The Ferraris that started in Positions 1 and 3 on Softs get an advantage into Turn 1 over the Mercedes that started in Positions 2 and 4 on Mediums.

After starting behind Charles Leclerc on the Front Row in Position 2 (P2) and getting overtaken by Sebastian Vettel, Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton wins his 2nd straight race in the FORMULA 1 RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX 2019 with his teammate Valtteri Bottas comes in 2nd ahead of Leclerc.

The race from the start was filled with drama, the normal Formula 1 tires drama with the Ferrari starting on the Pirelli Soft (red) compound, in Positions 1 and 3 and the Mercedes-AMG cars starting on the Medium (yellow) compound in Positions 2 and 4.  As the race started Vettel was able to overtake Hamilton before Turn 1 by taking advantage of the hole being punched in the air by Leclerc.  Vettel kept his momentum and was also able to overtake Leclerc for the lead and stayed in the lead for most of the first  half of the race.  The second piece of race long drama was that Leclerc felt that he had performed as a team player at the beginning of the race, and by doing so, gave up the lead to Vettel and that Vettel should follow team orders to reduce his pace to allow Leclerc to takeover the lead.  If team orders were given to Vettel to allow Leclerc to overtake him Vettel ignored the orders and pressed hard to stay in front.

It’s not how you start, but it’s how you finish, Mercedes-AMG finished 1st and 2nd at Sochi. Mercedes-AMG has won 5 straight races at Sochi. Lewis Hamilton wins his 2nd straight at Sochi after starting in Position 2 (P2).