fight at the front this could have been a great race. As it happened, it was pretty dull. There were some exciting moments at the start but it was pretty processional after that. 4/10.

    1. 100% agree with everything you’ve said.

  37. Don’t see why people are giving it 1-4’s?

    There was overtaking, There was a good amount of close racing & I on the whole quite enjoyed the race on this nice new circuit :)

    It may be true we didn’t see as much action as in other races this year but its not as if there was no overtaking, as if there was no good racing or anything…. There was plenty at periods during the race.

    I’d give it 7-10, Not brilliant but not so bad & plenty going on to keep me entertained through my lunchtime :)

    1. I honestly struggle to see how you could debate that there was action. There was very, very little going on. It was a 2008 style procession.

      If you were reviewing this alongside Bridgestone races, i’d maybe give it a 5 or a 6, but i’d be interested to hear your reviews for something like Bahrain this season, which was an easy 9.

      It’s just baffling how you could see today’s race as being 2 points behind that.

      1. “There was very, very little going on”

        There was stuff going on, I had the onboard cameras feeds from sky on my ipad & there was a lot more close racing & more overtaking going on than was shown on the main tv feed.
        on the main tv feed they spent lots of time showing cars with nobody around them, yet on the onboard camera feeds there were cars running close together, cars overtaking & a good level of good racing going on.

        Regarding Bahrain I didn’t find that as exciting as others because of DRS. I cannot stand DRS passing when its stupidly easy & also cannot stand it when most of the ‘racing’ is boring because of the DRS as well as the role the tyre wear usually play.
        Bahrain had its interesting points, But most of it was DRS/Tyre related & I just don’t find that sort of Non-racing that fun to watch.

        This race was much more pure as was the racing, DRS wasn’t too powerful, It wasn’t tyre dominated & the overtaking we saw was for the most part real overtaking & I appreciate that far more than the fake DRS/Pirelli led boring passing.

        1. Agreed totally.

        2. I really don’t recall there being many passes on the Bridgestones. It’s very easy to romanticise on older racing, but the Bridgestones were just awful. The whole backward philosophy of a manditory pitstop for no reason was so silly.

          It just brings back memories of Vettel being 5 seconds ahead after a lap or two, then stopping on the last lap just because he has to.

          I massively enjoyed 2012. I loved how the teams just couldn’t work out the tyres. It completely took both the teams, and the drivers out of their comfort zones and made them all use their brains. They couldn’t rely on thousands of gigabytes worth of data from yesteryear.

          It goes back to what I was saying earlier about F1 always chasing science, but I felt bulletproof tyres were a fine example of science overtaking F1. While it’s impressive, it’s completely boring and effectively bins the idea of tyre life, and the need to make a stop, which is an integral part of F1 and should remain that way.

          Sometimes you need to make a comprimise.

          People talk about the DNA of F1, and how you shouldn’t do this because it should always be about new technologies. Trouble is, it’s not feasible. Look at the Adrian Newey designed Red Bull car in the Gran Turismo game (where GT asked him to design the ultimate F1 car, with no limits). Comprimises have to be made.

          I think tyres that are the same for everyone that allow the idea of strategy and driving style to play a part are great for the sport (as WELL as the ‘show’), as it allows teams to play a part, too. But DRS I could massively do without.

          I can’t think of one ‘epic’ DRS pass. It doesn’t compute.

          However, I can enjoy a battle between two guys – one on slightly newer tyres, one on scrubbed tyres, no DRS. Bottom line is, it’s down to the drivers and how they managed said tyres, and down to the teams in how they carry out their strategy.

          Sorry for the long-winded response, but i’m basically saying that I partially agree with you.

          And that’s fair enough regarding the on-board footage – I didn’t have that (stupid Sky). I can see how it’d benefit your enjoyment. I used to do it in the BBC days of excellent coverage, and it made even a dull race, fun.

        3. Good point about FOM doing a great job of not showing us the action that was there @ecwdanselby

  38. **Vote button not working**

    3. Fun first lap, JEV around T3 was fun. That was it.

    Pirelli set them up to fail here, unfortunately. It was a Bridgestone race, and a stark reminder of why we need tyres that are designed to degrade. F1 always used to chase science, and science ended up overtaking F1 with bulletproof tyres. I’m not one for ‘the show’, but you have to come up with a compromise, and Pirelli did that, although not today.

    1. Bridgestone’s durable tyres of 2010 provided us with more overtaking than had been seen in F1 since 1989.

      Drivers could push hard, They could race hard & we got a lot of REAL overtaking.

      The fake high-deg tyres seen since 2011 have been terrible to watch, I hardly watch F1 anymore because of the Pirelli rubbish tyres (As well as DRS). Watching drivers defenceless on older tyres or on a slower compound is about as exciting/interesting as every DRS highway pass.

      More durable tyres please!!!!

      1. I really don’t recall there being many passes on the Bridgestones. It’s very easy to romanticise on older racing, but the Bridgestones were just awful. The whole backward philosophy of a manditory pitstop for no reason was so silly.

        It just brings back memories of Vettel being 5 seconds ahead after a lap or two, then stopping on the last lap just because he has to.

        I massively enjoyed 2012. I loved how the teams just couldn’t work out the tyres. It completely took both the teams, and the drivers out of their comfort zones and made them all use their brains. They couldn’t rely on thousands of gigabytes worth of data from yesteryear.

