Vote for your 2014 Russian GP Driver of the Weekend

2014 Russian Grand Prix

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Which F1 driver was the best performer during the Russian Grand Prix weekend?

Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most during the last race weekend.

Russian Grand Prix driver-by-driver

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel – Went out in Q2 for the fourth time this year. “The car felt nervous so I couldn’t take the speed into the corners,” he said, “I lost the rear many times around the lap.” He got ahead of his team mate at the start and passed the Toro Rossos, but dropped back behind Ricciardo in the pit stops and couldn’t take the fight to his team mate at the end.

Daniel Ricciardo – Continues to be frustrated by his starts – he lost four places on the first lap on Sunday. He said the tyres he started on were already “blistered” from their run in Q2, hence his early pit stop on lap 12. His pace was sufficient to move him back ahead of Vettel but as with many other drivers he found overtaking on the circuit difficult, and ended the race stuck behind Alonso.

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg – Seemed to be missing a couple of tenth to Hamilton all weekend long, though his first Q1 run put him in position to take pole. Having lost it to Hamilton, he dramatically locked his brakes while trying to pass his team mate at the start. That forced him to pit immediately, which would have been a significant disadvantage at any other circuit, but with tyre degradation so low he was able to run to the end on his medium tyres. He jumped ahead of several drivers when they pitted, and after passing Bottas had enough in hand to salvage second place.

Lewis Hamilton – Hamilton rarely looked troubled all weekend, with the possible exception of final practice when he spun off but fortunately did not hit anything. One Rosberg took himself out of contention Hamilton could afford to cruise to the flag and not take too much out of his car.

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso – A great first lap propelled Alonso to fourth place, but a front jack collapsed during his first pit stop which cost him a place to Magnussen’s McLaren. “I think that even without this problem I’d have finished in the same position,” he said, “because the McLarens were faster”.

Kimi Raikkonen – Raikkonen looked unhappy with his car’s handling on Friday, but was happier after overnight set-up changes on Saturday. He said he had to brake when he was squeezed by Kvyat at the start, after which he slipped back to 11th. By the end of the race he’d only taken places from the Toro Rossos for ninth place.

Lotus

Romain Grosjean – Lotus were back behind the Saubers at Sochi and the weekend looked like a long, hard slog for Grosjean. He got into Q2 but said it was a “real struggle to find grip” in the car. In the race he tangled with Sutil for which he was handed a five-second penalty and, somewhat harshly, two penalty points.

Pastor Maldonado – His race engineer apologised for the “complete shambles” which led to his elimination in Q1. A series of technical problems delayed him on Saturday and forced a gearbox change which left him last on the grid. From there, despite being unhappy with the balance of his car, he ended the race behind his team mate, which was about all that could be done.

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McLaren

Jenson Button – Looked quick on Friday and despite a hiccup on Saturday morning placed his McLaren fourth on the grid – his best since Silverstone. He came under pressure from Alonso in the opening laps, then pulled out a gap over the Ferrari driver. After his pit stop Button had a lonely run to fourth place.

Kevin Magnussen – Qualified sixth but was relegated five places due to a gearbox change penalty. The unit had failed during final practice, leading to a lurid moment in turn three where Magnussen did well to keep his car out of the barriers. After a good start he passed Vergne early in the race and took advantage of Alonso’s delay to claim fifth.

Force India

Nico Hulkenberg – Another driver who had to take a gearbox change penalty, Hulkenberg’s dropped him behind his team mate and left him 17th on the grid. Despite starting well and passing the Toro Rossos he ended the race outside the points, on the tail of Perez and Massa.

Sergio Perez – Had to strike a balance between his team’s increasingly urgent messages to save fuel and the pressure from Massa behind. He achieved it, bringing his car in tenth for the final point.

Sauber

Adrian Sutil – Sutil found his car very short on grip on the medium compound tyres at the start of the race, and after switching to softs he had his incident with Grosjean. But even without that contact Sauber never looked like ending their grim, point-less run.

Esteban Gutierrez – Having to miss the first practice session at a new street circuit so Sergey Sirotkin could drive was tough, but Gutierrez edged ahead in the qualifying battle with his team mate. In the race he stayed out until lap 40 hoping a Safety Car appearance would play to his advantage, but it never happened.

Toro Rosso

Jean-Eric Vergne – Was perplexed as to why he couldn’t match his Q2 time in Q3, although he was far from the only driver – neither of the Mercedes did. He didn’t get off the line particularly well but a great run through turn three got him ahead of both Red Bulls and Magnussen. It couldn’t last, however, and he was soon passed by all three, but he gave Kvyat short shrift when his team mate tried to do the same. Both were destined to finish out of the points.

Daniil Kvyat – Having qualified a best-ever fifth he started poorly and was swamped by the big names he’d beaten on Saturday. But like his team mate his race was largely an exercise in fuel saving, and a second pit stop put paid to any hopes of a top ten finish at home.

Williams

Felipe Massa – An ill-timed fuel pressure problem meant Massa failed to make it out of Q1 and started a lowly 18th. Williams took the risk of starting him on the medium tyres and getting rid of them after one lap, which would have paid off had the Safety Car come out, but it didn’t. He got stuck behind Perez and finished out of the points.

Valtteri Bottas – After setting fastest times in the first and second sectors, Bottas looked on course for a shock pole position until his car got loose in the final sector. He reckoned second was the limit of what was possible, a view shared by the team’s head of performance engineering Rob Smedley. The same might have been said for his race, as he finished within four seconds of Rosberg, having initially suspected the Mercedes driver couldn’t complete the race without a second pit stop.

Marussia

Max Chilton – Chilton had a terrible burden to should at Marussia, struggling on alone after Jules Bianchi’s fearful crash at Suzuka. Ten laps in he reported a problem the front-left of his car was behaving oddly, which the team traced to a fault at the right rear, and he retired from the race.

Caterham

Kamui Kobayashi – Kobayashi’s abrupt retirement from the race in the pits on lap 22 prompted speculation that Caterham had purposefully withdrawn his car to save money, and the explanation that his brakes were overheating was a cover. The team as a whole covered around a third fewer laps than their rivals in practice – Kobayashi again sat out the first session so Roberto Merhi could drive – and Kobayashi was in last place when he retired.

