Most Constructor Wins: Ferrari | 1976, 1977, 1990, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2017
The Trivia
1991 saw Ayrton Senna‘s infamous first home victory, with the three-time world champion screaming over the radio at the end of the race, having driven the final laps of the race stuck in sixth gear
The 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix was the last time an F1 race was won by over a lap
Giancarlo Fisichella was eventually announced the winner of the 2003 race, five days after the event, due to a countback error following a red flag in a chaotic wet race
Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz recorded the first podium finishes of their careers at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. It was the first time that two drivers had taken their maiden podium finish at the same race since Germany in 1994
The Weather
The Quotes
Max Verstappen | “I’ve had a bigger lead already in the championship and that disappeared within two race weekends. We have to again try do the best we can do here and then after this weekend we will try to win the race.”
Lewis Hamilton | “I think people underappreciate just how well we’ve done considering the pace they’ve had since day one.”
Toto Wolff | “It’s not been our strongest track in recent seasons and has tended to suit Red Bull more, but this year has proved anything can happen. It’s the last Sprint Race weekend, too, which opens up more opportunity.”
Daniel Ricciardo | “That was maybe the bigger frustration, you’re able to hold off a Mercedes but normally if you’re doing that you’re on the podium. Obviously in our case we were trying to come back through the field. I guess it was a pretty long Sunday for both of us but there was some promise in that we could hold [Valtteri Bottas] off.”
Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominated at the Mexico City Grand Prix as the Dutchman took another big step towards securing his first championship.
The Red Bulls had, as expected, proven to be easily the quickest package around the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, as the Mercedes engine struggled in the thin air 2,200 metres above sea level. But during qualifying the form book was flipped on its head as Yuki Tsunoda, Sergio Pérez and Verstappen tripped over one another on the crucial final lap of Q3, allowing a surprise Mercedes front-row lockout.
The long run to the first corner would clearly be crucial and Mercedes had hatched a plan for Lewis Hamilton to slot in behind teammate Valtteri Bottas so as to benefit from the slipstream.
However, Hamilton got the better start and was almost immediately alongside the Finn. There was still the opportunity to form a dual-Mercedes roadblock, but Bottas left a Verstappen-sized gap on the outside and car number 33 happily slotted into it, with the trio heading into the first corner three-wide.
Verstappen was able to brake far later than the two Silver Arrows – who had been struggling with the heavy braking for the first corner all weekend – and sweep round on the grippier racing line. From there, the race was his.
Image credit: Motorsport Images
Mercedes’ poor opening 30 seconds got worse still as Bottas was spun around by Daniel Ricciardo, with chaos ensuing amongst the following pack.
Pérez took to the grass as the rest of the drivers attempted to navigate the stranded Mercedes, but Tsunoda and Mick Schumacher were both launched into the air as they sandwiched a helpless Esteban Ocon and would be forced to retire from the resulting damage.
Once the inevitable Safety Car had returned to the pits and Verstappen had successfully survived a second run to Turn One, he streaked off into the lead and it became clear that, on this occasion, it would not be a Hamilton-Verstappen battle as much as the seven-time world champion defending second place from the second Red Bull.
Home hero Pérez sat within two seconds of Hamilton for much of the first half of the race without ever getting close to attempt a move. Red Bull then attempted to create a tyre deficit for the second stint, leaving him out for a further 11 laps after Hamilton pitted. Despite closing in rapidly, he was again unable to pass in the closing laps, but was nonetheless delighted with third place as he became the first Mexican driver to climb onto the podium at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Out front, it was plain sailing for Verstappen. A few late games as a lapped Bottas attempted to steal the point for fastest lap away from him were his only real point of note as he clinched a ninth win of the season and extended his championship lead to 19 points.
There has been a lot of talk on social media of Verstappen having the title all but wrapped up after yet another win. But, there are still four races to go in which anything could happen.
Brazil next weekend looks likely to favour Red Bull again, but by a smaller margin, and Interlagos has a knack for producing chaos one way or another. After that come two unknowns in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, before the finale in Abu Dhabi which should see the teams fairly evenly matched.
Hamilton certainly has plenty of work to do now, and will probably need a hand from lady luck, but all it takes is one retirement to turn the championship on its head.
After all, never forget the end of the 2007 season… Räikkonen was 17 points behind with 20 remaining from the final two races and somehow managed to come away with the title.
