McLaren previews the 2015 Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom this weekend.

2015 RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

Round 15/19 09-11 October 2015

Sochi Autodrom snapshot

Fernando Alonso "We continue to learn about our technical package at every race. I'm looking forward to racing at Sochi; it's an enjoyable track to drive and it will be interesting to see how the softer tyre compounds affect strategy." Jenson Button "I had a good race at Sochi last year and I'm excited to go racing there again. It's surprisingly fast for a street track, with lots of medium-speed corners and long straights. I hope we can have a positive weekend and adapt the set-up of the car as well as possible to the complexities of this circuit." Circuit lowdown 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. McLaren had an encouraging race in Russia last year, finishing fourth and fifth with Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen.

Russia facts & stats

It's all about: the race Start time 1400 (local) / 1200 (BST) Race distance 53 laps (full world championship points awarded after 75 per cent distance/40 laps) 2014 winner Lewis Hamilton 53 laps in 1h:31m50.744s 2014 pole position Lewis Hamilton 1m38.513s 213.705km/h (132.790mph) 2014 fastest lap Valtteri Bottas lap 53 1m40.896s 208.658km/h (129.654mph) Safety Car likelihood Low. There was no Safety Car period during last year's race Don't put the kettle on... on laps 14 and 37. Hamilton took the spoils with a one-stop strategy last year, but Pirelli are taking softer compounds this year in an effort to increase the number of pitstops. Should that materialise, a classic two-stop strategy would involve stopping on laps 14 and 37 Weather forecast Warm. The temperature is expected to be around 22 degrees and no rain is forecast. However, Sochi has a coastal location, with the Black Sea on one side and the Caucasus mountains on the other. Weather conditions can change rapidly It's all about: the track First race 2014 Circuit length 5.853km/3.637 miles Run to Turn One 450 metres/0.280 miles to Turn Two, the first braking zone Longest straight 650 metres/0.404 miles, on the approach to Turn Two Top speed 332km/h/206mph on the approach to Turn Two DRS zones Two - on the approach to Turn Two and again on the approach to Turn 13 Key corner Turn Two, the best overtaking opportunity on the lap. The cars have to lose 205km/h (127mph) in less than 100m (0.06 miles), subjecting the drivers to more than 5g of deceleration load Pitlane length 330 metres (0.21 miles), which is average. A pitstop takes about 22s Major changes for 2015 A few changes to kerbs and one area of re-surfacing work It's all about: the car Fuel consumption 1.9kg per lap, which is high. It's a long lap with lots of short bursts of wide open throttle Full throttle 57 per cent. This is higher than the average for a street circuit Brake wear Average. Only 10 per cent of the lap is spent braking, which is low Gear changes 40 per lap/2,120 per race

Did you know? The Sochi Autodrom is the third longest circuit on the 2015 calendar, after Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone. Technical words of wisdom Jonathan Neale, chief operating officer and acting CEO "Sochi proved an interesting challenge for the teams last year. It's a relatively long lap, with an interesting mix of corners, but if there's one aspect of the engineering challenge that stands out, it's the asphalt. It produced unusually low wear on all cars last year, to the extent that you could do the entire race on a single set of tyres. "Degradation and wear will be different this year for a couple of reasons: first, the asphalt will be a year older and more established and, second, Pirelli will be going a step softer with their compound choices. We should see more pitstops, but we won't know for sure until we've done some long runs during Friday practice." Our most memorable Russian Grand Prix: 2014 The fanfare surrounding last year's inaugural Russian Grand Prix was overshadowed by the sport's concern for Marussia driver Jules Bianchi, who was in a critical condition after a crash at the previous weekend's Japanese Grand Prix. Prior to the race, the drivers gathered at the front of the grid in a show of solidarity for Jules. The track proved surprisingly fast for a street track, with an average speed of 215km/h (134mph), and its flowing medium-speed corners suited the McLaren MP4-29. Jenson Button qualified fourth and Kevin Magnussen 11th. Both drivers got away well from the grid at the start of the race and Jenson spent the early laps in third place. The team pitted him earlier than planned, on lap 23, in an effort to stay ahead of Nico Rosberg, who was on a charge from the back of the field. Unfortunately, Jenson just missed out on keeping Rosberg behind and he finished the race in fourth place. Some brilliant strategic calls helped Magnussen to finish fifth, giving the team its best combined result since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

McLaren at the Russian Grand Prix

Wins 0 Poles 0 Fastest laps 0

Team talk #14 Fernando Alonso Age 34 (July 29 1981) GPs 247 Wins 32 Poles 22 Fastest laps 21 Best result in Russia 6th (2014)