Marcus Ericsson – Was very pleased with 17th on the grid, ahead of his team mate, Chilton and the trouble-hit Maldonado and Massa. He did not appear to suffer any of the mysterious brake problems that afflicted Kobayashi, and finished a twice-lapped 19th.

Qualifying and race results summary

DriverStartedGap to team mateLaps leading team matePittedFinishedGap to team mate
Sebastian Vettel10th+0.386s30/5318th+4.373s
Daniel Ricciardo6th-0.386s23/5317th-4.373s
Lewis Hamilton1st-0.2s53/5311st-13.657s
Nico Rosberg2nd+0.2s0/5312nd+13.657s
Fernando Alonso7th-0.062s52/5316th-18.861s
Kimi Raikkonen8th+0.062s1/5319th+18.861s
Romain Grosjean15th-0.679s52/52117th-22.676s
Pastor Maldonado21st+0.679s0/52118th+22.676s
Jenson Button4th-0.508s49/5314th-23.382s
Kevin Magnussen11th+0.508s4/5315th+23.382s
Nico Hulkenberg17th-0.105s0/53112th+1.242s
Sergio Perez12th+0.105s53/53110th-1.242s
Adrian Sutil14th+0.448s0/52116th+16.501s
Esteban Gutierrez13th-0.448s52/52115th-16.501s
Jean-Eric Vergne9th+0.743s52/52113thNot on same lap
Daniil Kvyat5th-0.743s0/52214thNot on same lap
Felipe Massa18th+3.939s0/53211th+63.452s
Valtteri Bottas3rd-3.939s53/5313rd-63.452s
Max Chilton20thn/an/a1
Kamui Kobayashi19th+0.518s0/210
Marcus Ericsson16th-0.518s21/21219th

Review the race data

Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver do you think did the best job this weekend?

Cast your vote below and explain your choice in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the 2014 Russian Grand Prix weekend?

  • Marcus Ericsson (1%)
  • Kamui Kobayashi (0%)
  • Max Chilton (1%)
  • Valtteri Bottas (16%)
  • Felipe Massa (0%)
  • Daniil Kvyat (1%)
  • Jean-Eric Vergne (0%)
  • Adrian Sutil (0%)
  • Esteban Gutierrez (0%)
  • Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
  • Sergio Perez (1%)
  • Kevin Magnussen (7%)
  • Jenson Button (21%)
  • Pastor Maldonado (0%)
  • Romain Grosjean (0%)
  • Kimi Raikkonen (0%)
  • Fernando Alonso (1%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (35%)
  • Nico Rosberg (14%)
  • Daniel Ricciardo (0%)
  • Sebastian Vettel (1%)

Total Voters: 611

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2014 Russian Grand Prix

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Images © Red Bull/Getty, Ferrari/Ercole Colombo, McLaren, Caterham/LAT

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141 comments on “Vote for your 2014 Russian GP Driver of the Weekend”

  1. Has to be Lewis. FP1 aside where they were close, he dominated Rosberg all weekend. Through no fault of his own had a quiet race but had the pace in hand when he needed it towards the end. Not a faultless weekend with spins in FP, but he nailed it when it really mattered.

    1. I wanted to vote Lewis aswell but then thought about the spin and the fact he had it rather easy when Rosberg was out of the equation and he should’ve had that fastest lap really (Then he would’ve had a grand slam). So if I count out both Formula Mercedes cars my vote goes to Bottas for another pole/win and fastest lap. :)

      1. Bottas could have fought Rosberg, but didn’t. To me, he was unimpressive this race. I voted Button due to lack of other obvious contenders bar Lewis. But Lewis had it easy in the absence of his teammate, same as Bottas, in a way. Button did have his teammate in close proximity and pulled away, hence he gets my vote.

        1. @njoydesign Bottas could’ve fought Rosberg for a lap or two but considering Rosberg just drove into the distance from Massa what was the point for Bottas? Risking a collision with Rosberg and getting zero points?

          1. @xtwl so you’re willing to give DOTW to the driver who just gave the place up? I see where you’re coming from. They could’ve crashed. Or, they could’ve not (and considering they are F1 and not GP2 drivers, I think this is more likely) and maybe we’d get to see some gripping action.

            I’ll stick with Button.

          2. @njoydesign Did you see the crazy overtake Rosberg tried on Bottas? If Bottas was any less of a driver they would’ve crashed. It’s not always about how safe you drive, there are plenty idiots on the road to crash into you.

          3. @njoydesign I’d vote for the racer that is intelligent about picking his fights any day. Only smart racers deserve DOTW. Bottas had absolutely no reason to fight it out with Rosberg.

      2. petebaldwin (@)
        13th October 2014, 15:08

        @xtwl – I don’t get it…. Mercedes are the fastest car so fair enough, Lewis had it fairly easy. Doesn’t the same apply for Bottas though? The Williams (at certain tracks) are comfortably in their own league as well. No-one could get close to Bottas in Russia other than Massa and like Rosberg, from lap 1, they weren’t in the same race.

        Bottas messed up his Q3 lap and then drove around on his own in the race. How does that deserve DOTW?

        1. @petebaldwin For in every session that counts extracting the maximum that was possible. I don’t think Bottas could’ve finished P2. In his first stint he stayed within 5 seconds of Lewis which no driver has done this season in a chassis that is nowhere near the standards of the Mercedes.

          1. Then surely he must’ve been able to hold off Rosberg, whose tyres were some 30 laps older, on his second stint, no?

          2. @njoydesign not really, Lewis was cruising from lap two and could have easily disappeared up the road if he needed to. Once Rosberg was in second Lewis showed the pace he could muster if he needed to and both Mercs easily maintained the gap Bottas.

          3. i see levis like Dash… they ask him to go fast, he does… ask him to slow, he does… :)

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ApeH_ynA8Q

      3. Hamilton for doing everything right. To not give him DOTW for that one spin would be nit-picking of the highest order.

        Lewis’s also using the opportunity for car conservation for the remaining races. Cool measured approach that could just keep enough in reserve to take the title when it’s needed most.

    2. Every time he wins, HAM is DOTW. Come on, it’s kinda ridiculous. If HAM dominated ROS, ALO dominated RAI too… and even more obvious ! Yet, ALO is so far from winning DOTW.