The fat lady may be doing her vocal warm-ups but there’s still a long walk from her dressing room to the stage.
The Mexico City Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Will Red Bull have the advantage that most expect of them this weekend? Yes, they will.
Can Sergio Pérez do anything special in front of his passionate home crowd? The first-ever Mexican to finish on the podium and to lead at his home race is pretty special.
Will there be any major announcements over the weekend? Nothing this week.
At 2,240 metres above sea level, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is by far the highest track on the current F1 calendar
Gerhard Berger took his first win at the 1986 Mexico Grand Prix, driving a Benetton B186 – one of the most powerful F1 cars ever raced – and completed the win on a single set of tyres
John Surtees, Denny Hulme, Graham Hill and Lewis Hamilton have all clinched the world title in Mexico, with the latter doing so twice, in 2017 and 2018
In 2018, Max Verstappen became the first driver to win the Mexican Grand Prix in consecutive years
The Weather
The Quotes
Lewis Hamilton | “I always want to win it in the right way and if you’re going to lose it, you lose it in the right way also.”
Max Verstappen | “I will race hard like Lewis does and everyone else does and of course always try to keep it clean.”
Sergio Pérez | [On whether he would move aside for Verstappen whilst in the lead] “I think it will be a great problem to have from my side, you know? It always depends on the situation, because most of the decisions are normally taken during the race, during the heat of the event, so I think that depending on the circumstances, we’ll see. But I’m pretty sure the whole team, Red Bull, everyone, wants me to win this weekend.
Andrea Stella | “We don’t anticipate that from an HPP (Mercedes) point of view there should be any larger deficit than the other manufacturers. From a power point of view I don’t think this puts a McLaren or any other HPP cars at a disadvantage. Possibly in the past we saw there as a bit more of a swing associated with the power-unit, but I don’t see the technical reasons why this should still be true.”
With just one spot left on the grid next season and races running out this year for him to pick up a now-trademark, last-minute ‘super sub’ appearance, have we seen the last of Nico Hülkenberg in Formula 1? Is a career that promised so much over without a single trophy after a decade of near-misses?
Image credit: Getty Images
A blonde-haired, blue-eyed, baby-faced German entered the paddock for the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, seemingly with the world at his feet.
Having produced a prodigious junior career that could rival any of the top F1 talents, Hülkenberg was described by manager Willi Weber as “an unbelievable talent” that reminded him of his other long-term client – a certain seven-time world champion named Michael Schumacher.
The Hulk’s debut in Sakhir featured a spin whilst running in a promising position. His second race lasted just five corners as Kamui Kobayashi’s front wing failed, sending the Sauber into the barriers and subsequently the path of a helpless Hülkenberg.
And thus the tone was set for a career of mishaps and misfortune.
That is not to say there have not been special moments. There was a shock pole position in mixed conditions at Interlagos during his rookie season, and two years later he found himself fighting for victory at the same track. As would often prove to be the case, a combination of poor luck and judgment would put paid to his chances, though.
With the chaotic mixed conditions that Brazil so often provides present once again, Hülkenberg – along with Jenson Button – took the decision not to pit as rain started to fall. It proved to be the correct one and left the pair with a lead of over a minute and the German in first place. However, a safety car removed their safety net and, with just over 20 laps remaining, Lewis Hamilton passed Hülkenberg when he briefly lost control of his Force India.
Image credit: LAT Photographic
Six laps later, Hülkenberg was back on the tail of the McLaren, but again lost control on the slippery surface and this time slid into Hamilton, taking the Briton out of the race and earning himself a drive-through penalty which would see him ultimately reach the chequered flag in fifth.
A first golden chance of a podium – if not a win – had slipped through his fingers, but surely there would be plenty more opportunities to come…
His single season at Sauber in 2013 was one of his best: dragging an uncompetitive car into points-paying positions and even keeping Hamilton behind him on his way to an impressive fourth place in Korea.
Then followed three years back at Force India with Sergio Pérez as his teammate. He was only narrowly outscored by the Mexican over that period, but Pérez managed to notch up four podiums to Hülkenberg’s zero. Whenever the chance of an unlikely result arose, he somehow contrived to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In 2016 alone, a podium finish escaped him on four separate occasions: in Monaco, getting caught in traffic after his pit stop ruined what had been a legitimate third place; in Baku, he spun during qualifying when the Force India was truly competitive with Pérez earning a visit to the podium; in Austria, he qualified second but produced a poor start; and in Brazil, he picked up a puncture whilst running in what would have become a net third.
