In its six-race long history in F1, the Sochi Autodrom has not produced a wet race. Aside from one free practice session in 2015, it hasn’t even featured a wet session.
This is a shame, as a bit of rain would spice up a race which has usually been a fairly uninspiring spectacle.
However, if you’re going to be up against the conditions at Sochi in F1 2020, we have the perfect setup for you!
Aerodynamics
Getting the correct wing settings at Sochi in the wet can make an enormous difference to your lap times.
I’ve found that 4-9 works really well. The car has plenty of front-end grip without sacrificing any rear end stability.
Transmission
For the on-throttle differential, 50% is always the way to go. This gives great stability under acceleration which is especially helpful in the wet.
For your off-throttle setting, I suggest running 70%. This gives the car a good deal of rotation while also keeping it stable through the higher speed corners.
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Running this setting a little higher than usual is particularly helpful in the long turn 3.
Suspension Geometry
Running camber settings close to 0 helps a lot with keeping the car pointing in the right direction.
As a wet Russian Grand Prix is not the easiest place to keep your car from spinning, running -2.50 and -1.00 works really nicely here.
For your toe settings, 0.05 and 0.20 will help you to limit tyre wear and through the longer corners, especially turn 3.
Suspension
A fairly soft suspension setup is usually beneficial in the wet conditions.
At Sochi, I would go for 2-3 for your front and rear suspension stiffness. The car will be stable without it flat out refusing to turn certain corners as it would with even softer springs.
Anti-roll bars are important in the rain, as a wet track tends to promote mid-corner understeer. To avoid this, use 7-9 settings for your anti-roll bars.
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As is often the case on a wet surface, a high ride height is the way to go. 9-11 keeps the car well clear of the wet surface and kerbs, and helps to maintain stability in all situations.
Brakes
My personal preference when it comes to brakes is to run 100% brake pressure with 50% brake bias. This gives great stopping power without stressing the front brakes too much.
However, it’s important to be comfortable on the brakes. If you feel that you are struggling with front locking, run a lower brake pressure.
Tyres
When it comes to your tyre pressures, taking some air out for the wet conditions is always advisable.
For me, 21.8psi on the fronts and 19.5psi on the rears works a treat.
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The wet conditions transform Sochi from a fairly dull track to a fun little circuit. With this setup, I hope you’ll be able to enjoy yourself in the rain in Russia too.