2016 Russian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Nico Rosberg swept to a Russian Grand Prix grand slam as his winning streak reached seven races. Lewis Hamilton recovered to second, while Sebastian Vettel‘s race ended in the opening corners after two impacts from Daniil Kvyat.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Pole time	1:35.417
Fastest lap	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	1:39.094 on lap 52
First	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Second	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
29 April 2016	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
29 April 2016	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
30 April 2016	Practice 3	12:00 – 13:00
30 April 2016	Qualifying	15:00
1 May 2016	Race	15:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Nico Rosberg arrived at round 4 leading the 2016 F1 World Championship on 75 points, with Lewis Hamilton on 39. Mercedes headed the constructors’ standings with 114 points.

Race entries

The 11 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Russian Grand Prix. Alfonso Celis, Sergey Sirotkin also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Nico Rosberg led FP1 on supersoft tyres, although Ferrari used the harder soft compound, limiting direct comparisons. Spins and excursions were common as drivers explored the available grip. Sergey Sirotkin returned to practice duties for Renault and finished ahead of Jolyon Palmer, while Alfonso Celis Jr. took Nico Hülkenberg’s Force India.

Lewis Hamilton recovered from a tyre-damaging spin at Turn 4 to lead FP2. Sebastian Vettel split the Mercedes despite losing running to an electrical problem, while yellow flags following Romain Grosjean’s spin compromised Nico Rosberg’s supersoft attempt. At Manor, Pascal Wehrlein reported a loss of power just after the session ended.

Lewis Hamilton narrowly edged Nico Rosberg in FP3 as the leading runners all used supersoft tyres for their quickest laps. Sebastian Vettel combined third place with extensive heavier-fuel running, preparing for a race complicated by his gearbox penalty. Williams followed Ferrari in the order, while both Saubers finished behind the Manor pair.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2016 Russian Grand Prix FP1, 29 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:38.127	32
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.722s	31
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.048s	19
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.205s	18
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.238s	14
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.523s	24
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.675s	34
8	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+2.091s	26
9	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.160s	22
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.527s	21
11	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.536s	19
12	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.644s	18
13	46	Sergey Sirotkin	Renault	+2.771s	24
14	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.958s	21
15	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+3.007s	22
16	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+3.111s	18
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+3.258s	20
18	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+3.544s	25
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.835s	22
20	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+4.356s	21
21	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	+4.560s	8
22	34	Alfonso Celis	Force India	+5.305s	23

Free Practice 2 Classification

2016 Russian Grand Prix FP2, 29 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:37.583	30
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.652s	10
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.867s	37
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.210s	35
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.501s	34
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.602s	42
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+1.610s	32
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.613s	31
9	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.706s	38
10	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.817s	30
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.882s	37
12	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.918s	30
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.212s	31
14	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.284s	38
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+2.610s	41
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.677s	24
17	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+2.925s	26
18	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+3.105s	37
19	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+3.157s	31
20	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	+3.497s	38
21	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+3.565s	23
22	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+4.069s	29

Free Practice 3 Classification

2016 Russian Grand Prix FP3, 30 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:36.403	17
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.068s	22
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.604s	28
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.324s	14
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.515s	16
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.582s	16
7	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.730s	22
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.857s	14
9	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.062s	25
10	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.139s	18
11	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+2.219s	23
12	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.230s	12
13	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+2.644s	15
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.759s	16
15	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+2.827s	18
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+2.835s	16
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.836s	15
18	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+3.186s	19
19	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	+3.196s	19
20	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+3.260s	18
21	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.337s	23
22	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+3.495s	19

Qualifying

Nico Rosberg headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Sebastian Vettel second and Valtteri Bottas third.

Nico Rosberg took pole, while another power-unit problem prevented Lewis Hamilton from running in Q3. Sebastian Vettel‘s gearbox penalty also changed the order at the front of the grid.

Qualifying Classification

2016 Russian Grand Prix Qualifying, 30 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:36.119	1:35.337	1:35.417	16
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:36.555	1:36.623	1:36.123	16
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:37.746	1:37.140	1:36.536	17
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:36.976	1:36.741	1:36.663	17
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:37.753	1:37.230	1:37.016	16
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:38.091	1:37.569	1:37.125	22
7	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:38.006	1:37.282	1:37.212	20
8	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	1:38.265	1:37.606	1:37.459	22
9	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:38.123	1:37.510	1:37.583	20
10	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:36.006	1:35.820	No time	13
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:37.784	1:37.652	—	14
12	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:38.332	1:37.701	—	14
13	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:38.562	1:37.771	—	17
14	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:37.971	1:37.807	—	14
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:38.383	1:38.055	—	16
16	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas	1:38.678	1:38.115	—	18
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:38.914	—	—	10
18	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:39.009	—	—	9
19	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:39.018	—	—	10
20	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	1:39.399	—	—	10
21	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	1:39.463	—	—	10
22	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:39.519	—	—	10

Sebastian Vettel received a five place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

What happened in the 2016 Russian Grand Prix?

