The Sochi Autodrom is Russia’s only purpose-built Formula 1 facility. The track is located on the banks of the Black Sea, in an area known as the Russian Riviera, and it weaves its way around the Olympic Park that hosted the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The 5.853km/3.637-mile circuit was completed just 70 days ahead of last year’s inaugural Russian Grand Prix. It’s principally a street track, although there are some permanent sections around the start-finish straight, and the drivers reported last year that the track had a similar flow to Marina Bay in Singapore.
The layout is a classic Hermann Tilke design: it has 12 right-handers and six left-handers and the track is between 13 and 15 metres wide, which encourages drivers to take various lines through the corners. The longest straights are book-ended by slow corners to aid overtaking and the multi-apex left-hander at Turn Three is the circuit’s signature corner.
The asphalt is very smooth, prompting Pirelli to change their compound allocation for this year’s race. In 2014 it was possible to complete all 53 laps on one set of medium compound tyres, so Pirelli are taking their Soft (Prime) and Supersoft (Option) compounds next weekend in the hope of spicing up strategies.
Text: McLaren-Honda
