Unusually, a Russian Grand Prix was set to be one to watch closely. How events transpired in the 2020 Sochi race will indeed mean it lives long in Formula 1's collective memory, but for very different reasons than had been expected when the field woke up last Sunday morning.
Lewis Hamilton was starting from his 96th F1 career pole, but he wasn't exactly happy about it. Two things had rather irked the world champion.
For a start, he would be heading off the line on the red-walled soft tyres. Immediately behind him, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and eventual race winner Valtteri Bottas were on the significantly more durable medium tyres.