Nico Rosberg will start the Russian Grand Prix from pole position, with just one change as Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel serves a five-place grid drop for changing his gearbox ahead of the event. He qualified second and will therefore start seventh, promoting Valtteri Bottas, Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez a place each.
Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton, who suffered engine trouble during Q2, will remain tenth. There were fears within Mercedes that he may drop further down the grid, however the team managed to switch the Briton back to the engine used in China, whilst also replacing the MGU-H, energy store and turbocharger.
Usually that would bring about a penalty as the unit is a different specification to that used during qualifying in Russia following the use of two development tokens to upgrade the fuel system. Mercedes however avoided the penalty by flying a replacement fuel system in overnight by private jet from their Brixworth facility, meaning the replacement engine matches that of the failed unit.
2016 Russian Grand Prix Starting Grid
![Aston Martin managed its first race finish of 2026 with Fernando Alonso [behind] completing the distance](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Aston-Martin-Honda-Japanese-GP-120x86.webp)
| Pos | Driver | Team | +/- |
| 1 |  Nico Rosberg |
Mercedes | |
| 2 |  Valtteri Bottas |
Williams-Mercedes | +1 |
| 3 | Kimi Raikkonen |
Ferrari | +1 |
| 4 |  Felipe Massa |
Williams-Mercedes | +1 |
| 5 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
Red Bull | +1 |
| 6 |  Sergio Perez |
Force India-Mercedes | +1 |
| 7 | Sebastian Vettel |
Ferrari | -5 |
| 8 |  Daniil Kvyat |
Red Bull | |
| 9 |  Max Verstappen |
Toro Rosso-Ferrari | |
| 10 |  Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | |
| 11 |  Carlos Sainz |
Toro Rosso-Ferrari | |
| 12 | Jenson Button |
McLaren-Honda | |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg |
Force India-Mercedes | |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso |
McLaren-Honda | |
| 15 |  Romain Grosjean |
Haas-Ferrari | |
| 16 | Esteban Gutierrez |
Haas-Ferrari | |
| 17 |  Kevin Magnussen |
Renault | |
| 18 | Jolyon Palmer |
Renault | |
| 19 | Felipe Nasr |
Sauber-Ferrari | |
| 20 | Pascal Wehrlein |
Manor-Mercedes | |
| 21 |  Rio Haryanto |
Manor-Mercedes | |
| 22 |  Marcus Ericsson |
Sauber-Ferrari |
![Aston Martin managed its first race finish of 2026 with Fernando Alonso [behind] completing the distance](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Aston-Martin-Honda-Japanese-GP-350x250.webp)
Discussion about this post