"It's exciting to go back to Sochi, one of the newest racetracks we go to, which means there's always a lot of anticipation. Last year's grand prix was a fantastic event and it was good to bring Formula 1 to a completely new territory and race in front of a new group of excited fans. "Suzuka was clearly a challenging race for us, but the support of the fans was incredible and we were still able to take some positives from it. We're working hard on reliability and it was encouraging that we didn't have any issues with the car all weekend. "Sochi is a great track and the street circuit layout and tight, precise corners make it really enjoyable to drive. The two straights are long and high-speed which means it won't be easy for us, but our car is very well balanced, so I hope we can have some good battles and make some good progress on track this weekend."

#22 Jenson Button Age 35 (January 19 1980) GPs 279 Wins 15 Poles 8 Fastest laps 8 Best result in Russia 4th (2014)

"Suzuka was a challenging race for us because of the nature of the track, but racing in Japan in front of Honda's home crowd was an incredible experience and it really lifted everyone's spirits. "I'm really pleased that my plans for next year have been confirmed - I'm fully committed to this team and have strong faith in the incredibly hard work that's going on behind the scenes in Woking and Sakura. We'll keep our heads down and keep pushing hard to improve our car at every race weekend. "In Sochi, I had one of my best results of the year last season, and really enjoyed driving on a new track. The surface has a lot of grip, so I'm looking forward to seeing how our tyres perform there. We'll work closely with our guys on both sides of the garage to get the most out of every session and iron out some of the issues we had in Suzuka."

Eric Boullier Racing director, McLaren-Honda "After the challenges and emotion of Suzuka, it's been a very important week for the McLaren-Honda team. We've announced a new partner for the 2016 season and beyond, Chandon, and confirmed that Jenson will be continuing to race with us next year. Both of these announcements are incredibly motivating for the whole team, and we go to Sochi with renewed enthusiasm and excitement. "Last year's Russian Grand Prix was an unquestionable success, and the organisers worked very hard to put on a well-organised event in front of packed grandstands of passionate fans. We had a strong weekend there last year, and, while we know the limitations of our package, we are continuing to work tirelessly on our reliability and performance to achieve the best result we can. "There's still a long way to go until the end of the season, and every weekend counts as an opportunity to learn, develop and apply our knowledge and experience to next year's car. Sochi will be no different."

Yasuhisa Arai Honda R&D senior managing officer - chief officer of motorsport "Sochi will be a completely new track for Honda so it will surely be an exciting challenge as we are starting from scratch regarding data settings. "It is a very unique and modern track, where cars can race side by side for the first half of the lap, then close in with tricky 90-degree slow- to mid-speed corners and intense straights for the latter half. This type of track layout is likely to be demanding on our power units, but as usual the team will work hard to get the best out of the overall package. "It will be interesting to see what we can learn from this weekend."

Lada is taking advantage of civil unrest with growth in the Crimea.

Lada, Russia’s biggest car brand, has become a favorite in Crimea after its annexation by Vladimir Putin’s government. Having little competition helps.

AvtoVAZ, the maker of Lada cars, is enjoying booming demand in the Black Sea peninsula after international automakers vacated the contested region for fear of sanctions. Such concerns aren’t bothering AvtoVAZ, which enjoys close ties to the Kremlin even if Renault and Nissan Motor Corp. control a majority stake in the Russian automaker.

“We aren’t losing our time analyzing geopolitical issues if they don’t touch us directly,” said Vladimir Stepanov, an AvtoVAZ spokesman. “We have too much work to do.”

While the Russian automaker pushes to take advantage of opportunities in Crimea, Renault is caught in no man’s land and has suspended work at its own dealers in the region. The company can’t afford to rein in AvtoVAZ, which is a key part of its expansion in emerging markets. At the same time, Renault is 15 percent owned by the French government, which has been vocal in supporting tougher sanctions against Russia.

The first official Lada dealer opened in October and Crimean customers are now ordering 200 to 300 Lada cars a month, said Andrey Kudrin, director of the dealership. In 2013, when Crimea was part of Ukraine, China’s Geely was the biggest brand, while Lada’s sales totaled only 155 cars, according to Autostat.

“Demand for Lada cars is very high,” Kudrin said.

Little competition

AvtoVAZ CEO Bo Andersson participated in the opening ceremony of the dealership, one of the few official sales outlets in the region. Companies such as McDonald’s Corp. canceled business in the region. Apple Inc. products aren’t available in stores and Google Inc.’s services aren’t accessible on the peninsula.

