For the first time this season, Alfa-Sauber fans can cheer a little. After three poor tenth places in Monaco, Baku and Budapest, the Hinwilers took advantage of the wet finals in Sochi on Sunday.
Alfa-Sauber, the weather god, actually came to the rescue from the points scoring. And this time the Swiss team played poker properly, pitting Kimi Räikkönen (42 in three weeks) when the first raindrops appeared.
Golden solution
The green intermediates rubber was the golden solution, while most of the others were still swimming around or changing too late (or not at all).
For the Finn, who quit at the end of the year, it was eighth place or four World Cup points. Super mechanic Bruno Rohr, who worked for Sauber in Russia at his 500th GP, was of course also happy.
But eighth place in the World Championship is still a long way off, 7:23 behind Williams-Mercedes.
Who will be the second driver?
What the fans are of course most interested in: Who will drive next to Valtteri Bottas (32) in the C42 in 2022? The Hinwil boss Vasseur has announced that he will make his decision by the end of September. So soon …
The list of candidates has remained the same: title sponsors Alfa and Ferrari keep pushing for Giovinazzi (why?), Main sponsor Orlen and the Polish fans continue to dream of Kubica.
But the answer lies in Formula 2. There Théo Pourchaire (18) from the Sauber Academy took center stage again on Sunday with a second place (1.9 seconds) behind overall leader Piastri). In addition to the supposed favorite Guanyu Zhou from China. The money suitcase of the overall second (on Sunday 6th), filled with 25 million euros, beckons.
The Alfa-Sauber votes
Frederic Vasseur: «The race was very exciting and we are going home with a good number of points. Despite a difficult Saturday, we entered the race with a bit of calm optimism, knowing that we would be able to fight. Kimi got off to a good start jumping to P10 while Antonio was hit and had to recover from behind. He’s been in a couple of good fights and done some nice overtaking maneuvers – especially since he didn’t have a radio. Kimi was able to stay with Ocon for most of the race, just outside the points, and when it rained we made the right decision. He made up ground and crossed the finish line on P8, four good points for the team. That is a good result, a reward for our work so far and a boost in confidence before the next race in Turkey in two weeks. “
Kimi Raikkonen: “It was a good result that we fought hard for. In the dry we were able to keep up with our competitors, but it was not easy to overtake them, especially on the DRS trains. In the end, we made the right decision with the tires. We did our best and have a few points to show. “
Antonio Giovinazzi: «It was an eventful race. I was hit at turn two and lost a few places there: Furthermore, I was without radio from the first lap, so that communication with the team was not possible. It was a difficult afternoon, especially when the rain started at the end of the race and I couldn’t speak to the pits about changing tires. I’m happy about the team result, but I’m already looking forward to Turkey. “
Frederic Vasseur: «The race was very exciting and we are going home with a good number of points. Despite a difficult Saturday, we entered the race with a bit of calm optimism, knowing that we would be able to fight. Kimi got off to a good start jumping to P10 while Antonio was hit and had to recover from behind. He’s been in a couple of good fights and done some nice overtaking maneuvers – especially since he didn’t have a radio. Kimi was able to stay with Ocon for most of the race, just outside the points, and when it rained we made the right decision. He made up ground and crossed the finish line on P8, four good points for the team. That is a good result, a reward for our work so far and a boost in confidence before the next race in Turkey in two weeks. “
Kimi Raikkonen: “It was a good result that we fought hard for. In the dry we were able to keep up with our competitors, but it was not easy to overtake them, especially on the DRS trains. In the end, we made the right decision with the tires. We did our best and have a few points to show. “
Antonio Giovinazzi: «It was an eventful race. I was hit at turn two and lost a few places there: Furthermore, I was without radio from the first lap, so that communication with the team was not possible. It was a difficult afternoon, especially when the rain set in at the end of the race and I couldn’t speak to the pits about changing tires. I’m happy about the team result, but I’m already looking forward to Turkey. “
Final classification, Sochi
The rest of the calendar
October 10th GP Turkey
October 24th GP USA
November 7th GP Mexico
November 14th Brazilian GP
December 5th GP Saudi Arabia
December 12th GP Abu Dhabi
The new World Cup booth
1. Hamilton 246.5
2. Verstappen 244.5
3rd Bottas 151
4. Norris 139
5th Pérez 120
6. Sainz 112.5
7. Leclerc 104
8. Ricciardo 95
9. Gasly 66
10. Alonso 58
17. Raikkonen 6
18. Giovinazzi 1
Constructors’ championship
1. Mercedes 397.5
2. Red Bull 363.5
3. McLaren 234
4. Ferrari 216.5
5. Alpine 103
6. Alpha Tauri 84
7. Aston Martin 59
8. Williams 23
9. Alfa-Sauber 7