        It goes back to what I was saying earlier about F1 always chasing science, but I felt bulletproof tyres were a fine example of science overtaking F1. While it’s impressive, it’s completely boring and effectively bins the idea of tyre life, and the need to make a stop, which is an integral part of F1 and should remain that way.

        Sometimes you need to make a comprimise.

        People talk about the DNA of F1, and how you shouldn’t do this because it should always be about new technologies. Trouble is, it’s not feasible. Look at the Adrian Newey designed Red Bull car in the Gran Turismo game (where GT asked him to design the ultimate F1 car, with no limits). Comprimises have to be made.

        I think tyres that are the same for everyone that allow the idea of strategy and driving style to play a part are great for the sport (as WELL as the ‘show’), as it allows teams to play a part, too. But DRS I could massively do without.

        I can’t think of one ‘epic’ DRS pass. It doesn’t compute.

        However, I can enjoy a battle between two guys – one on slightly newer tyres, one on scrubbed tyres, no DRS. Bottom line is, it’s down to the drivers and how they managed said tyres, and down to the teams in how they carry out their strategy.

        Sorry for the long-winded response, but i’m basically saying that I partially agree with you.

        And that’s fair enough regarding the on-board footage – I didn’t have that (stupid Sky). I can see how it’d benefit your enjoyment. I used to do it in the BBC days of excellent coverage, and it made even a dull race, fun.

        1. **Oops – I replied to the wrong post!**

  39. 6.5 for me..180 turn looks great, we may see some great moves here next year when more teams will be able to put some challenge

  40. I’d like to thank Pirelli for bringing proper racing tyres again, Continue to do so please :)

    Was nice seeing the drivers actually able to push the tyres rather than having to cruise around saving them all race & it was nice to see some real racing rather than the Tyre/DRS related non-racing we usually get with this absurd fake tyre degredation & fake DRS-ing.

    1. TBH, the tyre balance went the wrong way on this. This time they were too durable…

    2. I’d take purposely degrading tyres over DRS any day of the week.

      Atleast you can control the amount of deg you get on your tyres by how you drive. DRS, you’re basically defenseless.

      1. “DRS, you’re basically defenseless.”

        Its the same with rubbish high-deg tyres. The highway passing is just as boring when its down to tyres as it is with DRS.

        The rubbish High-deg pirelli tyres (As well as DRS) are a big part of why I don’t watch every race anymore & why i rarely watch F1 live nowadays.

        I also found it boring watching drivers cruising around managing tyres all race as we see usually with pirelli fake tyres.

        1. Unless you’re Daniel Ricciardo chasing Vettel’s future car

        2. The drivers were not managing tires, they were managing fuel.

  41. Vote button buggered!

    I’d give it a 6 – 2 for the cynical presence of the politico’s.

  42. 1/10 – The race should should have been cancelled in first place

  43. I was going to go with a 5 since it was pretty unremarkable but not really terrible, but then Putin showed up. Now I’m afraid to give it anything other than a 10.

  44. 6/10. As soon as Rosberg did the mother-of-all-tyre-lock-ups, we knew there wasn’t gonna be a battle of the Mercs.

  45. 5. The track isn’t so bad in its layout per se, but somehow it really failed to deliver past the first 3 laps or so.
    Reminded me of the long Bahrain version or the pre-2012 Valencia races.

  46. Such a shame that Nico made a mistake in the opening lap. Massa’s poor luck continues. I was hoping for a new winner in the new track.

    1. What does Massa’s inability to overtake have to do with luck?

  47. ColdFly F1 (@)
    12th October 2014, 14:11

    I would have given it a 5, only for the last laps and the fight for fastest lap (well done Bot).

    But OMG the circus around it. This is not F1 anymore.
    And I am still saddened that FOM allowed the genuine moment for Jules to be hijacked to play the anthem.
    Now downgraded the race to a 3.

    1. Agreed, that was absolutely disgraceful. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that it’s in Russia they decide to do that for the national anthem…

  48. A 5 from me. For the most part boring but could have been worse.

  49. Jonathan Sarginson
    12th October 2014, 14:15

    Yawn!..the Fuji 6hr earlier in the day was far more exciting.

  50. Wa going to rate the race a 2 but the vote button doesn’t seem to be working. Easily the dullest race for a long time, makes me wonder if degrading tyres are a good thing.

  51. Much like voting for the quality of the race rather than how I feel about the result, I think it’s important to put aside off-track factors when rating this race. It’s hard, because I have felt wretched all week about Jules and that has massively overshadowed everything this weekend, and at the other end of the ill-feeling scale, I am appalled by the pro-Putin TV direction and the fact that he was allowed anywhere near the podium (what happened to ‘F1 has nothing to do with politics’?). Still, I am trying to rate this race on the on-track events alone. I give it a 2.

  52. 4.
    I think the reliability of the tyres pretty much eliminated any strategy or movement due to degradation, and that certainly impacted the race. Also Rosberg locking up and losing a consistent battle for the lead (again) obviously was a negative.

    Didn’t mind the track – seemed more interesting than Valencia, in any case. But the race was rather dull.

  53. 4/10 I don’t usually rate ‘normal’ races (so without Germany 2010 team orders or something like that) lower than 6/10, but I decided to do it this time. The reason is that not only was I bored by the race, I am actually quite angry about it.

    First of all, the privilege for Russia hosting an event like this is completely undeserved in the lights of the events 500 km North of Sochi and, being Dutch, particularly after MH17. No one in F1 (FIA, teams, journalists) took responsibility to bring up the discussion of having a race in Russia. The Russian anthem being played over the Bianchi tribute moment, Putin being present, talking to the drivers after the race and handing out the trophies feels like a kick to the stomach.

