Russian GP: Lewis Hamilton wins 100th F1 race as Verstappen finishes second from 20th

Lewis Hamilton won his 100th Formula One race as a frantic final few laps in the Russian Grand Prix due to heavy rain dashed Lando Norris’ hopes of a first win. The rain also aided Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen, who jumped from seventh to second in his Red Bull after perfectly timing his switch to wet tyres. It was a fabulous result for the Dutch as he started from the back of the grid. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished third. The Briton’s victory re-establishes him as the championship leader, but Verstappen’s drive from the back of the grid in Sochi reduces Hamilton’s lead to just two points. The late rainstorm turned the race on its head, and while it gave Mercedes the win, it aided Verstappen even more. McLaren’s Norris, who won his first pole position on Saturday, was leading with five laps to go when it began to rain.

It was light at first and only over a few corners, but Verstappen, who was struggling in seventh place at the time, was one of the first to pit for treaded intermediate tyres. It was the highlight of his afternoon because Norris and Hamilton, who were more than 30 seconds ahead in their battle for the lead, initially stayed out. A similar decision temporarily propelled Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, who was trailing Verstappen in sixth place before the rain, to third place.

Norris was asked halfway around the lap following Verstappen’s stop if he wanted to stop for intermediate tyres, and he refused. Hamilton also stated that it was not raining heavily, but he was ordered to come in because more rain was on the way. He pitted a lap after Verstappen with four laps remaining, leaving Norris in front on his slick tyres as the rain began to fall heavily. 

A lap after he stopped, Hamilton was 14.9 seconds behind Norris, but the rain had become so heavy that the seven-time champion caught the McLaren within five more corners and swept by into the lead. Norris eventually came to a halt after tiptoeing around the rest of the lap, but the delay in coming in for tyres dropped him to seventh place at the finish.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who pitted alongside Verstappen for tyres, finished third, while McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas also benefited from early pit stops for treaded tyres to finish fourth and fifth ahead of Alonso.

DISASTER FOR LANDO

A team and driver error in late rain was a bitter blow for Norris, who had appeared to be on track for an impressive maiden victory for so long. The 21-year-old fell behind Sainz at the start and trailed him for 13 laps before retaking the lead. Meanwhile, Hamilton had dropped from fourth on the grid to seventh on the first lap, and he spent the first part of the race stuck in traffic behind Williams driver George Russell, who was ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Ricciardo.

At the same time, Verstappen had made excellent progress from his starting position on the back row of the grid due to an engine penalty and was only two seconds behind Hamilton – with teammate Sergio Perez and Alonso between them – after only 20 laps.

After both Norris and Hamilton pitted, Norris had a 10-second lead, which Hamilton quickly closed. But, with 10 laps to go, Norris appeared to be in command, with Hamilton unable to close the gap, only for the rain to change everything. 

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was another to suffer as a result of a late decision to change tyres. Starting from the back of the grid, he was ninth going into the final laps, two spots behind Verstappen, and briefly up to fourth as the rain threw everything into disarray. However, because he stopped late on the same lap as Norris, he dropped out of the points and into 15th place.