F1 Talk: Mercedes hope to avoid Netflix curse at Sochi

Unstoppable Mercedes will hope to escape the curse of drive-to-survive filming to continue unrivalled run around Sochi Autodrom.

Netflix will be filming Mercedes this weekend and after the events that befell them at last year’s German GP, team principal Toto Wolff will be hoping to avoid a repeat this year.

The Silver Arrows have never been beaten since the Russian GP has returned as the might of Mercedes have won every race since 2014; with Lewis Hamilton winning four races and his former team-mate Nico Rosberg and current team-mate Valtteri Bottas both managing a single victory.

With the chance to match Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 race victories, there is little chance of Hamilton letting up this weekend.

But Bottas has always gone well around the Russian venue and will have been targeting this race to score a second victory of 2020.

The Finn scored his maiden Formula 1 win in 2017, but has failed to match the same level of performance ever since. Can he change that in 2020?

Red Bull will be nervous about their performance this weekend as after handsomely being the second-best team in Mugello, the prevalence of straight-line speed could mean that they are susceptible to pressure from the midfield.

Max Verstappen will be looking to just score some points after two non-finishes in a row which has put him 25 points behind Bottas in the fight for second. His team-mate Alex Albon comes off the back of his maiden podium and will hope to use that result as a springboard this weekend.

McLaren maintain their margin over Racing Point, but are braced for the pace of the pink panthers given the dominance the silver arrows have shown around this circuit. The similarity between the new Racing Point and last year’s W10 should mean that they will be odds-on favourite in the midfield.

McLaren will simply be looking for some stability after a fractious time from their Ferrari-bound driver Carlos Sainz Jr. A solid result from both drivers would be warmly received.

After confirming that they will be using racing green next year when they are rebranded as Aston Martin, Racing Point should enjoy a positive weekend on the Black Sea coast as they continue the fight for third.

This week has seen Fernando Alonso suited and booted ahead of next year when the Spaniard rejoins the team. But after their recent success, there is every reason for the French manufacturer to be happy and with another track with low downforce and slow-speed corners, surely that podium is getting closer.

Ferrari have sunk to a distant sixth in the points standing after painful weekends at Spa, Monza and to a lesser extent Mugello. The Pracing Horse were less prancing than trotting, but on a track with more slow-speed corners, the prospect of points should be good.

AlphaTauri have been one of the stars of the show in 2020 and the Italian squad will seek to maintain that form this weekend.

With the prospect of being displaced next season, the sole Russian driver will hope to have a good weekend on home turf in Sochi. Expect another solid weekend from F1’s true underdogs.

Alfa Romeo doubled their points innings at the last race in Mugello courtesy of Kimi Raikkonen’s ninth place finish in Tuscany. That result has pulled them three points clear of Haas, but Sochi looks set to be another painful weekend.

Haas are struggling to stay optimistic in 2020 with just one point to their name. But with an array of talented drivers on the market for next year, it remains one of the last viable options on the grid. A rumoured change to Renault power unit could be on the cards down the line if Ferrari cannot improve for next year.

Williams Racing head to Russia still completely pointless despite two consecutive P11 finishes in Monza and Mugello. But with each passing race, the Grove-based outfit continues to improve and after early-season qualifying form, Williams seem to be stringing together better Sundays. There are signs of optimism yet.

As the F1 circus powers onto Sochi, Mercedes race-winning streak in Russia will surely only be stopped by the jinx of Netflix as the Silver Arrows have been in a different league at every venue this year and with it, Lewis Hamilton could match Michael Schumacher’s tally of 91 race wins. There is yet more history to be forged for the mighty silver arrows as no-one can quite stop them as this extraordinary era of F1 dominance continues…