    The circuit lay-out is unbelievably dull, with no variety at all. The excuse that has been used by Tilke is that there was little room to play with, which is completely untrue if you look at how much space there is available. Turn 2 is one of the worst corners in the world, since any overtake either results in one driver running wide, or a collision as we saw with Sutil and Grosjean. It could have been so much better.

    The fuel consumption issues meant that many drivers didn’t push throughout the race, resulting in the procession that was the 2014 Russian GP. Not at one stage did the race feel exciting. The entire event just lacked colour. The only positive thing I can say is that the turn-out for the GP was great, more than 50,000 people present. It’s a shame they didn’t get to see the excitement F1 usually offers.

    So yeah, I hope Formula 1 will learn from this. For now, I’m going to watch F3, some proper racing action at a proper track without any high-ranking people being present.

    1. People are angry for Putin his presence – presence of politics.
      People are angry because FIA don’t take a stance on Ukraine/MH17/whatever – absence of politics.

      Do you see the contradiction?

      1. @xtwl No, not at all. There has been discussion whether the GP should go ahead. By having a GP in Russia, F1 is non-verbally saying that Russia deserves the honour of hosting an event as prestigious as a Grand Prix. To avoid this, i.e. to get as little involvement in politics as possible, F1 should have said “Well, there are people who don’t want this GP to happen; until this stuff gets sorted, we are simply not going to get involved in this mess.”

        1. @andae23 For us GP racing is world news, it hardly reaches the news here in Belgium and I guess it is the same for most countries. News about Spa isn’t even on the radio etc. I doubt any major politician cares about F1 their stance on Ukraine or otehr political event. F1 came to Russia to race. There were plenty of people in Bahrein, India, Korea who did not want races to happen. Every single environment activist wants races to stop happening but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen because there were obviously in Sochi it’s case plenty who did want it to happen. As you must’ve seen the grand stands were packed.

          1. @xtwl There are half a billion people watching Formula 1, you can’t argue F1 is no big deal! And on a different note, I know nothing about Judo, but yet I managed to pick up over the radio that there was controversy about the world championships being in Russia earlier this year. It is a big deal.

            And I can’t imagine that politicians, who are enforcing economical sanctions against Russia, are completely happy with one of the biggest sports on Earth going there.

          2. @andae23, If the world cup can be held in Brazil, compared to that a little race surely can be held in Russia for …

            Of those half a billion people watching, how many do you think are really actively interested in world politics further than what they are dictated by the news?

            I’m going to try and grab a chance to ask a politician about the F1 race in Sochi…

          3. ColdFly F1 (@)
            12th October 2014, 15:33

            @xtwl, how many countries has Brazil invaded? How many passenger airplanes are shot down by Brazilian backed rebels with Brazilian weapons and training (if not operators)?

          4. @coldfly I’m more pointing at the enormous poverty that is very much present in the country whilst the government builds million dollar stadions to be used for 2 world cup matches. If that is not in contrast with human rights I don’t know what is.

          5. @coldfly
            What evidence do you have that Russia is involved with MH17 because so far the crash investigators, EU & US governments have been unable to produce anything other than unsupported allegations.
            The USS Vincennes once shot down an Iran Air passenger jet while the US government has invaded several countries recently, will you be using that as an excuse to moan about COTA ?

    2. Hey man, I respect you quite a bit with your contribution on this site, but dragging politics in this race…really? I’m from Malaysia, and as upset as you are about MH17, I am too. But beyond circumstantial evidence linking Russia to the rebels, there really is no proof whatsoever MH17 was intended to be how it turned out.

      And the fact you rated this race lower due to politics just merely confirms Rate the Race should be cancelled for this week. Westerners, as patronizing of the rest of the world as they are, are no better themselves.

      This is just a joke and I hope to see you protesting COTA for all the havoc the US has caused around the world.

      1. @himmatsj I don’t want to bring politics into this and to be honest I don’t think I would have mentioned it had Putin not been so visible. It’s just that there was such an obvious political undertone.. I just can’t ignore that and have it not affect my assessment of the race. And yes, if COTA decides to let General Petraeus or whatever speak to the drivers ahead of the podium ceremony and hand out the trophies I would point that out as well.

        1. @andae23 I’m with you on this one mate, I usually put politics aside when watching F1 cars racing but if FOM & the race organisers throw politics into my face by showing Putin several times during the race as well as letting him into the pre-podium room, then I just cannot assume this is not a part of the race.

          4/10 here as well: 4 for the race in general +1 for a safe race (important in the aftermath of the Japanese GP) -1 for Putin.

          1. Thanks @Girts, appreciate it.

      2. The difference is the world F1 feed won’t cut to Obama and his pals 4 times during the race in the US. Ana Obama won’t be there creeping out the drivers in the green room before the podium ceremony. Obama won’t use the US race for some sort of exposure.

        I’m generally ambivalent on Russia’s actions niter nationally, not knowing both sides of the story to comment, but I can see brazen propaganda for what it is I’m appalled if was allowed to happen.

  54. !/10 for the race and for the way politics go into F1 with Putin in the room of the racers at the end.

  55. 4 for me. Qualifying was much more exciting than the race, which is never something you want to see.

    One breathtaking moment, jev’s move on magnussen was great, but otherwise nothing much happened.