      1. You couldn’t be more wrong @corrado-dub

        Hamilton won in China, Spain, Great Britain and didn’t win DOTW…

    3. My rank

      Bottas
      Hamilton
      Button

      But I voted Button :)

    4. Mag….from p11 too p5 realy strong Race.

  2. Rosberg got my vote.Best of the rest was Ricciardo.

    1. How? He ruined every chance on victory the first time he touched the brakes in the race? Got outqualified by his teammate aswell. And now don’t come like he fought back,…

    2. Why Rosberg? Yes he did well to make it back to second in the race, but it was down to his error that he had to pit in the first place + he was beaten by his team mate in qualifying. Not DOTW material imo.

      1. Rosberg’s error, in my opinion, has ruined his chance of being DOTW, especially that he didn’t give Hamilton back his position right after he cut the corner, probably because he wanted to keep every bit of an advantage after knowing that he must pit at the end of that lap. This probably would have resulted in Rosberg being overtaken by at least one other car by the end of the first lap before pitting, probably allowing Bottas to emerge from the pits in front of him, and who knows… he might have finished 3rd in the end.

        1. He did give the position back @hzh00

          1. @mashiat
            Please read carefully, I said he did give his place back but not directly after the corner. He waited until the end of the lap when he entered the pits.

          2. @hzh00 Perhaps because it’s not written in the rules that they have to give the place immediately. It’s perfectly complies with the rules to wait a few corner before giving the place back, like Alonso did in Singapore. And it didn’t really cost Hamilton any time at all.

          3. @mashiat
            I know it is not written in the rules, and what you said about Alonso is correct- AFTER FEW CORNERS and not at the end of the lap. I never said it made Hamilton lose time, I said it made Rosberg gain time, which made that 2nd place easy for him at the end of the race instead of probably having a fight with Bottas.
            One more note: if you watch the replay, notice how Rosberg directly hit full throttle after he made the mistake when he was outside the track; which means that he wanted to make up for his mistake by gaining as much advantage from the shortcut as he can.

    3. Rosberg? I don’t get how best of the rest is Ricciardo either.

    4. Rosberg lost qualifying and blundered in the race. How on earth he be DOTW?

    5. There’s of course the charge through the field, but that was hardly unexpected. His race engineer even knew it at the beginning.

      Ultimately, he had to make that charge simply from making a stupid move (hell, even Rosberg agrees with that).

    6. Rosberg? He tried to win the whole race in the first two turns like some rookie driving his first GP2 race and this ruined any chance of making this an exciting race at the front.

      Then he came back through the field because everyone simply let him by, assuming his tyres would go and he’d have to do another pit stop. It turns out Pirelli’s choice of tyre was too conservative and he never had to stop again so everyone simply gave him P2 under bad assumptions.

      Also, I’ve voted RIC for DOTW at least 3 times this year, but I don’t see it at all this weekend. I think we have very different perspectives on this race.

    7. 14% of the votes now going to Nico Rosberg … I guess being outqualified, outraced and making a major mistake on the first lap is good?

      Went for Bottas but to be honest nobody impressed me this weekend. Both McLaren drivers and Hamilton did well too.

    8. He was also lucky to have got a podium finish. This wouldnt be possible if the track is not sochi. So he did not made a recovery drive, just pitted earlier than the rest.

    9. OMG Lol……Rosberg pits on the first lap,relegates himself to last place in the process and then works his way through the field setting fastest laps on very second hand tyres later on in the race.
      Ric does a similar thing in pitting early then works his way back through the field.
      Those two drivers were the only real interest in a very boring and processional race.

  3. For me it was between Hamilton and the McLaren duo. Both Button and Hamilton finished probably as high as they could in their situations, and finished where they started. Magnussen on the other hand, whilst not having the best qualifying, was able to make up 6 places in the race. So it was a tough one, but I’m going for Button, simply on the basis of qualifying and then how far he was ahead of Magnussen at the end. Tough to not vote for Lewis after a perfect weekend, and he really did do everything perfect, but this time I think Button deserves it for essentially the same reason albeit in a more difficult car.
    Rosberg does not deserve this, so if anyone votes for him that’s hilarious. He made his own mistake to put him where he was and was comfortably out-qualified.

    1. @philereid – I went though a similar process but eventually voted for Hamilton. However, it looks like Button could use all the support we can give him. From his body language all weekend, he has no drive for next season. Great shame.

      1. I wouldn’t be so sure. He’s insanely popular in Japan and has a half-japanese girlfriend. With Honda coming in next year, McLaren has a pretty good reason to keep him.

        As a Dane who is ecstatic over finally having an able Dane in F1, that’s a pretty big bummer, but let’s see, you might be right. However, (and I might be biased here, I honestly don’t know), I do believe they should go for both an experienced driver and a rookie with big potential. A Button and Alonso team would be cool, but a bit short-sighted.

        1. @losd I didn’t realise Button was so big in Japan – I know he likes Japan and Japanese culture, I didn’t know it was mutual. But is that really a compelling argument for Honda when you have Alonso as an option?
          I’m expecting Alonso+Magnussen as the McLaren pairing next year, hoping Button gets a drive though. Maybe he’ll join Webber in Le Mans sports cars.

  4. Gave this to Button. I can’t justify giving this to Hamilton as he had the best car and after turn 1 Rosberg was no longer a threat. Bottas threw it away on that final qualifying lap so can’t have the vote for the weekend. Therefore Button, a quiet race but a deserved 4th place in a car that doesn’t deserve to be there at the moment.

  5. Driver of Practice: Button
    Driver of Qualifying: Kvyat
    Driver of Race: Bottas

    DOTW: Lewis or Jenson.

    1. Button driver of practise? slower than teammate in practise though. P2 K Mag 1.40.494 and Button 1.40.718. There was nothing spectacular about Buttons practise.

  6. I voted for Button. Great weekend for him (and McLaren) all around. At times he was only 3 seconds away from Bottas and it seemed he could give the Williams some pressure.

  7. So I guess it’s a tough choice between Grosjean, who woke me up by spinning Sutil and Hamilton, who ignored Putin at first when he walked into the podium room.

    Seriously though, I believe that several drivers did a very good job this weekend. In my opinion, Hamilton, Alonso, Magnussen, Button, Perez, Chilton, Gutierrez and Bottas all deserve to win this poll for one reason or another. I am going to vote for Bottas. I have a feeling that he kind of outperformed the car by getting so close to pole position on Saturday and then trying to chase Hamilton in the race.

