2019 Russian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Hamilton leads Bottas by 65 points. Mercedes leads Ferrari by 133 in the Constructors’.

Previous race

Vettel won Singapore in a Ferrari 1–2 with Leclerc, with Verstappen third. Ferrari’s first 1–2 finish at Singapore since the race joined the championship in 2008. A pre-race plan had Vettel intended to yield to Leclerc after building a gap, but Vettel refused to hand back the lead, and the timing of a pit stop that undercut Leclerc meant Vettel emerged ahead and stayed there. This was Ferrari’s third consecutive race win.

Practice

Kvyat’s Toro Rosso suffered an engine failure during FP3. A new engine was fitted but the car was not ready in time for qualifying; Kvyat did not set a qualifying time and is required to start from the back of the grid. Albon is also required to start from the pit lane after crashing in qualifying, necessitating a floor replacement under parc fermé conditions.