    What I would say though is that I quite like the track and feel it could have been a better race, with softer tyres. You shouldn’t be able to run a full race distance on one set of tyres…

    Need a lot less putin too. I tend to judge people a little by their choice of friends so I’m not too surprised at bernie being in bed with putin…

  56. 1/10 worst race in my whole life.

  57. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    12th October 2014, 14:30

    Can’t vote. Some new software? hehhee nevermind. I fall asleep (literally) watching the race.

    1. same here, what’s up?

    2. I cant vote either.

  58. Reading the comments I guess people wanted the race to fail, especially westerns. Since i cannot actually post a #, I’ll say 6.5, mostly because there was no fight for p1.

  59. Can’t vote but it would be a 2 or 3 for me. Just a brutally boring race (despite the fact that the first few laps were quite good).

    Don’t see the hate for a race being in Russia. Australia / USA / England + many other nations that host F1 races have done terrible political things over the years (or centuries). If we get upset over geopolitics and racing we’d have a very short racing season indeed!

  60. 5/10. I’m tempted to drop a point for the incredibly awkward insertion of Putin into the drivers’ room, but I won’t. Good couple of laps at the start, nice recovery from Rosberg and one or two very nice overtakes, but little else.

  61. Jenson Button-
    “It was an old school race, We could push the tyres all race & it was very enjoyable to race like that for the 1st time in a few years now, Shame it will be different next time out.”.

    Even the drivers hate the rubbish pirelli fake degredation.

    1. That’s not way he said. He said it was on old school race but that’s not always a good thing.

  62. yawnfest, sigh.

  63. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    12th October 2014, 15:20

    Wow… so far the average will be 3.35. Was it that bad?

  64. ColdFly F1 (@)
    12th October 2014, 15:24

    Season average ratings, 2008-2013
    Year Average rating Highest rating Lowest rating
    2008 6.651 8.756 (Brazil) 3.977 (Europe)
    2009 6.316 8.309 (Brazil) 5.276 (Turkey)
    2010 6.759 8.668 (Canada) 3.740 (Germany)
    2011 7.23 9.241 (Chinese) 3.871 (Europe)
    2012 7.367 9.449 (Brazil) 5.158 (Korea)
    2013 6.691 7.826 (Bahrain) 5.017 (Abu Dhabi)

    1. This shows that the rating frankly is biased, because of the political situation we’re in

      1. Not too much biased after all, let me correct. The race was dull, but not that dull.

    2. Currently the average is below 3.5. Is it really the WORSE race since 2008? I hardly feel so. It would have deserved a 5 perhaps, but people are purposely rating it a 1 or 2 due to the political situation between the Western world and Russia. I am, quite frankly, disturbed by this.

      1. It’s not do with political situation between the west and Russia, it’s the way the race was so obviously political. They’re very different things.

        1. No sorry they’re not different necessarily. Many people who dislike latest russian geopolitics and are disturbed by Russias revenge-ism, are not particularly keen on having a GP in a hostile part in Russia, or on russian territory at all.

          To deliberately downvote the race is also politics. You may llike it or not.

  65. Brand new playground, full-race tyres, dull racing.

  66. Can’t help but feel this race is getting rated unfairly low just because it was held in Russia and Putin was in front of the camera.

  67. This was like Monza 2010, but without the overtaking – after so many races of the current Pirelli era, it was very uneventful. Anyone rating above a 5 probably supports certain drivers, which unfairly skews the vote as usual when they do well!

  68. 3. worst race of the season so far, which is so weird, all the gp2/gp3 races were good.

  69. I wonder how many people rating this race 1-3 also complained about the ‘fake’ pirelli racing? Would make an interesting graph.

    For me 5 really. Pretty average race. With the right tyres the track could have been ok and a few people drove well. Rosberg was great after the screw up. Lewis was flawless and both McLaren cars looked sharper.

  70. It was the first time when I deliberately abandoned watching an F1 race. It was so boring and tedious… I just cannot stand it.
    2 points for the first interesting 5 laps.

  71. Yeah a boring race and i only rate it 6/10 because we have had so many good races this year few had to be boring almost just strange to see red bull so far away after they were quite competitive in canada maybe its due to low tyre deg.

  72. 5/10 – Rosberg’s recovery and the strategy duel between RIC and VET made it interesting for me. The rest was rather dull.

  73. Putin shaking hands with the guys on the podium disgustingly involving them in his politics. Just like some former dictators have done. Gave 1 as there was no lower alternative to choose. Many people – e.g. Ecclestone – say one shouldn´t connect sports with politics. This race was nothing else than politics aiming at supporting Putin.

    1. Prime Minister Najib of Malaysia has shaken hands with drivers on the podium. He has done the pre-race grid walk with Bernie a few times in front of the TV cameras as well.

      Numerous other head of states have done the same. Suddenly, when Putin does it, it becomes a sin?

      1. Sure it is a sin — Putins actions aren’t in the interest of the West.

        1. @il-ferrarista “Putin’s actions aren’t in the interest of human rights.” I’ve fixed that comment for you.

          1. I can fixed it again, because it’s very much needed: Putins actions aren’t in the interest of so called human rights, because the West uses ‘human rights-abuse’ as a pretext to start domination wars, and to destroy entire countries. Like Iraq, like Libya”.

            Nothing was done to China, nothing to Bahrain, nothing to UAE (Abu Dhabi), nothing to Brazil in terms of extreme poverty and such, nothing when a few big Nato-countries was involved in two-three wars simultaneously, etc etc. Please, Russia just isn’t popular with some because she backfired…

          2. God Bless Mother Russia =)

  74. 3/10. The first ten or so laps provided some entertainment, but after that it was a snooze fest.