  8. Kevin Magnussen has impressed me over the weekend: 5th, 2nd & 17th (problem) in practice; 6th in qualifying (started 11th due to a penalty) and 5th in the race.

    The Dane was beaten by 15 seasons-old Jenson Button on a new track, but the rookie showed he has teeth just as his experienced world champion team-mate pulled his sleeves up.

    1. @jeff1s

      I voted Jenson, but Kevin drove a blinder in the first lap to get within a few positions of his team mate, despite starting way down the field.

      Though, I wasn’t too impressed by Kevin’s qualifying, penalty notwithstanding, especially with Jenson seemingly getting the best out of the quali session (for once lol).

      1. Maybe you where not impressed by K Mags Qualifying but he did 1.39.00 in Q2 and this was 4th fastest for the weekend and better than Button did at any point in time and this was after a gearbox change after P3. Kevin on the other hand advanced 5 positions in the race and overtook several World champions just to accelerate away from them despite fuel problems.

  9. Hm, undecided so far.
    Rosberg was one of the few who had at least a go at getting us excited during the race, but then again, it didn’t work and his drive back to the front never seemed all that great a challenge. Bottas could have been there, had he not made that mistake, he could have been on row 1 for the start and changed the course of the race. But he didn’t.
    Maybe Magnussen who made up a lot of places during the race? I even thought of Vergne who had another battling race, but in the end it was fruitless with the cars setup.
    When I think it over, I might vote for Chilton. Afterall he was the guy in the garage next to Bianchi, and certainly did not get an easy job this weekend.
    I will have to think about it a bit more.

    1. Rosberg didn’t “drive back to the front”. All he did was make his pitstop earlier. After his stop he was one pitstop and 5 seconds behind Hamilton. ie he lost “only” 5 seconds with his blunder.

      After everybody pitted Rosberg, was 20 seconds behind Hamilton.

      1. He still had to pass the guys between 20-13 before the rest moved out of the way by doing their pitstops @patrickl. And he lost a total of about 46 seconds ( minus Hamiltons pitstop time, if you want) until then. So really the loss was largely down to having dropped back to where he dropped after having to stop.

        But anyway, my point was more or less the same one you make, that he never really had to show superb skill doing that drive with the huge difference in potential the Mercedes had over the other cars.

        1. Indeed, he got past a few backmarkers and the two FI cars who were instructed to let him past.

          Still not a “drive back to the front” though.

          If he actually had started at the back he would still have needed to make the same amount of pitstops as the rest. He would be in the same boat as Massa. Rosberg would have had to make a pitstop again after he made his way back up halfway through the field and redo the whole thing again. He would then have had to overtake some faster cars in the end as well.

  10. James (@jamesjames123abc)
    13th October 2014, 12:45

    Jenson Button gets my vote. I would’ve voted for him last week as well. He had a very clean weekend and did the maximum out of what was realistically available.

    Honourable mentions go to Hamilton for the same reasons (minus the spin in FP3), Magnussen for making up 6 places in the race, and Bottas for another impressive weekend.

  11. I vote for Button. This weekend he really push the car to the front, although my vote could also goes for K-Mag

  12. Massa for his selfless fraternal support for Perez.

  13. I voted for Button, despite his quiet race. Outqualified his teammate, finished as high as possible, and noone else had a particularly riveting race (apart from Alonso and Vergne’s first laps). Hard to believe Jenson might be out of a seat next season – he’s comprehensively beaten both the promising McLaren proteges so don’t think there’s much more he could have done. Given how well Perez is comparing to Hulkenberg this season i think JB has been performing pretty well and is consistently under-rated as a driver – but this is all off-topic.

    Mentions to Hamilton, Alonso and Bottas for also getting the most out of the weekend.

  14. For me the choice is a bit obvious : my vote goes to Valtteri Bottas.
    Hamilton and Rosberg had a good race, it looked really easy for them. Even if Nico to overtake the entire field, he didn’t take any risks while passing : everyone seemed to let him pass.
    But Bottas really impressed me. First in qualifying, when he was really close on Lewis’ time before his slide across the last corner. And then during the race he managaed to stay really close to Hamilton during the first half of the race, while every other driver slipped back far behind the Mercedes. His fastest lap was a crowning touch to another excellent performance from the new Flying Finn!

    1. @dan_the_mclaren_fan I also thought about Bottas, but when you think about his great qualifying performance it was good up until the point he slid across the last corner – should a driver who loses control of his car on his fastest qualifying lap be considered driver of the weekend?

      Also – he was good in the race but I think he gave up on Rosberg too easily as they thought that Rosberg would either have to pit or would lose from tyre wear. In fact had he fought Rosberg harder he might have had a chance of second. On that basis I would say he slightly underperformed in both qualifying and the race (though I don’t disagree that he has demonstrated this weekend that he is a driver from the top drawer).

      1. @jerseyf1 Exactly what i thought. I really like Bottas but i think he needs a little more killer instinct. He’s doing a great job though.

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      13th October 2014, 15:10

      @dan_the_mclaren_fan – It did look easy for Nico and Lewis but did finishing 3rd not look exceedingly easy for Bottas? Who put any pressure on him at any point during the race? He messed up qualifying and in what is clearly the 2nd fastest car, finished where you would expect with no pressure from his team mate.

  15. ColdFly F1 (@)
    13th October 2014, 12:56

    difficult one:
    Bottas: great Quali run until the final 2 corners, and he should have heeded his team advice and defend against Rosberg.
    Lewis: boringly good, and more interested in his P1 cap than anything else in the green room.
    Ericsson: beat both his team-mate and his own performance of earlier races
    Rosberg: fastest lap on 51 old tyres
    Kvyat: if only the weekend ended on Saturday.
    Alonso: we will all understand it as something ‘obvious’ later!

    tough one.

