Your guide to...Sochi

23 September 2021

Round 7 of the 2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship gets underway this weekend at Sochi Autodrom, Russia.

WHEN TO WATCH All times local (GMT +3)

Friday Free Practice: 08:55 Qualifying: 13:00 Press conference: 17:25

Saturday Race 1: 08:35 Press conference: 09:40 Race 2: 13:40 Press conference: 18:30

Sunday Race 3: 09:55 Press conference: 13:20

THE STORY SO FAR

An incredible third instalment of the FIA Formula 3 Championship is set to reach its conclusion at the Sochi Autodrom this weekend, with the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships both still up for contention after six rounds of frenetic wheel-to-wheel racing.

It had been a difficult weekend for Dennis Hauger in Spa, but any doubts about the Championship Leader’s unrelenting consistency were put firmly to rest last time out in Zandvoort. The Red Bull junior’s weekend got off to a strong start on Friday afternoon with the Norwegian setting a spectacular late lap to seal a third pole position of the season and deny Trident’s David Schumacher a maiden pole by a mere tenth of a second.

The first race of the weekend saw a second taste of triumph for PREMA’s Arthur Leclerc, who sustained race-long pressure from Charouz Racing System’s Logan Sargeant to clinch his second Formula 3 victory. Despite bolting off the line at lights out, Sargeant was unable to hold off the Ferrari junior, who stormed into the lead from third on the opening lap. The pair finished ahead of Hitech Grand Prix’s Ayumu Iwasa who drove a patient race to secure the final podium position.

Hauger is first with 193 points

MP Motorsport’s Victor Martins put on a spectacular show in Race 2, soaring home to his maiden Formula 3 win from fifth on the grid. The young Frenchman came home ahead of Trident’s Clément Novalak, who dominated the majority of the race but didn’t have the grip or the pace to match Martins in the latter stages, and ART Grand Prix’s Frederik Vesti who collected his fourth podium of the year.

Sunday’s Race 3 saw Hauger claim his fourth win of the season in dominant style, beating out Novalak and Alex Smolyar by more than five seconds, to put one hand on the Drivers’ Championship title. Novalak was gifted his second podium of the weekend with three laps to go when Martins collected then second-placed Schumacher, meanwhile Smolyar returned to the podium for the second time in as many rounds for ART.

Ayrton Simmons makes his Formula 3 debut in Sochi, replacing Hunter Yeany at Charouz Racing System for the season finale. The American driver is unable to compete in Sochi due to prior commitments in the US.

THE CHALLENGERS

Dennis Hauger (193 points) heads into the final round of the season 43 points ahead of Jack Doohan (150) with a total of 65 points on offer in Sochi. Clément Novalak (122) moves up into third from sixth, after two second place finishes in Zandvoort. Victor Martins (117) and Frederik Vesti (117) sit in fourth and fifth respectively, with the rookie ahead on countback.

Doohan is second on 150 points

PREMA Racing (352) lead the way in the Teams’ Championship, but just 25 points separate the reigning champions from second-placed Trident (327). ART Grand Prix (233) sit in third ahead of MP Motorsport (204) in fourth, and Hitech Grand Prix (113) in fifth.

FROM THE GRID – ALEXANDER SMOLYAR (ART GRAND PRIX)

“One thing I like about Sochi is the size of the track; it's quite long in terms of lap time, and there is a lot of space on track to play with. I also like the idea of having a last corner really close to the finish line. It means depending on what you want to do, you can push the entry or the exit. There's also Turn 3, which I think is the longest corner of the year on the Formula 3 calendar. The track is especially interesting for F2 and F3, so I'm really happy to be racing there.

“For sure there's going to be a lot of overtakes into Turn 1, and there's also the possibility to overtake in Turn 3 depending on how your tyres are doing. We also know that the back straight has a DRS zone. There's the last corner as well! In Formula 3, there are a lot of possibilities to overtake and I'm pretty sure there's going to be some good racing.

“I'm excited to be racing in Sochi. Firstly, I was really not sure if I was going to be able to make it to Austin. So, in terms of actually being able to race in the final round, for sure I'm happy that we're going to Sochi. The fact that it's Russia, my home race, I'm even happier. I want to win, I also want to take pole position in front of my home crowd. I haven't raced in Russia since 2017 so it's going to be really exciting.”

TYRE TALK – MARIO ISOLA (PIRELLI’S HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING)

“We’re returning to Sochi in Formula 3 for the first time since 2019, when Robert Shwartzman won the title at home, and later presented the Pirelli Pole Position Award to Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Russia wasn’t on the original schedule for Formula 3 this year, so we’re going there with the P Zero White hard tyre that was originally nominated for the planned F3 race at Austin. That’s a very different circuit, but the use of the hardest compound means that the drivers will be able to push hard from start to finish for the title decider.”

STAT PACK

• At 5.848 KM long the Sochi Autodrom is one of the longest circuits on the 2021 Formula 3 Calendar. The only circuit longer is Spa-Francorchamps at 7.004 KM in length. • The Formula 3 race lap record at the Sochi Autodrom is 1:52.583 set by Robert Shwartzman with PREMA Racing in 2019. • Just two of the current grids have previously competed at Sochi in Formula 3. Logan Sargeant and David Schumacher both raced at the Autodrom in 2019. • Dennis Hauger’s fourth win in Race 3 at Zandvoort saw him break the record for the most race wins in the modern era of Formula 3. • A fourth pole position in Sochi for Hauger would see the PREMA driver break the record for career pole positions, a title jointly held by Hauger and Charouz Racing System’s Logan Sargeant. • Two more podiums for Hauger in Sochi would also see the Norwegian break the record for rostrum finishes. An accolade currently held by Shwartzman, who collected nine podiums in 2019. • Trident have scored more race wins, four, and more podiums, 11, in 2021 than in any season of Formula 3 to date. • So far this season, there have been 11 race winners, a new Formula 3 record, and a remarkable 18 podium sitters.