Motorsport News 30/09/21

Lewis Hamilton has hailed his rivals after landing his 100th grand prix win in Russia on Sunday, snatching the victory from fellow Brit Lando Norris. From pole position, McLaren man Norris seemed set to take his maiden victory until a late rain shower left him slithering off the circuit. Hamilton had been called in by his Mercedes team and swapped tyres. He was able to hunt down Norris and take the race win in the dying moments. Hamilton, who finished one place ahead of his title rival Max Verstappen, says the 100-win benchmark is something he finds hard to believe. The seven-time champion said: “It’s a magical moment. I could only ever have dreamed of still being here and having this opportunity to win these races and get to drive against such phenomenal…

Unthinkable as it might have once seemed, Lewis Hamilton’s 100th victory had been inevitable this season. Once he busted through Michael Schumacher’s 91-win benchmark with glory in Turkey last season the ton was firmly in the cross hairs. Max Verstappen has pushed Hamilton hard this season and the Dutchman – along with Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon – made Lewis wait for the landmark achievement. Indeed, given his unique career strike-rate, it is remarkable by his standards that the Merc man’s last victory was all the way back at Silverstone in the middle of July. Less inevitable is the record-breaking eighth title, which Hamilton is also gunning for. His two-point advantage over Verstappen’s Red Bull is slender, to say the least. There is plenty of life let in the battle for this year’s…

The record books will show Lewis Hamilton was the winner of the 2021 Russian Grand Prix – the race in which he achieved his 100th Formula 1 victory and scored over 4000 points in F1. But the result fails to capture the intensity and excitement of the closing laps of the race at the Black Sea resort in Sochi. The win could have easily gone to Hamilton’s compatriot Lando Norris, who commanded the race from the front following his first-ever pole position on Saturday. But a sudden downpour in the final stages of the race scuppered Norris after he elected to stay on slicks, while his rivals dived to the pits for wet tyres. That decision cost McLaren its second consecutive win and allowed Hamilton to take his first victory since July’s…

RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX Laps: 53 Track: Sochi Autodrom 11 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) +116.198s; 12 Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin-Mercedes) -1lap; 13 Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri-Honda) -1lap; 14 Esteban Ocon (Alpine-Renault) -1lap; 15 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) -1lap; 16 Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) -1lap; 17 Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) -1lap; 18 Nikita Mazepin (Haas-FerrarI) -2laps; 19 Nicholas Latifi (Williams-Mercedes) 47 laps/accident damage; 20 Mick Schumacher (Haas-Ferrari) 32 laps/hydraulics. Drivers’ Championship: 1 Hamilton 246.5 points; 2 Verstappen 244.5; 3 Bottas 151; 4 Norris 139; 5 Perez 120; 6 Sainz 112.5 Constructors’ Championship: 1 Mercedes 397.5 points; 2 Red Bull 364.5; 3 McLaren 234; 4 Ferrari 216.5; 5 Alpine 103; 6 AlphaTauri 84.…

There remains just one seat left to fill on next year’s Formula 1 grid, as two more racers had their drives confirmed for 2022. Following Aston Martin’s confirmation that Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will remain at the team, it was revealed at last weekend’s Russian Grand Prix that Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin will continue at Haas next season. The identity of Valtteri Bottas’s team-mate at Alfa Romeo is the only remaining unknown on the grid with a number of young drivers vying to replace Italian Antonio Giovinazzi. Top of the options for the team is Alpine academy driver Guanyu Zhou, who if he gets the nod, will be the first Chinese driver to start a grand prix. One other significant announcement made in Sochi was the appointment of former McLaren boss Martin…

The city of Miami has become the second venue to announce its date on next year’s Formula 1 calendar. The Florida city is set to host a brand-new street circuit over the weekend of 6-8 May. The new four-mile Miami International Autodrome will be based around the city’s Hard Rock Stadium. “The circuit construction is progressing in line with expectations, and now that we have our date confirmed with Formula 1, we can rapidly follow up with revealing more of the detail of the experience that will be enjoyed trackside,” said Miami Grand Prix CEO Richard Cregan. Miami is the second of two new tracks F1 will visit in the next few months, with the street circuit in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah preparing to host the penultimate race of this season…