British driver Lewis Hamilton, representing Mercedes, caused another sensation yesterday in Sochi, Russia, at the Russian Grand Prix, taking the 100th victory of his career and moving two points clear of second-placed Verstappen in the standings.
It was a frantic race that took place yesterday in Sochi. It was a race marked not only by the domination of British driver Norris over a large number of laps, but also by the fatal error that cost him victory, which in the end went to Hamilton and Mercedes.
Right from the start, the rain threatened to fall on the track. When it finally arrived, there were two opposing reactions. That of Hamilton, Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr and their respective teams, and that of Norris with McLaren. In the first case, good anticipation allowed the former to be called back to the pits at the right moment to put on the intermediate tyres. On Norris side, the tendency was to believe that only a few drops would fall, a mistake that cost Norris his first F1 success the day after his first pole. “From one lap to the next, everything changed and we didn’t anticipate it”, the young British driver lamented.
The big winner was therefore Hamilton who, in addition to taking his 100th victory, also took first place in the championship, thus strengthening his bid for an eighth crown.
Hamilton‘s victory was also the victory of Mercedes, which has dominated the championship since 2014 and the arrival of V6 turbo hybrid engines. This year, the German team won the constructors’ title for the seventh time in a row. Since the start of the season, Mercedes has managed to place its two drivers on the podium ten times, and only two have taken place without either of them. The German manufacturer has won 13 of the 17 Grands Prix this season, and of course does not intend to stop there.
Read also > CHARLES LECLERC: THE F1 DRIVER EMERITUS BECOMES THE NEW FACE OF GIORGIO ARMANI
Featured photo : © Wikimedias Commons
