VLADIMIR RYS

No photographer gets as close to the Formula 1 action as Vladimir Rys. He tells Keith Wilson how he keeps up to speed in a sport where success for both pro drivers and photographers is measured in fractions of a second…

- Keith Wilson

01 FOLLOWING THE RUBBER TRAILS Dutch driver Max Verstappen rounds a bend in his Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB15 car during the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix.

Lens Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L II USM

Exposure 1/5000 sec, f/2.8, ISO500

ON THE eve of the Russian Grand Prix, it’s raining in Sochi, and Vladimir Rys tells me the forecast is wet for the whole week. The timing of a pit stop to change tyres from ‘slicks’ to ‘wets’, may be the crucial difference in the tight Formula 1 race between reigning champion Lewis Hamilton and the current championship leader Max Verstappen. Only a handful of points separate the two front runners, with just seven rounds to follow this weekend’s round 15 race of the Formula 1 season. Furthermore, there is tension in the air following the spectacular crash between the two drivers in their previous meeting at Monza, home of the Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was quick to denounce Verstappen for a manoeuvre that resulted in Verstappen’s Red Bull lifting off the kerb and landing on the British driver’s Mercedes, taking both drivers out of the race, with Hamilton narrowly missing serious injury. Vladimir missed that race after contracting COVID-19, but he’s back on track, ready to photograph the practice and qualifying sessions before the big race itself, where all eyes will be on the next clash between the two world-famous drivers…

Will you be looking for pictures of Hamilton and Verstappen together before, during, and after the race?