Daniil Kvyat hit Sebastian Vettel at Turn 2 and again at Turn 3, sending the Ferrari into the barriers. Other opening-lap collisions eliminated Nico Hülkenberg and Rio Haryanto, prompting a safety car.

Lewis Hamilton avoided the worst of the trouble and climbed from tenth on the grid to fifth. After the restart he passed Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen, then moved ahead of Valtteri Bottas around the pit-stop phase.

Nico Rosberg remained in command, but Hamilton briefly reduced the gap before a water-pressure concern forced him to manage his pace. Max Verstappen‘s promising run ended with a power-unit failure.

Rosberg won ahead of Hamilton and Räikkönen, adding the fastest lap to pole and every lap led. Fernando Alonso took sixth and Kevin Magnussen seventh, delivering valuable points for McLaren and Renault respectively.

Further down the points places, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean, Sergio Pérez and Jenson Button completed the scoring positions. Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2016 rules.

After the race, Nico Rosberg headed the drivers’ standings with 100 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 57. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 157, with Ferrari on 76.

2016 Russian Grand Prix race results

The 2016 Russian Grand Prix was held on 1 May 2016, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	53	1:32:41.997	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	+25.022	18
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	53	+31.998	15
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	53	+50.217	12
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	53	+1:14.527	10
6	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	52	+1 Lap	8
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	52	+1 Lap	6
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	52	+1 Lap	4
9	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	52	+1 Lap	2
10	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	52	+1 Lap	1
11	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	52	+1 Lap	0
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	52	+1 Lap	0
13	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	52	+1 Lap	0
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	52	+1 Lap	0
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	52	+1 Lap	0
16	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	52	+1 Lap	0
17	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas	52	+1 Lap	0
18	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	51	+2 Laps	0
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	33	Power unit	0
Ret	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	0	Collision	0
Ret	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	0	Collision	0
Ret	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	0	Collision	0

2016 Russian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	52	16:34:33	1:39.094	212.452
2	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	52	16:35:47	1:39.743	211.070
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	47	16:26:34	1:40.101	210.315
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	36	16:07:51	1:40.266	209.969
5	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	52	16:36:16	1:40.347	209.799
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	37	16:09:54	1:41.159	208.115
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	46	16:26:29	1:41.179	208.074
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	50	16:33:07	1:41.720	206.968
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	50	16:33:00	1:41.832	206.740
10	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	47	16:27:56	1:41.897	206.608
11	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	43	16:22:54	1:41.907	206.588
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	51	16:34:44	1:42.026	206.347
13	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	32	16:01:48	1:42.029	206.341
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	45	16:24:53	1:42.050	206.298
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	41	16:17:42	1:42.205	205.986
16	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	50	16:33:41	1:42.253	205.889
17	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	44	16:23:19	1:42.344	205.706
18	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	52	16:37:20	1:42.378	205.637
19	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	37	16:10:55	1:42.660	205.073

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded. Time of Day is local.

2016 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2016 Russian Grand Prix.

2016 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	100
2	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	57
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	43
4	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	36
5	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	33
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	32
7	Romain Grosjean	French	Haas	22
8	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Red Bull Racing	21
9	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	19
10	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Toro Rosso	13
11	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	8
12	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	Renault	6
13	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	6
14	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	4
15	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	2
16	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	1
17	Stoffel Vandoorne	Belgian	McLaren	1
18	Jolyon Palmer	British	Renault	0
19	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	0
20	Pascal Wehrlein	German	Manor Racing	0
21	Felipe Nasr	Brazilian	Sauber	0
22	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Haas	0
23	Rio Haryanto	Indonesian	Manor Racing	0

2016 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	157
2	Ferrari	76
3	Red Bull Racing	57
4	Williams	51
5	Haas	22
6	Toro Rosso	17
7	McLaren	10
8	Force India	8
9	Renault	6
10	Sauber	0
11	Manor Racing	0

2016 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2016 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	20 March
2	2016 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	3 April
3	2016 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	17 April
4	2016 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	1 May
5	2016 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	15 May
6	2016 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	29 May
7	2016 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	12 June
8	2016 European Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	19 June
9	2016 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	3 July
10	2016 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	10 July
11	2016 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	24 July
12	2016 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	31 July
13	2016 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	28 August
14	2016 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	4 September
15	2016 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	18 September
16	2016 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	2 October
17	2016 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	9 October
18	2016 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	23 October
19	2016 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	30 October
20	2016 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	13 November
21	2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	27 November