  16. Button, for dragging that car up into a place it really isn’t worth. Honourable mention for Bottas.

  17. If there was a selection “None of the above”, I would’ve picked that.

    Rosberg – good recovery, but .. sorry, nowhere close to being best driver of the weekend.
    Hamilton – great, but he wasn’t under pressure at all, as Brundle said, he was coasting the car most of the race; great but uninteresting, and its hard to tell since Rosberg was driving like a novice when it mattered the most; and im not sure who got the fastest lap on the end, but I dont think it was Ham… ?
    Bottas – mmmm… ok but not good enough
    Riccardo – mmmm no. Bad choice to pit early i’d say. But if he had pulled the move on Alonso then maybe yeah.
    Button – ? Inconclusive. All i can say is that McLarens were quicker this time around.
    That leaves only one Kvyat. Impressive quali, kept up with the red bulls. But he finished behind Vergne, high fuel consumption …. probably not driving conservatively…

    1. I am thinking of giving it to Chilton, for doing the race with Jules car sat in the garage next door @maksutov

      1. For doing Half the race…

        1. yeah, well, not as if he had much choice with his wheel bearings giving up. Not like Kobayashi who was retired by the team to save the equipment @tango

          1. Yes, Kobayashi’s retirement and the whole Caterham story is starting to look like a joke. @basCB .

            Regarding my comment, I would have loved for Chilton to finish the race and swerve towards his team on the pit wall. It’s a shame that one of the very rare occasion when he did not finish should be taht specific one.

  18. Going to say Ericsson. Never thought that would happen, but he missed Q2 by one tenth on a totally dry track and did passably in the race too, considering what he’s driving. And partly because I’ll probably only get one shot to give him a vote, and I’m not letting it go.

    The usual suspects, I can’t really vote for. Hamilton did nothing wrong but he was out for a Sunday cruise, Rosberg stuffed up on the first lap, Bottas made a big qualifying error…

    Maybe Button too, was impressed by him in quali and race.

    1. Ericsson got the new “wonder” front wing, Kobayashi didn’t. Kobayashi would’ve made Q2 with that wing.

  19. Nobody particularly stood out, so I went for Alonso – the only driver to convincingly beat his team mate on merit in the race and outqualify him.

    1. Honourable shouts to Hamilton and Ericsson for their weekend performances and for Chilton simply for racing. Rosberg’s recovery drive was good but his mistake meant that he had to do said recovery drive and he was outqualified by Hamilton as well. Bottas’ lack of a team mate + mistake in qualifying and somewhat anonymous race makes his performance hard to judge.

    2. I voted for Alonso also for the same reasons.

  20. There were not many stand out performers this weekend but Button did a good job. He qualified very high and retained that position in the race. Not much more you can ask really!

    Rosberg did a great recovery drive but it was his fault it happened in the first place. This lead to Hamilton having an easy win so I do not think I can vote for him. Though it was still a great job by him.

    Bottas made a huge mistake in qualifying and put up an awful fight against Rosberg. He may have achieved a strong result but it could have been more.

  21. Much in the same way I voted for Vettel many times last year, this time it’s got to be Hamilton. He was simply the best, and i think Rosberg would have had no chance either way..

    Thumbs up for Kvyat and Bottas, aswell as the Mclaren boys.

  22. I want to vote with Putin but I can’t find the option… :)

  23. I think this is the first time I’ve ever voted for Button in a DOTW poll. However, this one seems fairly obvious to me. Bottas was great in the race but his mistake in qualifying is why I didn’t vote for him — we could potentially have had a far more interesting grid had he not messed up that lap. Rosberg’s recovery drive was the best drive of the race, for me, but I can’t ignore the fact that his own mistake was what made it necessary. I don’t understand how people can vote for Lewis when we went utterly unchallenged on Sunday.
    Button and Magnussen both made the most of the increased pace the McLaren showed this weekend, and it was a tough call between them. Ultimately I went for Button purely because he beat his teammate.

    1. “I don’t understand how people can vote for Lewis when we went utterly unchallenged on Sunday.”

      BECAUSE he went utterly unchallenged on Sunday. It would have been a very poor show from him if he was challenged.

  24. Got to be Lewis. Perfection all weekend – in some way including the spin, as he knows for certain there’s nothing left in the tank.

    I understand peoples disappointment that there wasn’t a longer battle up front, but Nico threw away any chance of that at the first corner, and Lewis can hardly be blamed for that!

    1. Also Bottas: I see a few comments that he made a mistake in Q3. I don’t see it that way. The last two corners were slow because he had overheated his tyres, costing him a shot at pole. But he overheated them by putting in the the blistering first two sectors, without which he wouldn’t have had the shot in the first place. It was a calculated gamble that may have cost them one place, but could have won them pole. Not a mistake at all in my eyes.

      1. Still, Bottas could possibly have gotten P2 if he hadn’t overcooked the tyres in the first 2 sectors. At least that was his own opinion of it.

        1. @patrickl

          Yes, but I see that as a informed gamble rather than a pure mistake. Yes it cost them one place. But it was a place they were never really going to keep. But a shot at pole? That’s worth a throw of the dice purely for exposure.

  25. I can’t decide between Bottas and Button. In the end I think the fact that he was threatening to gatecrash the Mercedes duopoly on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons means it has to go Valtteri. Hamilton did excellently as well but it was a well-managed cruise after Nico Gymkhana’d Turn 2.

    I don’t understand how Nico Rosberg is getting so many votes. Driver of the weekend should be about the integrality of the sessions, not just putting out a fire which you happened to cause on a Sunday. In comparison to his team mate, he was outpaced comfortably on Friday, outpaced comfortably on Saturday and outraced (again) on Sunday.

    After his faux pas, his strategy was effectively an ‘extreme undercut’ on the rest of the field, stopping on Lap 2 and using the pure pace of the car in clean air to clear the majority of the field when they made their stop. Fortunately for Nico, the Pirelli P-Infinity’s didn’t degrade meaning that minimal time was lost to tyre wear.

    It is exactly the opposite strategy to what Sebastien Vettel did at Monza in 2010, stopping on the last lap. Non-degradeable tyres make these extreme unbalanced strategies more feasible.

  26. I enjoyed watching Valterri the most – a bright light in a dim race.

  27. Bottas for me. His qualifying was spoiled by his tyres overheating towards the end of the lap, but it was great to see him pushing so hard and it was impressive control to keep the car from spinning.

    Hamilton had a good weekend, but ultimately he took the fastest car on the grid and drove uncontested from lights to flag. An impressive, mistake-free drive, but at this level that should be a basic requirement. Bottas by contrast had a lot more pressure and needed to push harder through the race to maintain his position.

    Rosberg’s recovery drive was great, and I think had it not been for his mistake he might have been more or less on terms with Hamilton.

    JEV’s overtake around the outside of (i think?) turn 3 was the highlight of the race for me.