Image credit: Sutton Images
The trend continued in subsequent years. He would crash out of chaotic races such as Azerbaijan 2017 and Germany 2019 when in with a great shout of a top-three finish and, if he did keep it on the road as in Singapore 2017, lady luck would find some way to ensure that strategy and/or bad timing kept him off the podium.
Hülkenberg clearly has speed. He was the unofficial champion of ‘Formula 1.5‘ on two separate occasions, has earned three fourth places and nine fifth places, and his win at Le Mans shows that he has a winning mentality (and is not totally cursed). But, for whatever reason, it has never quite come together for him in F1.
As the old adage goes, you make your own luck and, in that sense, Hülkenberg is far from a master craftsman. Whilst he has certainly experienced more than his share of bad luck, he has also removed himself from numerous situations where he could finally have broken his duck and earned a place up on the rostrum.
“I won’t be the next Michael Schumacher or whatever. When I get to Formula One, if I do get there, I want to be the first Nico Hülkenberg.”
Hülkenberg claims to have missed out on a Ferrari seat “by an inch” and, according to Ross Brawn, was the next choice for Mercedes if Hamilton had not signed. If either of those timelines had come to pass, this would likely be a very different article. That is the fine line between success and failure in Formula 1.
On the initial Schumacher comparison, Hülkenberg said: “I won’t be the next Michael Schumacher or whatever. When I get to Formula One, if I do get there, I want to be the first Nico Hülkenberg.”
Whether or not he ever returns to the grid, he has certainly succeeded in that.
Max Verstappen held off a late charge from title rival Lewis Hamilton to win the United States Grand Prix in Texas.
Fears of a Mercedes domination – after an ominous performance in Practice 1 – proved to be unfounded as the Red Bull developed into the slightly faster car over the course of the weekend.
Verstappen had secured pole position in an exciting battle during qualifying on Saturday, but was beaten off the line by the seven-time world champion starting next to him. The Dutchman ran car number 44 to the very edge of the track, with plenty of heartbeats rising amid visions of the pair coming together once again when they reached the first corner.
They successfully navigated it, however, with Hamilton emerging in front.
It quickly became apparent that it would not be a comfortable day at the front for the Briton, with his rival able to follow comfortably within one second throughout the first stint – denied only from passing by the prodigious straight-line speed of the Mercedes.
Image credit: Getty Images
Red Bull therefore chose to go for an aggressively early undercut on lap 10. With the Austrian team for once having a two-on-one advantage, thanks to Sergio Pérez in third, Hamilton was unable to go long and pitted three laps later, rejoining eight seconds behind Verstappen.
The two drivers endured a stint of pace management in the middle of the race but, when Verstappen pitted for a second time, with his team wary of Hamilton having worked his way to undercut territory, the pair had opened up a sufficient gap to Pérez that Hamilton was this time able to extend.
He eventually pitted on lap 37, eight laps after his rival, and set about closing down a nine-second gap in 19 laps.
After a period of gently bringing in the tyres, Hamilton put his foot down and the gap began to reduce rapidly, with the 400,000-strong crowd realising they were going to see the winner decided in the final few laps.
Hamilton got to within two seconds but his progress then stalled, as is often the case, when his car hit the dirty air of the leading Red Bull. The Silver Arrows’ inability to follow another car is a real weakness – one which was not overly exposed during the previous two seasons at the front, but it is now costing them in a tight championship battle.
The World Champion finally broke into the DRS window on the final lap but it was too late and Verstappen came home to complete a measured drive under intense pressure and extend his championship lead to 12 points.
Pérez held on to take the final step of the podium – the Mexican finding some form at the perfect time for his team – ahead of the excellent Charles Leclerc, who started and finished an impressive fourth.
Further down the road, Fernando Alonso showed he has lost none of his fire – nor his penchant for double standards – during a battle with the Alfa Romeos. First, accusing old foe Kimi Räikkönen of passing off the track, after he had forced him there, and then complaining of hypocrisy when he outbraked himself at the end of the back straight and stayed ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi by not really taking the corner.
This led to an entertaining snippet of radio with Alpine Sporting Director Alan Permane dealing out a healthy dose of passive-aggressive sarcasm to Michael Masi.