    The track is also horrible. Did you see the shots from the helicopter? It is Caesar’s Palace, Valencia, Yas Marina and Korea all rolled into one neat package: huge empty space with a few posh buildings, endless runoff areas that you can abuse (just check out the first laps of GP2/3 races for some blatant ignoring of track limits), and overall boring looking track on television.

    Without getting too much into politics, I think the appearance of Putin certainly did not improve the coverage or rating.

  75. The double standards and hypocrisy on this forum is breathtaking!
    So Putin sharing hands with drivers taking part in a race in his country is bad and involving “politics” in F1?? Really?? So WHO should have shaken hands with the drivers?? Another member of his government?? Is that any less “political”?? If Obama came to COTA and shook hands with the drivers, will there be the same hypocrisy abounding?? Nonsense all the way round!

    1. Well said !

    2. @kbdavies Indeed, totally agree, it’s nonsense!

  76. 7/10

    I think we are exaggerating a little bit.

    First part was actually spectacular, but Pirelli stone tyres and pretty different car performances didn’t give us so much action later on.
    Rosberg’s amazing recovery and then Bottas’s hunt for the 2th place made it interesting anyway to me.

    I think that Sochi track can produce great racing (watch GP2 & GP3), but those conservative Pirelli tyres ruined it a little bit.
    But it wasn’t worse than Malaysia or Melbourne this year imho.

  77. I gave a 1. The race was boring, but had the odd good bit. The reason for a 1 is the Toro Rosso qualifying where to show Kvyat in a good light in Russia ruined his chances in the race, and all the annoying shots of Putin & Ecclestone being pally mates

  78. How many times has the Baharani and Abu Dhabi royal family (members of government) been on the podium, presenting trophies and shaking hands with the drivers?? Was there the same amount of revulsion?? Or are they any better than Putin??

    1. @kbdavies Well, for one, there is. But even if there wasn’t, that does not make this reaction more or less unjustified.

      Secondly, the situations aren’t even remotely comparable.

      Are they better than Putin? Yes,but in the same way rhinovirus is better than ebolavirus.

      The situation in Bahrain is purely local, and concerns certain human rights and discrimination, unfair governmental system. With respect to these things, Russia is no better. But the worse fact is, that Russia, in the hands of the ex-KGB officer and his political party, unlike the Bahrainis, are actively making steps to make the situation worse.

      Further still, Russia, is the single biggest threat to a stable global economy, not just potentially, Putin’s actions are having affects, both on economies in the west, and Russia itself.

      And a threat to peace and normal life in Europe and elsewhere, if you haven’t been living in a cave, you would know that Russia is daily kidnapping important people in neighboring countries, kidnapping ships, disrupting other projects in international waters, constantly staging military provocations and so on.

      All this without even mentioning the annexation of an other country, and the continued warS (with an emphasis on the S) and the disruption and thousands of lives lost in all this, many of which are Russian citizens as well, which, along with their families, are disrespected, by being held silent on the whole thing and forced put up with embarrassing, disrespectful funerals, and are given no compensations, which goes some way to show how even the laws in Russia have no meaning, if they don’t serve Putin’s agenda. And from there we get into this misinformation and propaganda war, with absurd lies, staged events, bought up media personnel and internet trolls, who all serve to misinform the public, and not just in the Russian speaking world, but all around.

      And today was a part of that PR campaign, and it was truly sad to see, that my beloved sport, is owned by greedy sad man, who can bring it to such low levels. The world has not learned at all since the 20th century, this can’t even be compared with the summer Olympics of 1936, it only could be compared if the Olympics were staged after Hitler invaded Poland, but is not even the case.

      I’an baffled that you asked those questions, maybe, before you did, you should have asked these ones to yourself:

      Has Bahrain invaded and annexed other countries? Is Bahrain moving backwards with respect to human rights? Is it staging a war? Has it violated international peace treaties? Does it have the worlds largest nuclear arsenal, with witch it has threatened it’s neighbors and other nations?

      Get real.

      1. The lack of political impartiality and cohesive thinking in your writing above is beyond ludicrous! When Russia “invades” ONE neighbour the world cries foul. When the US incessantly throws up turmoil and invades one country from the Middle East to the other (while being strongly backed by Britain, France, Australia and Canada), no one says a thing.

        Russia isn’t even as bad as America to be honest. At least they mind they own business for the whole part. Soon enough, they’ll follow the Chinese and show their middle finger to the rest of the world.

  79. I think the track itself has potential to provide a good race it was the tyres that ruined it with no degradation, I think next year they will bring the soft and super soft and we may well see a different race as it is normally the tyres and the wear of them that provides us with the racing we see in many races – the track layout itself lends itself to several overtaking opportunities.

    The worst part of it though as with all these Tilke tracks is they do not have any aesthetic appeal on a television screen – it is very difficult to tell one part of the track apart from the other everything is just a sea of white walls, massive run off area and flat curbs painted on which drivers can drive over like they’re not there.

  80. I can”t believe all these complaints! Because honestly:

    1. There were races which were much boring than this;
    2. Do you guys seriously believe that EVERY race will was a thrilling show till the end back in the 90s , 80s etc? Those who expect that obviously didn’t saw old races. This season we’ve had a lot of show, but not every race will be a 10/10.
    3. The complains about Putin being shown need to stop (No, I don’t like him either, in fact I don’t want politics involved in F1, at all), but how can this be a reason to rate the race????