  28. Gotta go for Lewis, for totally walking past and ignoring Vladimir Putin for several minutes in the pre-podium room!

    Honourable mention for Jenson. I’d like to see him at Ferrari next year. What a collection of teams that would be in his CV.

    1. @lockup I’m unsure whether I’d be right in saying that he would become the first driver ever to drive for Formula One’s three most successful teams – Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. He’s driven for the Enstone and Brackley teams as well in the past, two teams who have also been massively successful. Red Bull is really the only other team that is high up on the ‘super-dooper successful list’.

  29. I think BUT should be. Outqualified MAG, finished the race ahead too and a strong weekend for him in general. Button was the obvious (positive) surprise the entire weekend.

  30. It was a tough call but I have to go with Button over the other two worthy drivers, Hamilton and Bottas.

    Button drove for me what was the epitome of a ‘cool’ race. He never once looked troubled, and his race and weekend seemed undramatic. He was just quietly excellent in typical Button style. He qualified well, and held off Alonso when he needed to. After that he never put a wheel out of place. He deserved a podium but fourth was the maximum his car could give him.

    1. I’m finding it interesting that Hamilton seems to be tracking in line with Vettel last year for DotW awards so far. He has four, and is currently in the lead for a fifth. Vettel got six overall last year even though he won 13 races. This can be compared to the three DotW awards Vettel received in his second most dominant year, 2011.

      I just wonder how in such a subjective poll popularity and percieved talent affects these things. I think it’s fair to say that the Mercedes is a more dominant car than the Red Bull was in either 2011 or 2013, but then why has Hamilton gained so many awards compared to Vettel in 2011?

      Was it because we already knew Hamilton had the ability to be a great driver before his current dominant period? Was it because the perception of Vettel in 2011 was that it was all the car and the team favoured Vettel over Webber? Was the 2013 increase in DotW awards, even though he had a seemingly more dominant car than in 2011, due to Vettel having ‘earned’ the respect of the public over the preceeding few seasons? We’ll never know, but I find it fun to think about.

  31. It’s difficult to choose a DOTW after such a dreary race.

    Vergne I enjoyed watching in the opening laps, but like all the midfield, it was difficult to separate good strategy, car pace and driver quality (same for Kvyat, and how much of that lap was done by compromising race trim is a question we will not get an answer to).

    The top 5 had solitary races. I enjoyed seeing Magnussen working his way up to behind Button. Relatively to Ferrari, he has overtaken Raikkonen in the points, the gap between both teams lies now between Button and Alonso (I jest, I know Mag + But is a more balanced pair)

    Ericson, in Bianchi’s absence has showed to be best of the really slow cars. But he was at least allowed to finish so that’s a non event. I’m sure MAL and GRO pushed their trucks as fast as they could and that GUT and SUT trundled along with their own trucks as best they could, but it’s mightily difficult to judge. Both FI started and finished where expected (taking penalties into account). Massa was compromised by strategy and Bottas was too in some way and should have made life a bit more difficult for Rosberg. Rosberg did a rookie mistake he recovered well from and ended where he should have.

    That leaves Hamilton. Sure, Rosberg showed that a Mercedes could start dead last around this track and still win easily but, well, he too managed to finish where I expected him to finish, and that position is first. What more can we ask from him ? I gave him my vote with a small note : “Meh”

  32. button. was faster than magnussen and did very well this weekend.

    honorable mentions also to bottas, hamilton and ericsson.

  33. I was very impressed by Bottas’ qualifying. He was really pushing it, and that is what I like to see!

  34. McLarenHonda15
    13th October 2014, 15:32

    1% for Perez… Quite surprising.

  35. Im my opinion, it either has to be Button, Magnussen, Hamilton or Bottas. Kvyat would have been a contender if his race wasn’t so poor. But then it can’t be Hamilton, because he had it easy. It can’t be Bottas, because he screwed up Q3 and couldn’t catch Rosberg. I can’t decide between the McLaren pair, so I am going to vote for Button, simply because I have already voted for Magnussen this year.

    1. Who says that Button didn’t have it “easy” though?

      Obviously McLaren have improved the car a lot laterly. Magnussen came back from P11 after a gearbox penalty to finish right behind Button again.

      Obviously Magnussen messed up in Q3. Otherwise he would have been ahead of Button since he was faster in Q2 (even faster than Button was in Q3). So it’s not like Button put in a masterful quali lap, but more that Magnussen failed to do so.

      1. Not sure that 23 seconds qualifies as ‘right behind’….

        1. Exactly. Magnussen deserves a mention only for his opening laps, which were admittedly quite amazing.

          Beyond that, though, Button was consistently faster than Magnussen throughout the entire race, which is a fair comparison because they were both in free air for the majority of it.

        2. 1 place behind, qualifies as “right behind”. Especially when coming from P11 compared to your team mate starting in P4.

  36. Button for proving that he deserves to be in F1 next season. Hamilton winning once again though for cruising around at a slow pace easily dominating, not a surprise.

  37. Hamilton for me as he dominated the whole weekend. Next is Botas, he really impressed. Given that Nico was ahead of the field and only gave the place to Lewis right before he dived into the pits, he was only 30 secs behind Lewis after the pits and lapping faster than Alonso in 4th a podium was never out of question, he made some risky overtakes which was good but zero deg and second fastest lap on lap 52 means that the recovery was probably easier than it looked. So for that reason I don’t see how he can get the nod for driver of the weekend

  38. I voted Kevin, as I rate his performance this race higher than Button, because the gearbox change caused Magnussen to consume more fuel in the first rounds to make up ground from 11th place to 6th. This is why he was unable to bring pressure on Button in the second stint. Most of first stint Magnussens lap times was better than Buttons and almost at level with Bottas and Mercedes.
    But the wait for the driver switches to be announced is very long: Will Alonso go to McLaren, and if so who will he replace?

    1. Have you even looked at the lap times on this website? I followed Mclaren live on SAP during the race K-Mag was nowhere near JB in terms of lap times .

  39. Driver of the race is Rosberg.
    Despite the initial mistake (yep, that was huge), he recovered in a ferocious fascion, put in some great late braking action (expecially with Perez and Bottas), and his later pace was stunning.

    But overall, Hamilton nailed the weekend.
    Button and Bottas a close second in “weekend” terms.

  40. Hamilton had the upper hand on Rosberg, but who actually drove brilliantly? It’s either Button or Bottas, and I think Jenson this time showed a clear improvement against recent races whereas Bottas has been so good so often it’s almost normal.