“European or American car producers won’t risk opening car dealerships in Crimea,” said Oleg Datskiv, CEO at Auto-dealer.ru. “The market is too tiny.”

For AvtoVAZ -- which is partly owned by Russian state-held company Rostec -- every little bit helps. As Russia slides into a recession, car sales in the country are forecast to plunge about 24 percent this year after dropping 10 percent in 2014. In Russia, the brand delivered about 387,300 cars last year, giving it a 16 percent share of the market.

For 2015, AvtoVAZ expects to sell 3,000 Ladas in Crimea. That could help the company’s total deliveries rise 1 percent to 2 percent, said Andrey Rozhkov, an analyst at Metropol.

Lada sales in Crimea currently account for about 40 percent of the region’s demand, Kudrin said.

While AvtoVAZ expands in Crimea, Renault suspended work at dealerships in Simferopol and Sevastopol and is weighing ways to service clients in the region, said Ekaterina Tretyakova, a Renault spokeswoman in Moscow.

She declined to comment on AvtoVAZ’s activities in Crimea, while requests made to Renault’s headquarters in France were referred to its Russian partner.

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THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES - Jaguar XE Word Cloud Sculpture Debuts at London Design Museum

• London Design Museum to showcase unique Jaguar XE word cloud sculpture during London Design Festival
• Aluminium installation designed by Jaguar design team to celebrate the global reveal of Jaguar’s latest vehicle, the XE sports saloon on 8 September
• The XE vehicle shaped structure is constructed from 95 words in seven languages
• Words express the aesthetics and characteristics at the heart of the new vehicle
• On display from 5 September to 6 October in outdoor London waterfront location by Tower Bridge

Today Jaguar and London Design Museum revealed a unique aluminium word cloud sculpture in the shape of the new Jaguar XE sports saloon. Installed in the Design Museum’s ‘Tank’, the design piece marks the start of the global launch of the new Jaguar XE due to be unveiled in London early next week.

Jaguar design collaborated with a range of creative experts across the fields of computer aided design, graphic artwork, stage design and metal work to design a word cloud representation of the new XE consisting of 95 words using seven languages including French, German, Spanish, Italian, English, Russian and Mandarin.

Design Museum Head of Communications Josephine Chanter said: “Large scale installations like this striking sculpture are always hugely popular with our visitors, and the Jaguar XE form is already attracting lots of attention. We’re sure that it will be a hit with the public, and it makes an eye-catching addition to our programme for the London Design Festival.”

The production methods are a combination of man and machine. Computer modelling was used to create the words that are molded to the dynamic form of the Jaguar XE then finished using metal craftsmanship by the team behind elements of the London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

Ian Callum, Jaguar Director of Design, said: “It has been an enormous amount of fun bringing a word cloud of XE and everything it means to life. It’s hugely satisfying to be recognised by London Design museum and to have our work become part of London Design Festival.”

For 25 years, the Design Museum has championed creative thinking and inspired problem solving, celebrating the talent of the world’s best designers and architects. The museum has welcomed five million visitors and built an important collection of contemporary design.

TVR coming back to the UK reports AUTOEXPRESS

TVR has confirmed its return, and we've talked to the British carmaker's new boss about his future plans

TVR is on the brink of a sensational return to Britain. Rumours of a revival have been swirling ever since a holding page for www.tvr.co.uk was posted a few weeks ago sporting a TVR logo and the phrase 'never say never'. Auto Express spoke with the new British owner of TVR Automotive for confirmation and now the TVR homepage reads 'the distant rumble of rumour has turned to thunder and TVR is back in Britain'.

Mr Les Edgar, a businessman based in Dorking, Surrey, recently bought the rights to the TVR name, as well as the rights to manufacturer parts for existing cars, from the former owner, Nikolai Smolensky. Edgar wouldn’t reveal the price he paid for the deal, but did confirm that he will be “following up with more information, extremely soon.”

Edgar said he was under a strict non-disclosure agreement so couldn’t reveal the timeframe, only that it will be “as long as it takes to get this right.” He added: “There’s a lot of planning and forethought that’s gone into this. Watch this space.”

The imminent announcement adds fuel to speculation that an all-new TVR could be on the way, although Edgar was quick to play down a story posted on a rival website suggesting a new model with “totally new styling” that was “half the price of a Ferrari and probably as fast” is on the way.

TVR, which was sold by Peter Wheeler to Smolensky in 2004 before being officially closed down last year, has suffered a troubled past with several failed comebacks but it looks like this latest one is set to run its course. 

Read more: AUTOEXPRESS report here