Hamilton wins 100TH F1 Grand Prix with amazing late victory in Sochi to reclaim title lead and deny Norris first win
LEWIS HAMILTON won his 100TH GRAND PRIX with a dramatic late victory in Sochi on Sunday afternoon.
The Mercedes star, 36, overtook British rival Lando Norris, 21, to win the Russian GP and reclaim the lead in the Drivers’ Championship.
Bristol-born Norris led for much of the race after starting on pole but couldn’t claim his maiden F1 victory in the McLaren.
Norris was ordered to pit with just a few laps remaining as heavy rain descended on Sochi but refused and paid the price.
Hamilton did change his tyres and was able to take the lead when Norris span off, becoming the first driver in history to win 100 F1 races.
A heartbroken Norris was left to cross the line in seventh but deserved so much more on a disappointing afternoon in Russia.
The rain also benefitted Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen, who stormed from the midfield to finish second.
Hamilton has regained the lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship but Verstappen in the Red Bull is just two points behind him.
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Carlos Sainz managed to negotiate the conditions well to finish third, while Norris’ team-mate Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth.
Valtteri Bottas (fifth), Fernando Alonso (sixth), Kimi Raikkonen (eighth), Sergio Perez (ninth) and George Russell (tenth) completes the top ten.
Hamilton consoled Norris after the race and also congratulated him on a stunning performance.
The winner told the press: “It has taken a long time to get to 100 and I wasn’t sure whether it would come.
“Lando did such an amazing job, he is doing a great job for McLaren, and it was bittersweet to see my old team ahead.
“But my team made a great call right at the end. I didn’t want to let Lando go and I didn’t know what the weather was going to do.
“Wow. One hundred. It would have been tough to get past Lando but the rain came and we were opportunistic. It is also a dream result for Max.”
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