Just think of all the gold we have missed in past years before these team radio broadcasts were introduced.
A Decisive Blow in the Title Battle?
COTA always looked likely to be a track that would suit both the leading teams evenly and produce a closely fought battle.
Image credit: Getty Images
The next two races, however, look very much like Red Bull tracks.
The thin air at the high altitude of Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez has hampered the Mercedes engine since it returned to the calendar in 2015. Verstappen took back-to-back victories in 2017 and 2018 in a comparatively far-weaker Red Bull and Hamilton’s victory at the last running in 2019 was down to some tyre-whispering mastery and a questionable Ferrari strategy.
Red Bull have also historically been strong at the Brazilian Grand Prix – which follows seven days later as part of a triple-header also featuring the maiden Qatar Grand Prix – with Verstappen winning at the last race, also in 2019.
Of course, these are considerably different cars to two years ago, with different aerodynamic traits, and anything could happen – especially at Interlagos, as we know alltoowell.
But if the flying Dutchman and his team come good on their potential at those two events, they could well be more than a win’s worth of points ahead of Hamilton with just three races remaining.
The United States Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Will Mercedes or Red Bull be on top around COTA? It was close but Red Bull appeared to have a slight edge.
Can Ferrari continue their good form and close the gap to McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship? They can – getting mighty close now!
Will there be any major announcements over the weekend? Nope, although rumours around the Andretti takeover of Sauber are building momentum.
Most Driver Wins: Lewis Hamilton | 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Most Constructor Wins: Mercedes | 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
The Trivia
Sebastian Vettel made his Formula 1 debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix aged 19 and scored one point
In 2019, Lewis Hamilton became the first driver to clinch the Drivers’ Championship in the United States twice
Mario Andretti is the only American driver to win a grand prix on home soil
Kimi Räikkönen won the 2018 United States Grand Prix after a 114-race win drought – the longest such drought in F1 history
The Weather
The Quotes
Max Verstappen | “We know we still have a bit of work to do. I’m not concerned because there is nothing we can do about it. But we have to find a bit more performance.”
Lewis Hamilton | “I think we’re coming here and over these next few races, it’s still going to be very tight and close between us all. So we’re just trying to focus on maximising what we have. We’ve not updated the car, we’re just trying to finesse it and extract the most from it.”
Christian Horner | “To be at this stage of the championship leading the drivers and still in touch with the constructors, that’s phenomenal. We’re loving this fight, enjoying this scrap, and there’s some tracks coming up where it could go either way.”
Valtteri Bottas | “It’s been a while but feels good,” said the Finn. “From my side, it was one of the best races I’ve had – ever. I’m glad everything went smooth for once for me. It was nice.”
Damage limitation for Hamilton as the title lead swings again.
Image credit: Daimler AG
Valtteri Bottas took his first win of the season at a wet Turkish Grand Prix and successfully limited the damage to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton‘s title challenge.
It was a lonely day for the Dutchman – during which he apparently struggled to stay awake – but one which saw him reclaim the championship lead as Hamilton could only recover to fifth after having taken a 10-place grid penalty for a new engine.
The seven-time world champion survived the potential first corner carnage in the middle of the field – unlike Fernando Alonso, who was spun by the understeering and sandwiched Pierre Gasly – and made fairly quick progress through the bottom half of the top 10.
AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda – perhaps predictably in the sister Red Bull team – put up the most convincing fight, but Hamilton eventually found his way past with a nice move around the outside of Turn 3 and then picked off Lance Stroll, Lando Norris and Gasly to find himself up to fifth by lap 15.
Image credit: Daimler AG
Sergio Pérez proved a far tougher challenge, though, and impressively kept car number 44 behind after a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle through the end of lap 34, with Red Bull bringing in their other car for a new set of tyres shortly after.
Mercedes covered that off with Bottas and called Hamilton into the pits a few laps later, but their driver was unconvinced and elected to stay out – perhaps thinking of his successful call to do exactly that at last year’s grand prix – as did Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque had been running in an impressive third throughout but spotted a chance of an unlikely win.
It would ultimately prove to be the wrong call for both drivers.
Having lost the lead to Bottas with 11 laps to go, Leclerc admitted defeat and pitted, with Hamilton also doing so three laps later as his team informed him that it was his last chance to remain ahead of Gasly.
