Having experienced their fair share of bad luck this season, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes Red Bull and Max Verstappen deserved the good fortune that came their way at the Russian Grand Prix. The Dutchman managed to claim a surprise P2 at the Sochi Autodrom, taking advantage of an early switch to Intermediate tyres as the rain fell in the closing laps. Given the bad luck that has hit Red Bull this season at races like Azerbaijan and Hungary, Schumacher reckons the team deserved to have something fortuitous finally go in their favour. "If you listened to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on Sunday, he was already rueing the fact that Max still finished P2, which is why it would have been better for Mercedes if it hadn't rained," Schumacher wrote in his column for Sky Germany. "Hamilton would have only finished second, but the gap to Verstappen would have been bigger. "Red Bull were lucky, but they have honestly had so much bad luck this season. If they hadn't had that, they would have been far ahead. That's why they deserved their luck here. "In addition, Hamilton will probably have to change the engine again soon. That would mean that he – like Max this weekend – would have to start from further back." Christian Horner and Helmut Marko believe Hamilton will have to take a fourth engine at some point, though the Briton says that may not be the case . With F1 set to visit Turkey next, Schumacher thinks Verstappen might have the advantage, having already changed his engine during Friday practice at Sochi. "In a fortnight, the next race will be in Turkey," Schumacher added. "Mercedes have always been slightly ahead there, but Red Bull have basically been closing the gap everywhere. "It's going to be a neck-and-neck race. With a new engine, Verstappen might even have the advantage. "There are already a lot of overtaking opportunities in Turkey as it's a beautiful, difficult track. Some of the apexes are hard to see, but it will be an exciting race. Formula 1 has always been very welcome in Turkey."
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