    For me, a 6/10, OK, nothing more.

  81. Decided not to watch the Putin sympathisers’ Grand Prix, but happened to be near a telly showing it at noon. Saw the start and first lap, and that was enough. The long left hander’s interesting but otherwise a horrible track to watch on. No lessons learned from the failed GPs of the last 5 years. Defies rating.

  82. 2/10 – Good opening laps, but nothing of substance after that. You know things are desperate when the only replays are that of locked brakes of drivers that were not in a battle with someone else.

  83. So f1 has nothing to do with politics huh ?

  84. Not a great race, though I feel as if better coverage could have made it a 6, didn’t see more than 5/10.

  85. I’m starting to think that Rosberg did this silly unforced mistake by purpose. Of course, I cannot prove it.

  86. I chose not to watch any of the coverage this weekend, but what I gathered from Twitter and what I’ve read here, I absolutely have to thank Putin and Tilke for putting on a race I could boycott without missing anything.

  87. 1. Which is also how many laps I watched before getting bored.

  88. 2
    Dull-fest, I’m afraid. Building a track like Valencia is not conducive to classic racing.

  89. 4/10 – First few laps were great, and I was really hoping for a good race, but it never got exciting. The few overtakes we did see were too spaced out to keep me really interested. This is all coming from someone who rated the Bahrain races based on the actual on-track racing and nothing else.

  90. The Russian parade !!!!!

  91. I watched the Russian TV news (on RTR Planeta) this evening and a report on the Grand Prix was their first story. As you would expect, the coverage was 100% positive. There was no mention of Bianchi or the lack of excitement during the race. At the same time, TV showed excerpts from interviews with Ecclestone and a few drivers, team principals and British journalists where they were praising the venue or claiming that F1 has nothing to do with politics. For sure, Putin was shown in a good light again.

    The good news is that F1 has made itself popular with Russians, the bad news is that the sport has also willingly participated in Putin’s propaganda war. “F1 and politics do not mix” sounds just hilarious after today’s race.

    1. I’m curious…what’s the reason for them needing to mention about Bianchi again? I’m pretty sure if this was in Malaysia or Singapore as well, I doubt they’d repeat mentioning about Bianchi on prime time news.

      1. In Belgian news they mentioned Russia held their first ‘race’.

  92. Apparently I scored it quite highly with a 6…

    The first few laps were quite action packed but it did get very quiet after that. Good recovery drive from Rosberg with a few passes (all of which the race director seemed to miss!) so I would have given it a 5 but added an extra point for Lewis winning.

    I don’t think the race director helped today, I think the majority of passes that did happen were missed.

  93. Worse than Singapore, and that’s saying something.

    I created some artificial excitement for myself by skipping ahead randomly, and thought that Rosberg/Lewis was a strategy battle which could lead to a tight finish. Turns out I’d just missed the fact that Lewis had stopped and the gap was indeed the “real” gap.

    Would have been interesting if true…

  94. The first few laps were pretty mega!

    The rest of it… Not so much. The only battles that seemed to occur (Daniel vs. people, mainly) didn’t get nearly enough screen time, which left me even more frustrated because it COULD have been more interesting.

    Yet again it’s shoddy work from the FOM directors that made a poor race even worse!

  95. Down the middle: 5. I wasn’t bored, but after Rosberg had to pit on lap one I mentally conceded that Hamilton would go unchallenged, which was dutifully realised. Shame Williams didn’t possess a bit more pace, as I expected Bottas to be a stronger force in the race; instead he remained rather anonymous, equally depriving us of a race at the front.

    I also feel that due to the fuel limitations the advantage of having fresh tyres was negated, as drivers were coasting regardless. This was evident with Vettel for example, who despite having tyres in the region of twenty laps younger than Ricciardo was unable to recoup the deficit.

    The major detrimental factor to entertainment value however was the Mercedes engine simply being too good, which spread the field out more than is normal.

    There were positives irrespective of this: the start was full of action, and there were some great camera shots following cars running side-by-side through T3.

    But when Vladmir Putin arrived and was clearly acquainted with Bernie, I lost a lot of respect for the commercial side of the sport. F1 will do itself no favours by associating with that man.

    1. Ah yes, when the Russian president shows up to your grand prix, you should do nothing to acknowledge him, right? After they’ve worked so hard to get this track deal they should utterly ignore the president of the country the race is being held in, is that how you would do it? Just imagine if the prime minister of the UK showed up to the race, or the president of the US, and Bernie, or F1 in general didn’t acknowledge their presence, you really think that would go down well?

      1. The first lap might have been the most interesting first lap I have ever witnessed! SO many overtakes, I couldn’t keep track of them all! Unlike most tracks where after the first corner all the cars fall into a train, they were going 2 or 3 wide through the first couple of corners, astounding! Unfortunately the sheer pace difference between most teams led to the rest of the race being pretty boring.

  96. I gave 7/10. Didn’t think it was as bad as people are saying…. just a normal race…plus a bonus point for Putin being there!! Can you imagine the Queen or David Cameron going to Silverstone and handing out trophies? This was equivalent. I am finding all the race strategies exciting lately, I lost my fanatical passion for F1 a little while ago and found all races a bit boring, but it is back now :)

  97. I gave it a 4. Nico screwed up any chance for real racing with that bone-head move by trying to win the race in the first 2 corners. Idiotic. Then he pushed Bottas off and got no penalty for something that other drivers always get penalized for. So there was no race for 2nd either.

