Lewis Hamilton wins the 100th F1 race while Lando Norris is devastated

nOrris paused to offer his congratulations to Hamilton. “I sympathize with Lando,” said Hamilton, who was two points ahead of Verstappen in the battle for the eighth title. “He’s so young. He has so many victories ahead of him. He’s done a fantastic job, he’s doing a great job running this team.

“For me it was just blind faith in the end. When the team called me I thought, ‘Lando is right there and there are only three laps to catch up 24 seconds, I can’t do that’.

“I wasn’t convinced on the first lap when I left the pits, but on the next lap it rained more and I was definitely more convinced. The team was 100 percent right. I had to play my role to get us into that position for this to work, but teamwork makes the dream work. “

At takeoff, pole sitter Norris flew off his markings, but the young British star knew he would be vulnerable to the first braking zone in the 350 meter attack, and so it showed. Benefiting from Norris’ slipstream of the McLaren, Sainz was dragged at over 210 mph before overtaking his former teammate for the lead. Hamilton started fourth but finished seventh at the end of a lackluster first lap.

The Mercedes driver was blocked by Norris in the first corner and lost to Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. Hamilton fought his way past Alonso the next time around to move up one place before spending the rest of the opening changes behind Ricciardo’s McLaren.

At the front, Norris Sainz held up honestly and on lap 13 he overtook the Ferrari man for the lead. “Got it,” Norris said over the radio.

On lap 22, McLaren called Ricciardo and Hamilton was released into the clear air, 14 seconds behind Norris. Four laps later, Hamilton stopped to get fresh rubber before team boss Toto Wolff called his superstar driver over the radio. “Lewis, you can win this race,” said the Austrian.

Hamilton cleared Sainz and AlphaTauris Pierre Gasly before setting out to chase Norris. Norris stopped on lap 28 and drove out of the pits eight seconds ahead of his compatriot. With early leader Sainz out of the game, the conditions were set for direct shooting between the man chasing his first win and the driver battling for his 100th career triumph.

At the start of the 38th lap, Hamilton could feel victory, just 1.5 seconds behind Norris’ McLaren – but the younger Briton demonstrated a level of maturity that went well beyond his tender age to leave 14-year-old Hamilton behind. However, the late rain changed the course of the game. Ricciardo was fourth ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Alonso.

“Incredibly Grateful” Hamilton applauds “magical” 100th F1 victory

By Phil Duncan

Lewis Hamilton celebrated his 100th victory as a “magical moment” after another extraordinarily dramatic afternoon at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Lando Norris, 21, appeared to knock Hamilton off his seat as the youngest Briton to win a Formula 1 race after a quiet and mellow drive in Sochi’s Olympic Park.

But the McLaren star was cruelly denied his first triumph when the rain turned the race upside down with just seven laps to go.

Norris stayed out on slick rubber, but the risk backfired. Hamilton stopped because of rain tires and crossed the finish line 53 seconds ahead of rival Max Verstappen to set his milestone in only his sixth race 14 years and 108 days after his first triumph in Montreal, Canada.