Source: Sergei Fadeichev / Getty
Lewis Hamilton continued carving out his place as one of the greatest motorsports athletes ever with his landmark win at Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix. The victory was No. 100 for the Englishman, making him the first Formula One driver to crack the century mark as well as the current points leader for 2021.
The critical turn in Sunday’s meet took place with four laps to go. Hamilton, who presently races for Mercedes, and McLaren driver Lando Norris were battling for top position when it suddenly began to rain. Hamilton decided to pit his car to swap out his wheels for wet weather tires, whereas Norris pressed on. However, Norris’ move proved costly – Hamilton narrowed the gap in less than two laps, and then he overtook his competitor as Norris spun off the track.
Hamilton celebrated the win with a pair of IG posts and wrote the following: “Today we won our 100th race! Words can’t describe how it feels to make history with this team of hardworking, driven and passionate human beings. They encourage me to push past the limits and todays win is a result of our incredible teamwork. Thank you for continuing to believe in us — our shared dream is alive and strong. We must keep fighting, keep rising. We’ve got a championship to win. 💯”
The victory also places Hamilton in front of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen as the 2021 points leader (246.5 to 244.5, respectively). If not for the brief shower that led to his pit stop, Hamilton would have likely been ahead of Verstappen by five points instead of two.
Hamilton already surpassed racing legend Michael Schumacher in October for the most career wins, and he has his sights on finishing this season atop the leaderboard with at least six more contests to go.