    I still would have rated it higher because the track layout was nice but Pirelli’s tire choice screwed up chance to take advantage of the track layout.

    Then seeing Putin’s political grandstanding in a “non-political sport” almost made me throw up. I love F1 so I’m usually more positive than this, but it was hard to watch what could have been a good race go so average, at best.

  98. A very generous 3.

    Except for the first three laps (in which most of that was drivers disobeying the track limits around this really poorly designed circuit) pretty much nothing happened except for a spin, some pit stops and some undramatic overtakes. Turn 2 made me incredibly angry, what a stupid, stupid corner.

    Magnussen and Vergne’s battle was short but excellent, both showing why they deserve to remain in F1. There were more shots of Putin and Ecclestone (two people who I am not particularly fond of) than exciting things during the race. Rosberg’s recovery drive wasn’t too bad, but the strength of the car was clear to see today. I understand the reasoning behind Pirelli’s tyre choice for this race, but it was absolutely awful. You should not be able to do 52 laps on a set of tyres in a 53 lap race.

    On the plus side, the scenery was nice.

    1. Oh, and Grosjean’s penalty + points… I still don’t understand it.

  99. Wow, so it’s not just me, ha? But still I’ll give it a 5. I think 1-3 ia too harsh. Let’s face it, the race was boring, a lot because there were no crashes, no safety car, no rain, no big surprises (like Hamilton’s car on fire or something…) and yes, the track itself is boring. It’s even boring to look at, the whole area… I don’t know… it looks like an indusrial area, you get the idea.

  100. “It could be one of the better races we’ve had in a long time.” — Lewis Hamilton, post-qualifying press conference.
    It probably would have been a better broadcast had it followed only Rosberg for the first part of the race.
    The silver lining is it might not stay on the calendar for many years due to the alcohol advertising restrictions in Russia, especially with the recently announced Johnnie Walker deal.

  101. Hans (@hanswesterbeek)
    12th October 2014, 20:47

    Needless race on an uninspired track in insignificant surroundings, just because Bernie became friends with the boss (who’s name he later forgot).

  102. I rated 2, it was very boring.

  103. This has to have been the worst race for a long time to have a race where apart from the start almost nothing happened is unbelivable here we go again processional racing from lights out to flag for the first time since I started watching F1 I actually wondered what the point in sitting watching for 3+ hours was.

  104. the best thing about the race was seeing Ron Dennis on the podium… oh hang on it was his Doppelgänger Vladamir Putin.

  105. Unfortunately the track really showed up the differences in machinery between the teams and most drivers finished in order of their car’s competitiveness.

    Really disappointed that Williams didn’t give Rosberg a run for his money. I reckon they could have forced Rosberg onto a 2 stop by pushing him and testing the tyres, and it would have made the last 20 laps more interesting.

    They’ve been too conservative this season and should be knocking on Red Bull’s door instead of creeping away from Ferrari in the WCC.

  106. 1992 Peugeot Talbot Sport (@peugeot-905-92-93-le-mans-winner)
    12th October 2014, 22:00

    10/10 BBC used the GTA IV theme in the Intro

  107. Imagine a recovery from last to second in just 30 laps, imagine you almost set the fastest laf of the race with 52 laps-old tyres, and imagine these all done by ROSBERG. No no it’s not the perfection of Rosberg, it’s nothing but the most “Tilked track” of all time. I’m sure we could’ve had a nonstop race with soft tyres, and it’d be more entertaining.

    Worst race i’ve ever seen. A big fat 1. Wish there’d be a 0 (zero) in the options.

  108. Who voted 10.

    Makes the whole poll a mockery.

    Anyway – Fell asleep so a 2 from me (If the vote button worked). Also having politics in the racing makes the whole race a joke!

    1. Who voted 10?
      1. Lewis Hamilton, natch
      2. Dobby from the Harry Potter movies
      3. All shareholders in Mercedes-Benz
      4. All dutiful hench-persons of Mr Putin
      5. Bernie

      1. @tribaltalker close above you
        6. @peugeot-905-92-93-le-mans-winner

        Who is 8 years old, I guess.

        1. 1992 Peugeot Talbot Sport (@peugeot-905-92-93-le-mans-winner)
          13th October 2014, 14:57

          I didnt actually vote

  109. I’m not as negative as the rest I guess. Can’t vote, but I’d give it a 7. The first few laps were really frantic.

    Too bad that Vettel ruined the races for Ricciardo and Bottas. It could have been even better if those guys hadn’t been held up so badly, but still I kinda enjoyed it. There were no real overtakes I guess, apart from Rosberg pushing Bottas of track (again) , but the strategy difference sort of made it interesting anyway.

    At least there was some cloud of suspense hanging over the final 15 laps even though nothing actually happened in the end :)

    It was also funny how the guys were all trying to sneak in a fastest lap. Hamilton, Rosberg and Bottas all seemed to give it a go at some point. Bottas being able to take the most risk finally took it from the Merc boys.

    Massa shows that driving back to the front from the back, even in a fast car, isn’t that easy. Rosberg doesn’t count since he simply made his one pit stop a bit earlier. He didn’t really lose out much from that and Vettel holding up Bottas eliminated any chance of a proper battle for P2 from happening.

    A bit lame that STR apparently opted to go all out on qualifying which utterly compromised their race. Not quite sure what the point is of doing that. Although I must assume they had a nice party on Saturday and perhaps they wouldn’t have ended much higher anyway.

