The European leg of the Formula 1 World Championship begins with a trip to the Sochi Autodrom, and the third running of the Russian Grand Prix, held on the headquarters of the 22nd Olympic Winter Games just two years ago.
Was the first running of the race a booming success? Nah. Certainly not from a standpoint of exciting racing. The second time out? Now that's a little more like it! While Lewis Hamilton streaked off into the distance and put himself within one race of clinching his third World Drivers' Championship, the battle for the final podium place was decided on the very last lap - Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas took each other out, allowing Sergio Perez to put Force India on the podium for only the third time in their history. For everyone on the podium, it was cossack hats and celebrations. For the Finnish rivals, nothing but profound печаль.
This year, the Russian GP moves to the front of the schedule, and it couldn't come at a better time for the local hero of the race - Daniil Kvyat, coming off his second place finish in the Chinese Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing. Between the sterling form of his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, and the excitement around Verstappen and Sainz at Toro Rosso, Kvyat - now only 22 years old - has been cast as the neglected middle child of the bunch. So when he made a fortuitous move on four-time Sebastian Vettel that helped him get to the front of the field and ultimately finish second, it put people back on notice that Kvyat is a top-caliber driver.
And with the surprising pace of the Red Bull RB12 in the early races of the season, it's not a far-fetched proposition that Kvyat could again finish ahead of his teammate Ricciardo - possibly, on the very top step of the podium, a place Red Bull has never stood in the first two Russian Grands Prix.
The reigning champion Hamilton is near-perfect so far in Sochi, with two wins in the first two races and pole position in the inaugural race in 2014. But that Russian winning streak may be in jeopardy, because his teammate, Nico Rosberg, is driving at Alien Speed to open 2016.
There are only three other drivers, apart from Rosberg, who have ever won six consecutive World Championship races. The others are Alberto Ascari, Michael Schumacher, and Sebastian Vettel - who combine for 13 World Championships and 146 GP victories between them. Going for his seventh consecutive victory this weekend in Sochi, Rosberg is now the most successful driver in F1 history that has yet to win the World Championship. But at the going rate, with his perfect form and Hamilton's comparative struggles, Rosberg is well on his way to finally capturing that elusive first crown.
Vettel's still around, of course. And after three less-than-satisfactory outcomes that include a DNS in Bahrain and two third-places that easily could have been victories, the four-time World Champion is chomping at the bit to try and capture his first victory of the 2016 season. Scuderia Ferrari are bringing some aero upgrades to their car to tackle this high downforce circuit. And of course, Raikkonen will look to redeem himself after his gaffe last October.
Further back in the field, Williams Totally Not Martini Racing will seek to finally break through with their first podium finish, Scuderia Toro Rosso's young drivers could steal the spotlight from their big brothers at Red Bull, and could we see another Force India on the podium this time around? How many unsettling shots of President Putin will be projected onto the world feed?
In the first Free Practice session, keep a keen eye on Sergey Sirotkin's first competitive run for
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2016 Russian GP Schedule (all times GMT)
Free Practice 1: 07:00-08:30
Free Practice 2: 11:00-12:30
Free Practice 3: 09:00-10:00
Qualifying: 12:00-13:00
Race (53 laps): 12:00
