Lewis Hamilton became the first Formula 1 driver to win 100 races with a victory in the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday to regain the championship lead from Max Verstappen.
Hamilton dropped to seventh place when he was blocked in the first corner, but fought back and overtook Lando Norris to win when Mclaren In the late rain, the driver remained on slippery tires and slipped off the track.
“To get to 100 and at times I wasn’t sure if that would happen, ”Hamilton said. It was Hamilton’s fifth win of the season and his first since the British Grand Prix in July.
“This is a magical moment” Hamilton said. “I could only dream of still being here and being able to win these races and become a driver with such phenomenal talents at the end of my career.”
Hamilton turned Verstappen’s five-point lead into a two-point championship lead after the Dutch driver finished second after a dramatic dash from last in the grid. Carlos Sainz led the race and finished third in the Ferrari team.
After a hard start, Hamilton began his upward journey with a hard overtaking on the outside of the track. Fernando Alonso, a duel with echoes of their friendly season when Hamilton was rookie in 2007.
Verstappen started last after an engine change penalty in his Red Bull, but cut through the field and saw Hamilton halfway through. Hamilton’s Mercedes did better on the hard tires in the second half of the race and it seemed like Verstappen stopped when he was overtaken by a climber from Alonso and got stuck in seventh place.
But then it started raining, and Verstappen switched early to intermediate tires, allowing him to unexpectedly take the podium and limit the damage to his first title hopes.
“We didn’t lose that many points today, so it’s really very good,” Verstappen told his team over the radio. One of the key questions for the rest of the season is whether Hamilton will need an extra engine and penalty.
It doesn’t take a lot of rain to make a difference. Sochiwhere a flat track means the water drains slowly.
Norris finished seventh after failing to stay on dry tires despite warnings from his team about how slippery the track gets. If it weren’t for the rain, Hamilton said, “It would have been difficult to get by. Landau… He had a great pace. ”Norris was eager to give Mclaren wins in a row after Daniel Riccardo won the last race in Italy when Hamilton and Verstappen collided.
Hamilton now won Russian Grand Prix five out of eight timesand his victory on Sunday continues the streak of victories in Russia for Mercedes cars.
Riccardo Nearly hit the podium for McLaren in fourth and teammate Hamilton Valtteri Bottas finished fifth after an eventful race for the Finn. Mercedes ‘decision to swap the engine in Bottas’ car and take a penalty has prompted speculation that the team was using Bottas to delay Verstappen, which the team denies. Regardless, it didn’t take long Verstappen fly past Bottas.
Alonso was sixth for Alpineahead of Norris and Alfa Romeo Kimi raikkonen… Second Red Bull of Sergio Perez was ninth and George Russell took the last point for Williams in 10th place. Russell qualified third and kept cars behind, including Hamilton, his teammate at Mercedes the following year – for much of the opening phase of the race.