  41. Hamilton cruised and was not troubled, Button raced to the limits of the car, his teammate right behind him proving that. That leaves Bottas, however consider Perez, finished in tenth and continued his points run, overtook the Torro Rosso’s and kept Massa behind him for half the race, because of Perez we don’t know how well Bottas did because Massa couldn’t show his pace.

    1. His teammate came from P11 and indeed ended up right behind.

      1. @patrickl

        23 seconds isn’t my definition of “right behind”.

        1. Well he was 7 places down and at the finish just 1. So that’s “right behind”. Couple seconds more or less doesn’t matter, points and positions do.

  42. Can’t help but think that if it were roles reversed between Hamilton and Rosberg, Rosberg would not be so far ahead.

    Struggled to decide between Button and Kvyat, but went for the latter after such a strong qualifying. A shame the car had nothing to give in the race but it shows what he can do.

  43. Hamilton, of course. Good also Bottas, Buton & Magnussen.

  44. no wonder this is brits f1 site. the results are surprisingly different from the one on formula1.com

    1. As has surely been pointed out enough times here before, this is not a ‘Brits F1 site’, it is a site for all F1 fans.

      The only poll I could see on F1.com which was similar to this one asked “Which of the podium finishers impressed you most with his race performance in Russia?” This doesn’t bear close comparison for two obvious reasons – it’s limited to race rather than weekend performance, and it only allows people to pick from three of the twenty-one competitors.

      As for how the findings compare you’ll have to enlighten me as it seems you can’t see the result of the F1.com poll without voting, which I’m not interested in doing.

      1. Apparently most formula1.com responants voted for Nico (nearly 48%), Lewis 2nd (over 30%), leaving Valtteri last (nearly 22%). The question was about race performance so, given that Lewis didn’t really have to race after the first corner, no surprise that he didn’t win that poll. I’m a bit surprised that Nico was 1st though as so many people let him past assuming he would have to pit again he really didn’t do too much racing either. Valtteri probably deserved to win that poll.

        1. I think the same reasons for not voting for Hamilton applied even more to Bottas. I decided to go with Button but Hamilton and Bottas were very good.

          1. I agree with what you say – but I was commenting on the formula1.com poll – and that only allowed you to vote for the podium finishers so no Button on that one.

        2. Rosberg destroyed his own race and all he had to do to come back to P2 was ride out the tyres and hope they surviced till the end.

          Not sure why Bottas would deserve to win that poll. His opening speed showed that he could match the Merc for pace (if he wanted), but didn’t put up any fight against Rosberg. Although ROsberg pushed him off track nonetheless.

          Bottas put in even less effort than Hamilton and Rosberg did.

    2. Lol, they voted for Rosberg.

      I have to admit though, Rosberg’s first corner blunder was impressive. Never seen so much tyre smoke from an F1 car during a race. Almost like a dream going up in smoke …

      1. Probably the most exciting incident of the race :)

  45. Based on taking his car from last place to 2nd would normally have earned my vote to be DOTW–BUT–ROS’s wildly self-centered move at turn 2 could easily have ended up taking out both Mercs had it not been for HAM’s well-justified wariness of his teammate in situations just like that. Then later in the race I thought ROS’s pass of BOT bordered on unsportsmanlike by forcing all 4 of BOT’s wheels off the driving surface. Therefore, I voted for HAM again for his totally professional handling of every situation. My guess is he left enough in his power unit to use it again in one of the next three races–that could end up being a big deal.

  46. I voted Ericsson for making Kobayashi (the driver everyone once loved) look ordinary. Kudos to him.

  47. Should go to Hamilton:
    FP1=P2
    FP2=P1
    FP3=P1
    Q1=P1
    Q2=P1
    Q3=P1
    Race=P1

    1. FP1 Fail. He’s in the fastest car, should do better ;)

    2. It’s ridiculous that anyone could even think to vote anyone else today, really. True, Hamilton had zero trouble during the race, but that is not a fault, he did exactly what he had to do, spared the mechanics of his car and capitalise the victory, starting from pole and leading every lap (he was also so close to a grand chelem). It’s madness to say anyone did better than him during this flawless weekend.

  48. Regardless of the pendulum swinging above his pit, Jenson has proved that his experience and ability are still in pole position. He has suffered a second rate car for 2 seasons and no doubt has been essential to getting the car where it is now, in contention. He keeps spanking the (talented) young pup and carries himself like a gentleman in and out of the car. He overcame the frustration of a changing set-up through practice and qualifying and brought the car home to the only place available, a masterly fourth. Go JB.

  49. I had to vote for Max Chilton as I believe that he did exceedingly well to get the car out on the track at all and take it for 10 Laps before retiring through no fault of his own. The laps he did were almost faultless and considering the excessive pressure that was on him as the only Marussia driver in the race. Also, the circumstances which the race weekend took place under, after what must have been a particularly emotional and stressful week for him and the whole of the Marussia team, provided that extra pressure for his wanting to gain points for Jules. All in all, I believe that Max Chilton was the most deserving driver on track this weekend, the most affected and the most courageous.

  50. DOTW – easy – Magnussen – improved his position the most, had a grid penalty, passing tough competition (Alonso, Raikkonen, Vettel, Ricciardo) on a track that is not easy to pass on.

    1. Agree – if the philosophy of driver of the week should anything other than celebrating those WHO was already on the podium then we must look for those WHO did really well with the conditions they had. Magnussen had 4 fastest in qualiying 1.39.00 finished 5 with gear box change, grid penalty and had a first lap that epic for its racecraft overtaking several World Champions and a top contender Ricciardo and kept them safely behind during entire race – despite fuel problems.

  51. Why there is no dow for suzuka.two in a row for epic lewis

  52. Very tough to choose. Nobody stood out. Hamilton was good, possibly best because he stayed clean all through the weekend. But was he stretched? No.

    Rosberg didn’t have it on Saturday, screwed up on the opening lap, but was head and shoulders above after then….can’t be DOTW on that performance.

    Bottas gets my vote because when you look at Massa’s performance, it’s clear that Bottas was really getting the most out of his car. Could he have beaten Rosberg? Maybe, but when you look at Hamilton cruising to a victory by almost a pit stop, you have to say the Mercedes was too good for the Williams. But good work for him keeping them honest throughout.