The two drivers struggled with graining issues on their new tyres. The other leading drivers had already passed through this phase and were now much faster, with Pérez passing Leclerc for the final podium spot and an unhappy Hamilton having to defend from Gasly.
Out front, it was plain sailing for Bottas, though, who secured his 10th F1 victory – and his first for over a year – with a commanding performance and reached the chequered flag with a gap of almost 15 seconds back to Verstappen.
Image credit: Daimler AG
Carlos Sainz earned Driver of the Day for his charge through the field from 19th to eighth and Esteban Ocon, who did run to the end on his original set of intermediate tyres, narrowly held on for the final points position.
Having taken the engine penalty, Hamilton and Mercedes likely would have settled for an eight-point swing in the title fight if it had been offered to them at the start of the weekend, but they will be aware that it could have been reduced further on the day with a better-executed strategy.
They will now head to the United States Grand Prix in a fortnight determined to wrestle back the championship lead with a win and will be hoping that the pace they showed in Turkey – where they had a few tenths on Red Bull throughout the weekend – is permanent rather than track-specific.
Strategy Woes for Hamilton
Hamilton and his team found themselves in a strategic no man’s land with a gamble that did not quite pay off on Sunday.
Ironically, the 36-year-old was perhaps a victim of his past successes. He is famed for his ability to preserve tyres and his decision to overrule the team at the same grand prix 12 months ago was inspired and earned him the victory which secured his seventh world title.
On this occasion, though, the team should have pulled rank far sooner.
Image credit: Honda Racing F1
With Hamilton behind Verstappen even after the Red Bull driver had pitted, the risk they chose to take outweighed the reward. The Briton only stood to gain a position on Pérez, who he was battling with before the pit window and surely would have passed given another 20 or laps.
In clean air, Hamilton was the fastest man on track despite having used more of his tyre life working his way through the field. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 but he likely would have secured a podium and perhaps even could have challenged Verstappen had he pitted earlier.
The tyres that came off the Mercedes on lap 50 – and Ocon’s plummet during the final laps on a tyre with a visible hole in – probably justified their decision not to allow Hamilton to risk going to the end, despite his initial frustrations. They, more so than Alpine, could not risk a disastrous blowout.
The team were hoping for another Hamilton tyre preservation miracle or the emergence of a dry line suitable for a late change to dry tyres, but Sebastian Vettel‘s failed experiment had already showed that was unlikely in the humid conditions and Mercedes were ultimately punished for their indecisiveness.
The Turkish Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
With rain forecast over the weekend, will we get a repeat of last year’s thrilling race? The rain came but the thrills and spills were lacking, at least compared to last year and recent races.
How will Lewis Hamilton recover from, at best, 11th on the grid? It started well but the wheels came off – or rather did not – towards the end.
Will Red Bull be struck by the special livery curse? No, it was a solid double podium for the one-off, Honda-themed livery.
Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel are the only drivers to have taken multiple pole positions in Turkey
In the eight Istanbul Park races held so far, 2011 is the only year in which the polesitter has gone on to win the title in the same year
There were 82 pit stops made in the 2011 Turkish Grand Prix, which is a record for the most pit stops in any dry race in Formula 1 history
Vettel made his first F1 weekend appearance at Istanbul Park in 2006, where he drove for BMW Sauber during practice and picked up a $1,000 fine just seconds into his career for speeding in the pit lane
The Weather
The Quotes
Lando Norris | “We went through a lot of analysis with the team and myself, what I did and said on the radio. Sometimes you don’t realise the way it can come across, the way you say things. They understand the situation I’m in, the pressure I’m under, especially when you have Lewis behind you in a Mercedes; it’s a difficult position to be in.”
Max Verstappen | “Especially here in Turkey it’s a bit of a question mark. Last year was not really representative, there was a very low grip level so hopefully they solve that for this year.”
Lewis Hamilton | “It’s not a case of ignoring [the pressure] as it’s there. It’s a case of understanding what will be, will be. All you can do is prepare the best way you can and give 100 per cent so I don’t worry about these things.”
Fernando Alonso | “It seems that for [Verstappen] it is not a big deal every weekend and he takes it race by race. I think that’s the right approach for these remaining races.”
