Lando Norris started on pole position in the Russian GP after setting the fastest lap in the qualifying session. He, however, could not seize his maiden victory yesterday after his gamble with the slick tyres didn't pay off.
The young Brit who will turn 22 years old this November had been leading the race almost until the end (well, almost) before struggling in the final 6 laps where the track got trickier with drizzle - middle sector being wet while first and last sector being dry.
All drivers and teams were in dilemma whether to lose ~24 seconds while pitting for inters or soft, or carry on and finish the race with the current stint (most were running on hards and mediums). Lando, who was told by his engineer that the light rain condition would stay until the final clock, made his call to continue the race with the hard tyres.
Pitting for inters when there were only 6 laps remaining wasn't really an option for Lando at that time as Lewis Hamilton, who was also on the same hard compound in P2, was already right behind his tail. Hamilton, on the other hand, can pit without losing position as Sergio Perez who was in P3 was 30+ seconds away.
Both Norris and Hamilton were called in for inters around lap 48/53 but none of them went to the pit as both drivers still felt the wet condition is driveable with the dry tyres. Cars on the back were already making its stop in this lap, including Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.
By the lap 49/53, Norris continued to gamble his slicks, refusing to follow the team order to pit for inters when asked for the second time. Hamilton also didn't want to pit at first before he was strongly advised by his engineer that the rain is going to get worse.
Despite making a 20+ seconds gap after Hamilton pitted, Norris was caught up in no time as he kept losing grip especially in the middle sector. He was also struggling to race with the backmarkers as they unlapped Norris with their fresh inters.
Hamilton overtook Norris after he sliding off the track again, almost crashing to the barrier. The hard compound tyres were no longer suitable as the rain condition got worse. Norris, who had to swallow the bitter pill, finally coming into the pits on lap 51, just 3 laps before the chequered flag.
Hamilton takes the lead as Norris slides off track on lap 51
Image: 漏F1 Media
His unsuccessful gamble costed him possibly his first win in his Formula 1 career, dropping down from P1 to P7. Poor Lando (if I were him, I would probably take the same risk too). 馃挃
The late rain in Sochi had caused a chaos in the drivers' order for the final six laps, witnessing a major shuffle and bringing more drama and excitement to the race. Here's the final standings of the race:
| Starting Grid | Final Position | Driver |
|---|---|---|
| P4 | P1 | Lewis Hamilton |
| P201 | P2 | Max Verstappen |
| P2 | P3 | Carlos Sainz |
| P5 | P4 | Daniel Ricciardo |
| P162 | P5 | Valtteri Bottas |
| P6 | P6 | Fernando Alonso |
| P1 | P7 | Lando Norris |
| P13 | P8 | Kimi Raikkonen |
| P8 | P9 | Sergio Perez |
| P3 | P10 | George Russell |
| P7 | P11 | Lance Stroll |
| P10 | P12 | Sebastian Vettel |
| P11 | P13 | Pierre Gasly |
| P9 | P14 | Esteban Ocon |
| P193 | P15 | Charles Leclerc |
| P174 | P16 | Antonio Giovinazzi |
| P12 | P17 | Yuki Tsunoda |
| P15 | P18 | Nikita Mazepin |
| P183 | P19 | Nicholas Latifi |
| P14 | DNF | Mick Schumacher |
1 Verstappen was handed a 3-grid penalty for causing a collision in his incident with Hamilton in the last race Monza. This triggered Red Bull to fit a new Power Unit (PU) tactically, hence starting from the back of the grid.
2 In reaction to Red Bull's strategy of fitting new PU for Verstappen, Mercedes decided to make changes with Bottas' new engine (which was just fitted in the last race in Monza). This had incurred a 10-grid penalty. The unnecessary changes was done on purpose by Mercedes in hope that Bottas will slow down Verstappen at the back and giving Hamilton a comfortable lead in the World Drivers' Championship.
3 Leclerc and Latifi took on new PU as well, but since they didn't have 3-grid penalty like Verstappen, they started the race in front of him.
4 Gearbox change for Giovinazzi caused him to take 5-grid penalty.
Hamilton set a new milestone after winning his 100th race in his 15 years of Formula 1 career. Legend!
Verstappen, Bottas, and Raikkonen are the biggest winners in the late rain drama. Meanwhile, Norris, Perez, and Leclerc are the biggest losers.
Russell finished the race with another point!
Watch the race highlights here.
