Lewis Hamilton won the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi for Mercedes on Sunday, the 100th Formula 1 victory of his career when a late downpour cost McLaren Lando Norris his first GP victory.
The race was decided in the closing stages, with Norris aiming for his first win and Hamilton aiming for his century, but the outcome was ultimately determined by rain and pit strategy. Hamilton pitted for intermediates when it started drizzling while Norris stayed on slicks – but a downpour ruined Norris’ venture.
Hamilton pulled past him and won the race, ahead of Red Bulls Max Verstappen, who moved from the bottom of the grid to second place. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz completed the podium after leading early.
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Results of the Russia Grand Prix Race 2021
How the Russian Grand Prix developed
In dry conditions but with impending rain, Norris led F1 pole starters through Turn 1 for the first time when George Russell’s Williams first overtook Sainz off the line, but Sainz overtook him and then braked Norris for the lead at Turn 2. Russell held third place. Hamilton dropped to seventh place behind Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren).
Ricciardo stormed past Alonso on the back straight and took fifth place on the first lap. From the end of the grid, Verstappen immediately made up three places.
Hamilton overtook Alonso to finish sixth, while teammate Valtteri Bottas (who had taken an engine penalty) moved up to 14th, with Verstappen behind.
Sainz and Norris pulled away from their pursuers and fought their way up front when Verstappen overtook Bottas on lap 7. He then overtook Gasly and Leclerc but had a big moment attacking the latter – he feared it might damage his front wing.
Norris overtook Sainz on the back straight on lap 13 for the lead when Stroll pitted from fourth place and switched from Medium to Hards. This triggered a series of early pit stops when Russell pitted from third but got back in behind Stroll.
Sainz came from second on lap 15 with a sticky left rear wheel that cost him time while Verstappen overtook Vettel and was now in the points.
McLaren gave up his 1-2 when Ricciardo pitted from second, but despite a quick wheel change, he was not sacked, leaving him behind Sainz, Stroll and Russell. That put Hamilton in second place, 12 seconds behind Norris, but 2 seconds ahead of Perez, Alonso, Verstappen (who complained about dead tires) and Leclerc.
Hamilton pitted on lap 27 after being suspended and ditching his media for Hards. Hamilton rejoined behind Sainz and Stroll, while Verstappen mingled between Ricciardo and Russell.
Norris was also made to pit and finished fourth behind Perez, Alonso and Leclerc, who all had to stop. Hamilton overtook Sainz at Turn 2 on lap 30 for a net runner-up and was nine seconds behind Norris at that point.
Ricciardo overtook Stroll in fourth place, while Verstappen also moved up to fifth a few corners later. Norris lost time beating long-time Leclerc for third place, allowing Hamilton to close the gap to 5 seconds. He was then further delayed by Alonso, which allowed Hamilton to come within 3 seconds.
Perez pitted from the front but suffered a slow stop and dropped to fifth, behind Norris, Hamilton, Sainz and Ricciardo. Despite a slow pit stop, the freshly matured Alonso was able to prevail in turn 2 in sixth place ahead of Verstappen.
In the closing stages, Hamilton was approaching Norris’ DRS track just as it was starting to rain. With eight laps to go, Perez overtook Ricciardo in fourth.
Norris ran far at Turn 5 as the rain picked up but only held out from Hamilton when Perez overtook Sainz for third place. Norris had a second foray off track but stayed outside. Stroll and Vettel collided and drove on. Stroll later split off.
Hamilton, Ricciardo and Verstappen pitted for the intermediates with three laps to go. Hamilton was 25 seconds behind the leader while Norris stayed outside. But heavy rain ruined Norris’ gambling, and Hamilton overtook Norris for the lead when Norris slipped helplessly off the track.
Verstappen moved up to second place on Inters when Norris slid back in the pits for Intermediate, got back on track, and likely received a penalty for rubbing salt into his wounds. Leclerc was eliminated and dropped back to 15th place.
Hamilton beat Verstappen to the finish with 53 seconds, Sainz finished third in front of Ricciardo, Bottas, Alonso, Norris, Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo), Perez and Russell.