  110. It’s rate the race, not rate your opinion of president Putin. Plus to all those saying, “Oh, they cut to putin so much, typical Russian propaganda!” First off they cut from racing to show Putin 3 or 4 times max, secondly do you really think that if say the US president or the UK Prime minister were at one of the races they wouldn’t show him in the feed?

    1. Forgot to give it my score! I’d say a 6 overall just because those first two laps might have provided more excitement and overtakes then most races do the entire time. (See Catalunya, China, Malaysia,)

  111. 5/10. The race was boring, save for the first few laps and Rosberg’s recovery.
    There are a few reasons, I think. The track highlighted the difference between the cars and it didn’t allow a lot of overtaking. The tyres were not a problem, fuel consumption just gave a further advantage to the Mercedes-powered cars.
    It was positive to see so many people showing up for the race, hopefully the race will be more interesting next year. Provided there’s going to be a race next year.

  112. 4/10
    I actually fell asleep during it. First time I’ve ever done that even with the silly o’clock races.

  113. 7. Would have been a great race, only if the drivers could freaking overtake! There was so much potential for some great battles, but the strategy and circuit layout, just prevented that. And great recovery race from Rosberg! And Hamilton was just downright bored it seemed. He was probably trying to pick a battle with backmarkers just to stay awake.

  114. Let’s just hope that Abu Dhabi is more like Bahrain than Sochi. Otherwise…

  115. good race 1.25/10

  116. Seeing the drivers in an embracing circle in support for Jules was a great example of leadership, but then seeing “real” leaders Putin with Bernie – that just made me feel ill.

  117. It was a really boring race! Not much to remember but great Hamilton´s performance.

  118. It was a shame there was not much action, but the whole race was over-shadowed by Putin using the race as his toy. He just made the whole thing awkward to watch by showing up in places that don’t merit it.

  119. I give it an 8/10. Awesome track and organisation. Making the Russian fans happy puts the western media in their worse moods. Hey, let the other parts of the world have a good life OK. Others must be envious of Russia’s first formula 1 success.

  120. I’m amazed that after so many comments about tyres falling apart, too many pit stops, different levels of degradation making passes artificial and wanting tyres where the drivers can push 100% the whole race that the one race in recent years where tyres were not an issue is causing people to complain.

    In my view people are too quick to complain about things – ok the race wasn’t a classic but I enjoyed it for what it was. I don’t expect a great race week in and week out and that’s why I’ve possibly never rated below 4 or 5 except in exceptional circumstances.

    Doesn’t the fact that racing this race has given us 240 comments (so far) suggest that there was something entertaining about it (even if it wasn’t action packed wheel to wheel racing).

    1. In a generation of scripted reality shows, people are addicted to some drama or action.

  121. 3. It was a poor race and the result was never in doubt.

  122. Normally on a Monday night I watch the previous nights replay- now I am quite literally watching Dan take the lead from Alonso in Hungary! The race IMO was quite easily the most boring of the year and that happening on T2 with Nico getting a bit too anxious and its going to cost him I’m afraid!!

    My opinion of Putin is irrelevant but at all Grands Prix I don’t see any place in the green room for anyone except for the drivers, FIA officials and a cameraman for us to see the debrief!

  123. Definitely a snore-fest last night.There was more interest in watching the live timing.
    The race would have been more interesting if the Director concentrated a little more on Rosberg’s and Ricciardo’s recovery drives as they were actually doing some overtaking.

  124. Worst GP of the season. Merry go rounds are even more exiting.But worst of all was the coverage.What moron directed this covereged? I’m sure there was more exiting overtaking than they showed not the least as Rosberg was charging up the field to second place.
    Of course we saw a lot of Kviat!!!! OK we are in Russia….

  125. Bearing in mind that the lowest I gave a race this year was a 6 or 7, I gave this one a 3. Really dull race. Considering they waited 30 years for this they could have had a more exciting track. Blank canvas, boring circuit. Shouldn’t happen.

  126. I would give it a 2. Not the most interesting track. With lack of competition and fact that to much of racing is tire and fuel management and not true driver skill.

  127. A five from me. It would have been a four, but there were some good scraps, and watching Nico have to work a little for a result gave some depth to the race.

    Not sure if I want to watch next year’s Russian GP though. Awful circuit.

  128. I gave the race a 5, there was some action in the opening laps and some isolated morsels during the rest of the race but overall it was a bit dull.

    After Robserg’s first lap mistake trying to pass his team mate, Hamilton could cruise to victory never needing to really push and the only threat to his victory was reliability, which given Mercedes record this year was a possibility.

    The circuit itself seemed okay and while I doubt it will go down as a classic track, given the right circumstances it should produce a good race. I think the main reason why the quality of the race was down on others this year was the tyres.

    With it being the first Grand Prix at the track and the lack of data Pirelli had to go conservative with the tyres they took, but the fact Rosberg could do almost the whole race on one set of tyres and still be setting fastest laps near the end meant that the race was more like the Bridgestone days rather than the designed to degrade philosophy F1 has adapted in recent seasons with Pirelli.

    Also considering F1 supposedly doesn’t do politics we saw a lot of President Putin during the broadcast, while it is normal for Government officials to hand out trophies on the podium I don’t recall seeing footage of Ecclestone greeting a head of state during the race and then several further shots of them sitting in the stands. In fact after the usual scenes of Ecclestone showing people around the grid before the race you don’t normally see him again at all.

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