With Sochi another double trip begins.
The Russian Grand Prix arrives this year at the fifth edition: but the approach march has been much longer. More than a hundred years ago, in 1913 - that is, even before the advent of the USSR - the first race was run. At the beginning of the 2000s the tests of Sergej Zlobin and the project, never taken off, go back to create a circuit on the island of Nagatino (which is not an island, but a neighborhood.
Other ideas, still in the Muscovite area, were not followed. Until the time when it was decided to move all 1600 kilometers further south, on the shores of the Black Sea. The rest is chronicle.
The Sochi slope - which is actually closer to Adler - winds through the buildings of the Winter Olympics. It is characterized by a particularly smooth asphalt, which goes well with the soft compounds (Soft, Ultrasoft and Hypersoft, at the debut here) selected for the weekend. Temperatures should remain at late summer levels. The track combines a very fast section with a sector of right-angled curves. The distance between the starting line and the first corner is just over 400 meters, but in reality the first breakaway arrives long after, so that the riders at the start can exploit the trail of those preceding them. The 3-4 curve, a long semicircle on the left, is actually practically covered in full. Consumption is high and mechanical adhesion is not excessive, also due to the need to balance the wing load for fast sections.
With Russia opens another back-to-back, or two races in two weeks. For the Scuderia Ferrari, Monday after the race it will be time to transfer men and materials to Japan for the Suzuka classic.
