The confirmation of the PU deal with Mercedes seemed to have boosted the orange cars of Sir Bruce McLaren at the back-to-back Asian round of Sochi: the contract starting on 2021 can be certainly put on the top highlighted events of the season so far, opening a lot of scenarios for the future of both Renault and the German constructor.

The race has seen the cars finishing in 6^th and 8^th, with Spaniard Sainz ahead of Briton Norris: the two were separated by Sergio Perez, carrying on a prodigious race in his Racing Point.

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Thanks to today's results, we move onto 101 points in the Constructor Standings. #RussianGP 🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/5mDoJC9kXq

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) September 29, 2019

Carlos was the quickest of the team while team mate often has been the ‘first of the others’: the role was made easier by the great start that seen him fighting with Lewis Hamilton for the third position; after been overtook by the emerging Verstappen and Albon, he controlled the rest of the competition easily.

“Very good race. A great start and a very solid execution from everyone today. It was great to fight the Mercedes into Turn Two, which was one of my targets today. From then on I could control the race and I had good pace all the way through, even though it was impossible to hold both Red Bulls. This was not an easy weekend for us, but we managed to put it together and take another best of the rest finish. Great performance from the whole team and double points again. Congratulations.

Charles Leclerc comments on his race in Sochi, having finished P3 after some first-stint drama with teammate Sebastian Vettel

Lando Norris performance was ruined from the VSC deployed after Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari failure: with all the other cars pitting, Lando was at the back of a group of slower cars that avoided a better result.

“Today has been a positive day for the team with good points. Carlos and I both made good starts and gained positions. My first stint was reasonably good with decent pace, but then the VSC after my pit-stop shook things up. Cars came out of the pits from the VSC who were slower, preventing me from pushing as much as I wanted to, and then I was vulnerable to cars behind on fresher tyres. It was tough to keep the Renault and Racing Point behind. But overall a good weekend with more points for the team, a good reward for their hard work.