Not for the first time, the Russian Grand Prix proved to be an excruciating coma inducing spectacle. The design of the circuit simply does not lend itself to competitive racing. It is one of several tracks which could do with a radical revamp.
Valtteri Bottas will not be too bothered about the non-spectacle the Sochi Grand Prix was. He was, of course, taking his maiden race win. But the new F1 bosses should have concerns as Barcelona is the next race on the calendar and Hungary is on the horizon.
Not only are these circuits notoriously difficult to overtake on, the new regulations involving increased downforce, harder compound tyres and wider cars will probably make it impossible.
The stats underline this when assessing the value of pole position in Spain, the front-marker has won 11 of the past 14 renditions of the race. The big question is which driver will set the fastest time in the decisive third and final qualifying session?
So far 2017 has given us three different race winners and three different pole setters; only once has a pole-setter converted that advantage to a race win.
Upgrade woes at Red Bull
Of course, this is the first European race of the year, meaning teams invariably introduce a lot of new updates to their cars here. Red Bull are amongst those who have declared they will unveil such upgrades at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, they are very much needed by the Milton Keynes based team.
Red Bull may be the definite third best team on current evidence but there is a yawning gap between them and prevalent Mercedes and Ferraris. At this stage of the season only Mystic Meg could safely predict a Red Bull driver will visit the top step of a podium in 2017.
So far the team have collected just a single bronze medal during the current campaign with Verstappen taking third in China and they have had to endure three retirements (two for Ricciardo one for Verstappen).
Some of those retirements have been a consequence of a failing MGU-H (the heat energy recovery system) on the Renault powered car and to that end there is more bad news for the team. An engine upgrade which the French manufacturer planned to deliver at the Canadian Grand Prix on June 11 has been delayed and it might not surface until the Austrian Grand Prix on July 9.
