2021 Russian Grand Prix - Saturday

If it's dry, the 53-lap Russian Grand Prix should be one-stop race, unless there's a safety car or any other anomaly.
The pit lane time loss is quite big in Sochiat around 25 seconds: another factor that drives teams towards a one-stopper. Tomorrow they should all be able to run the theoretically optimaltyrestrategy, as wet conditions in qualifying mean that every driver has a free choice of starttyre, rather than having to go with their Q2 best timetyre.
Medium C4 to hard C3 is set to be the preferred strategy, also because this allows the greatest degree of flexibility, with a wide pit stop window that maximises opportunities to take advantage of safety cars or other race circumstances. Soft C5 to hard C3 is also a viable possibility, while soft C5 to medium C4 is marginal in terms of wear.
As always, there's the option to do something completely different and start on the hard compound before switching to a softer compound much later in the race, but that is more of an unknown quantity.This might be a good option for those starting lower down the grid, to carry out a longer first stint. With two of the frontrunners starting at the back due to engine changes, it will be interesting to see which tactics they choose.