The Friday Form
Practice 2 Top 5
1 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:23.804 | 30 Laps
2 | Charles Leclerc | 1:23.970 | 29 Laps
3 | Valtteri Bottas | 1:24.214 | 31 Laps
4 | Sergio Pérez | 1:24.373 | 28 Laps
5 | Max Verstappen | 1:24.439 | 27 Laps
Practice 1 Top 5
1 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:24.178 | 26 Laps
2 | Max Verstappen | 1:24.603 | 24 Laps
3 | Charles Leclerc | 1:24.654 | 27 Laps
4 | Valtteri Bottas | 1:24.842 | 28 Laps
5 | Carlos Sainz | 1:24.860 | 25 Laps
Signs look good for Mercedes pace-wise at the Turkish Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton topping both sessions, but the championship leader will be starting from 11th on the grid at the very best, having received a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new ICE (Internal Combustion Engine).
His title rival Max Verstappen struggled to find a good balance in his Red Bull so the team will have work to do overnight to ensure the flying Dutchman is able to take advantage of Hamilton’s penalty.
The Ferraris seemed to be working well on the Istanbul Park circuit – aided by their new power units – and appear to be genuine contenders for the front two rows.
Most of the race was led by Lando Norris. The 21-year-old McLaren driver took an impressive maiden pole position on Saturday in changeable conditions but lost the lead to his good friend Carlos Sainz on the long run to the first real corner of Turn 2.
Norris stalked the Ferrari for 12 laps before reclaiming the lead and then showed maturity far beyond his years, showing no signs of stress as he led a grand prix for the first time.
Meanwhile, in the title battle, Hamilton – who had qualified fourth – had been boxed in at the start and found himself in sixth, behind the leading pair, future teammate George Russell, Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo.
Image credit: Getty Images
The group formed a DRS train and would remain in the same order for the first stint of the race.
Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen had started from the back after taking an engine penalty – a decision that was already on the cards but was cemented by the Dutchman’s three-place grid penalty for his clash with Hamilton at the previous race.
The Red Bull scythed through the field in the opening laps – disappointingly for Mercedes, even making short work of Valtteri Bottas – and found himself just three positions and two seconds behind his rival approaching the halfway point.
Of the drivers at the front, Sainz, Russell and Stroll pitted early on, with the rest extending and the title rivals pitting together on lap 26.
Having been released, Hamilton had finally been able to demonstrate his pace and succeeded in jumping all the former passengers of the DRS train except Stroll, who he swiftly dispatched two laps later.
It was not long until he had also caught and passed Sainz, leaving an eight-second gap to Norris with a little over 20 laps remaining.
Image credit: Motorsport Images
Things were not going so well for Verstappen, who – having started on the hard tyre and then pitted unusually early – was struggling on the mediums and had fallen behind Fernando Alonso into seventh place.
The gap at the front reduced rapidly, but once the Mercedes had moved within two seconds of the McLaren, it once again demonstrated its distaste for dirty air. That, twinned with the papaya car’s prodigious top speed, meant that Hamilton was unable to get close enough to make a move with the laps counting down.
But then the rain began to fall.
By lap 47 of 53, the parts of the track closest to the Black Sea were significantly wet. Norris had a moment of oversteer and ran wide, but a cautious Hamilton – with one eye on the championship battle – remained narrowly behind.
It was now all about whether to risk the change to intermediate tyres, with parts of the track becoming increasingly treacherous but other areas still dry.
Norris was not interested in giving up the lead and stayed out. Hamilton ignored his team’s first call to come in, but a second call saying that the rain was going to increase convinced him to come in with four laps remaining.
The rain did increase. Norris committed to his decision but the downpour became torrential and as the McLaren slithered off the road two laps later, Hamilton sailed past and he accepted that he had to pit.
The running order turned on its head as those who had stayed out lost not seconds but minutes to the drivers on intermediate tyres.
Verstappen – who had pitted early – jumped from seventh to second, Bottas from 14th to fifth and Kimi Räikkönen from 13th to eighth, whilst Sergio Pérez fell from fourth to ninth and Charles Leclerc from eighth to 15th.
Sainz hung onto third, to claim his fifth podium, with Ricciardo three seconds down the road in fourth. Norris was, at least, able to recover to seventh and a bonus point for the fastest lap, but was understandably heartbroken, having come so close to what would have been a thoroughly deserved maiden victory.
The young Briton demonstrated his immense talent, however – as he has for much of this season – and can be sure that his time will come.
