Infarct ending in the Russian GP: Rain at the end decided the winner, Hamilton rewrites history!

The fifteenth race on the Formula 1 calendar is over, and it was a dramatic spectacle indeed! The rain at the end of the race had a significant impact on the final standings. Lando Norris pulls off a daring feat, and Lewis Hamilton rewrites history.

The Sochi circuit hosted its fifteenth race of the season on Sunday and it was once again a thrilling race. It should be noted that the Sochi Autodrom was the penultimate race this year.

The Russian Grand Prix will not be hosted by Sochi from 2022. The races here in previous years have not been a real spectacle. But that is absolutely not the case this year. The very composition of the starting grid has already provided the drama.

Max Verstappen started from the very back of the grid, due to a power unit change. Add to that the penalty of dropping 3 places on the grid for the collision at Monza.

Charles Leclerc started 19th in his Ferrari, which also got a new engine. And for the same reason, but for Mercedes’ strategy, Valtteri Bottas was 16th.

The fact that it’s a long way to the first corner in Sochi was confirmed by the start of the race, which significantly shuffled the standings. Lando Norris lost his pole position and Carlos Sainz took the lead.

Lance Stroll jumped to a respectable fourth place, while Hamilton dropped to number 7. Leclerc made a great start from nineteenth place, after the first lap the Ferrari driver improved seven places!

Over the next few laps, Verstappen fought his way through the field, and after about twenty laps, the race was directed by the McLaren cars – Norris took back the lead, with Daniel Ricciardo in second position.

After about halfway through the race, the top ten looked like this: 1. Pérez, 2. Alonso, 3. Leclerc, 4. Norris, 5. Hamilton, 6. Gasly, 7. Sainz, 8. Stroll, 9. Ricciardo and 10. Verstappen.

However, the first three made their first pit stops after the 30th lap, so realistically Norris was still in the lead, chased by Hamilton.

with 15 laps to go, the two drivers were already running behind each other, about one and a half seconds apart. However, Norris was able to keep Hamilton behind him thanks to his flawless driving and the great top speed of his monoposto. The McLaren fans were already confident of another victory.

It should also be noted that the 21-year-old Briton was fighting for his first Formula 1 triumph. And he fought valiantly, but a few laps from the end, the rain began to fall on the Sochi circuit, which intensified significantly on lap 50.

And that’s where a crucial decision was made – while Hamilton and the rest of the field pitted for intermediate tyres, Norris decided to stay. However, the intensity of the rain continued to intensify, which ultimately proved fatal for the McLaren driver.

The slicks, which do not shed any water from the tyres, were then virtually impossible to drive on. By lap 51, the race leader had even lost a minute! A lap later, he was also forced to go to his mechanics to put on the same tyres as the other drivers for the final lap.

All or nothing. Norris lost the victory at the very end of the Russian Grand Prix. For himself, for the team, and not least for the McLaren fans, the end of the race was truly devastating.

The victory in Russia belongs to Hamilton, who has rewritten the history of Formula One with this feat. No one else has reached triple digits in the “number of race wins” column.

Hamilton scored his 100th career victory. “It’s a long time when I think back to my first win and the time that has passed in between,” the seven-time world champion said in a post-race interview.

“A big thank you to the fans who supported us here. Lando did a great job here, I’m not sure if it would have been possible (to pass Norris – ed.) if it hadn’t started to rain. That makes the victory all the sweeter,” he added.

We must mention the admirable performance of Verstappen and his Red Bull. The Dutch driver finished his time in the Russian Grand Prix in second place! Given the circumstances, he managed to make the most of this race.

So what is the final standings for the Russian Grand Prix?

1. Hamilton, 2nd Verstappen, 3rd Sainz, 4th Ricciardo, 5th Bottas, 6th Alonso, 7th Norris, 8th Räikkönen, 9th Pérez, 10th Russell, 11th Stroll, 12th Vettel, 13th Gasly, 14th Ocon, 15th Leclerc, 16th Giovinazzi, 17th Cunoda, 18th Mazepin and 19th Latifi.

The fastest lap of the race was set by Norris, who was also voted best driver of the day. Mick Schumacher was the only driver to retire from the race on lap 33 due to technical problems.

Source: F1 Live