  53. I think Hamilton deserves it.

  54. I didn’t vote. There weren’t any spectacular performances and there was only one driver who anyone could think about: Jules Bianchi. Forza Jules.

  55. Hamilton won a race at the first corner, which apparently you can’t do.

    Was a dull race so seems fitting to give dotw to a dull victory.

  56. First time I can’t actually vote.
    No driver actually had a “good” race, although Lewis, Kyvat and Bottas had comparatively decent weekends, the Toro Rosso appeared set up to maximise qualifying, aside from the single Q3 lap Bottas didn’t do too much, and although Lewis came top in every session he didn’t seem to have to stretch himself.

    If I had to vote I would vote Lewis, just because he made no real mistakes, but in retrospect, this was a very, very tepid race in a season that has been one of the most exciting and enjoyable to watch, even at tracks where the racing is not always thrilling; particularly when one car has been so dominant.

    (Exciting and enjoyable to watch with Japan’s ending aside. Good luck to Jules. I am seriously hoping he makes some kind of good recovery.)

  57. anybody but Lewis H….. this should generate some responses …. voted for Nico R mostly because he only really screwed up badly once … glad to see Jensen B do good … also liked Magnuson , Daniel Ricciardo and Bottas.. too bad Kvyat fell behind … been away for 12 days and recorder did not record Japan race… then I hear a few comments about Vettel leaving RB!!!! trying to get back in the know…. no matter how hard I try I can not get Massa or Kimi in gear ….

    1. who the hell is Magnuson?

  58. Why isn’t V. Putin on the list?

  59. Lewis is in the groove!

    Obvious vote.

  60. Mag for the win.

  61. Bottas for me.

  62. The three drivers who all really did the best this weekend – Hamilton, Bottas, and Button – all had the benefit of no pressure from their teammates. I went for Hamilton, but it really was a toss up for the three of them. Top jobs all around.

  63. In such a dull race, there’s only one victor here. Hamilton.

    Rosberg “recovery from the back of the field”, was aided massively by the tyres. Everyone did 1 stop races, and he didn’t lose more than 2 seconds in the incident itself and then had a relatively normal pit-stop, maybe lost another 3 seconds or so there – as I recall it was a slow-ish pitstop.

    So all we’re saying here is Rosberg took a car that is around a second a lap faster than every other car on the track (asides from Williams) and did the same number of pit stops as everyone else on the track, and then beat them. Sure there were some decent overtakes (although most were DRS assisted), but it wasn’t an impressive recovery, more an inevitable one. The only thing remotely impressive about it was that he did manage to beat Bottas to 2nd. As soon as it became apparent that the tyres were utterly bullet proof it was obvious that he would finish at worst in 3rd place, unless he drove into someone – which he didn’t do.

    How that warrants a driver of the weekend vote is completely beyond me.

  64. My choices for driver of the weekend would be Hamilton, Bottas and Button.

    Apart from FP1 Hamilton was fastest all weekend and there seemed to be a bigger than usual gap to his teammate. He dominated the race, but as the usual disclaimer, he does have the best car and after Rosberg’s mistake while trying to overtake him on the first lap Hamilton was never really troubled during the race.

    Bottas took the fight to Mercedes in qualifying and he almost managed to snatch pole but like he said afterwards he pushed his tyres to hard early on and didn’t have enough left at the end of the lap. In the race he seemed to not be losing that much time to Hamilton early on but then the gap increased by a greater rate later, I was disappointed that he didn’t put up more of a fight with Rosberg but given the Mercedes pace third was probably the best he could have achieved even with Rosberg coming through the field.

    The recent McLaren upgrades seem to have worked, on this type of circuit at least, as both cars were higher up the field than we have seen them lately and Button was the lead McLaren driver.

    While Button is noted more for his race craft than his qualifying pace I thought he put in good performances in both the qualifying and the race.

    As the BBC team noted despite his performance he seemed unusually downbeat when interviewed on both Saturday and Sunday he dismissed this due to the fact that drivers always want more from their results, but given the competition I don’t think he could have done any better and so I voted Button as my driver of the weekend.

    I am surprised that Rosberg has attracted so many votes (currently 4th with 14%), yes he came through the field to finish second but even though the Mercedes again had a big performance advantage he only managed this because of the tyre situation whereby making his one stop after the first lap did not seriously disadvantage him, if it had been at any other race he would have had to make another stop and would have finished further down.

    Also we have to remember why Rosberg dropped to the back, it was because he made a mistake trying to pass Hamilton on the first lap, flat spotting his tyres and so had to pit to change tyres, it is not the first time he has done that this season. Apart from first practice he also never looked to be on his teammates pace all weekend.

  65. This race was so dull and stretched-out that we simply didn’t get the smallest glimpse of the drivers’ skills.
    Hamilton? Drove flawlessly, but didn’t have any pressure whatsoever after turn 1 in the race. Instead, we saw him lift and coast as if he were participating in an old-timer rally. I can’t blame him for not having had to make the tiniest effort, but on the other hand, he didn’t show his skill. Voting for him today would be tantamount to rewarding him for driving a superior car.

    Rosberg did show his skill, coming back from the very end of the field, showing some aggressive overtaking while miraculously preserving his tires for the entire length of the race. This is somewhat reminiscent of his race in Canada where he somehow managed to save 2nd place with a grotesquely crippled car. He has definitely proven worthy of fighting for the championship. But can he be called the best driver of the race, having single-handedly ruined his own race at the start? No way.
    Bottas? Drove a very calm race in a superior car (not counting the Mercs, of course), never challenging Lewis, nor being under pressure from Button. Yielded to Rosberg, which was a smart move. But hardly an excellent race.
    Button? Finished where he could be expected to. McLaren was clearly behind the Mercs and Williams, but also clearly ahead of Ferrari and Red Bull. K-Mag was slowed down by his gearbox, but managed to join Button in the McLaren slot. Nothing extraordinary here.
    Alonso? Showed a good first stint, starting nicely, as usual, and putting some pressure on Button before slowly falling back and losing out to Magnussen during the pit stops. Managed to save 6th from Ricciardo, but hardly impressing anyone after the first couple of laps.

    I could go on and on, there was nobody who showed an outstanding race. It was a bit like watching a bunch of high-level professionals complete a 9-to-five job. You know they’re excellent, but it just didn’t play any role.

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