Hamilton may be at the other end of his career now, but showed he is far from past it as he became the first ever Formula 1 centurion. A mind-boggling achievement.
The next big milestone would be the record-breaking eighth world title, but he will have to work even harder for that after Verstappen’s surprise second place.
The Impact on the Championship
Image credit: Red Bull Racing Honda
Whilst the day belonged to Hamilton and his momentous achievement, Red Bull perhaps leave Russia the happier of the two title-contending teams.
Team Principal Christian Horner had said they would be content if Verstappen could work his way up to fifth from the back of the grid and keep the points swing to Hamilton to around 15.
So, leaving Sochi with just seven fewer points than the new championship leader is a huge win for the Austrian team.
Their main man should now be fine for power units through to the end of the season, whilst the expectation is that Hamilton will have to take a penalty for a fourth engine at some point between now and Abu Dhabi.
After two races where Red Bull expected to see a Mercedes 1-2 and Hamilton build a considerable lead in the standings, Verstappen sits just two points behind.
As for the remainder of the season, it very much depends on how many of the scheduled races take place as planned. Mexico and Brazil have historically been Red Bull circuits, but the jury remains out on whether the F1 circus will be able to travel to either considering the current Covid restrictions.
There are some unknowns – such as the new track in Saudi Arabia and a race likely to take place in Qatar – and the remaining tracks are too close to call.
Basically, the situation remains as it has been for most of the year: this title could go either way.
The Russian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Will Verstappen take an engine penalty and start from the back? Yep.
With rain due on Saturday, when will qualifying actually take place and will it spring any surprises? Despite torrential rain on Saturday morning, it went ahead at the scheduled time and sprung plenty of surprises.
Is Ricciardo now going to be back to his best with the added confidence from Monza win? Fourth place was a good result, but Norris was back to being comfortably on top throughout the weekend.
Mercedes has won every Russian Grand Prix to date – the seven since it joined the F1 calendar in 2014, and even the pre-Formula 1 grands prix in 1913 and 1914
There has been a Russian driver present at every running of the Russian Grand Prix so far
Sochi is the only Winter Olympics host city to have also staged a Formula 1 race, though four other current F1 cities – Melbourne, Montreal, Barcelona and Mexico City – have hosted the Summer Olympics
In 2014, Nico Rosberg locked up at the first corner, causing him to pit, and then did the remainder of the race on one set of tyres and recovered to finish second
The Weather
The Quotes
Christian Horner | “You’re always learning but he’s a hard racer, it’s part of his characteristic, it’s part of why he has the following that he does. you know when he’s in the car he’s going to give 110%. And I think that also has an impact on the driver he’s racing, because you know he’s going to go for it.”
Toto Wolff | “I think the change of approach is that Lewis pretty much decided not to bail out anymore when he thinks that the corner is his. Now it needs two to tango, it needs two to understand each other on track, when a collision can be avoided.”
Daniel Ricciardo | “Once I was in the lead and it had been a while since I’d had that feeling, fortunately it felt very familiar and it felt like home.”
Valtteri Bottas | “At this situation, how the situation is, yes I would [move aside for Lewis] because we are here as a team and we need to make sure we win both titles, not only the constructors’ but also the drivers’. At the moment, Lewis has a greater chance of that, so that’s the situation at the moment.”
The Friday Form
Practice 2 Top 5
1 | Valtteri Bottas | 1:33.593 | 19 Laps
2 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:33.637 | 22 Laps
3 | Pierre Gasly | 1:33.845 | 22 Laps
4 | Lando Norris | 1:34.154 | 17 Laps
5 | Esteban Ocon | 1:34.402 | 23 Laps
Practice 1 Top 5
1 | Valtteri Bottas | 1:34.427 | 25 Laps
2 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:34.638 | 23 Laps
3 | Max Verstappen | 1:34.654 | 13 Laps
4 | Charles Leclerc | 1:35.117 | 22 Laps
5 | Sebastian Vettel | 1:35.781 | 23 Laps
Mercedes continued their Sochi dominance with Valtteri Bottas heading a Silver Arrows 1-2 in both practice sessions.
It was confirmed that Max Verstappen would start from the back for the race – after taking on a new power unit – but the Dutchman complained that he could not overtake anyone with his current top speed, so Red Bull will need to ensure that he is able to do so by Sunday.
