Russian GP – race review – Nicholas Latifi

27.09.20

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“I headed into today’s race in an optimistic frame of mind but it turned out to be a very tricky one to manage.

I struggled to get the tyres into the right performance window – especially in the opening stint – and lost time to my opponents.

Strategically I think we made the right call to stay out under the Safety Car as we knew once I pitted I would be able to go to the chequered flag. I wanted to prolong that first stint on the Mediums before replacing them with the Hard compound.

I enjoyed battles with the guys around me on a few occasions, but the pace wasn’t there to be able to seriously threaten them, so I focused instead on making the finish.

After the brake issues in qualifying, it’s fair to say I’ve had a few frustrations this weekend, but I know the potential is there and I definitely saw glimpses of it on occasions.

When you compare this week to where the team was at Sochi 12 months ago it’s a massive improvement. But we still have a long way to go, and there are plenty of lessons we can take away. So, this week we’ll get back to the factory, pore over the data and see what we can improve before the next event in Germany.”