How Mercedes made the “blind faith” call that won Hamilton his 100 milestone at Sochi
Until rain turned the Russian Grand Prix on its head in the closing stages, Lando Norris was set to convert his first Formula 1 pole position into a maiden win. But having recovered well from being shuffled back at the start, Hamilton and his Mercedes team called the changing conditions spot-on for a landmark 100th F1 victory
The 2021 Russian Grand Prix was a fascinating race even before its thrilling wet-weather climax, where the two leading British drivers had wildly contrasting fortunes.
Lewis Hamilton went on to take another incredible career milestone with his 100th Formula 1 win, a first for any driver in the championship’s history. Lando Norris lost a first grand prix career victory as the knife-edge call on when to pit as the rain came down in the final laps went in Mercedes’ favour for several key reasons.
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Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.
A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.
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