The 2021 F1 season was full of all-time classic races amid Max
Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton's tense fight for the championship.
As the season entered its final stretch of races, the battle began
to intensify. Round 15 of the campaign saw the paddock descend on
Sochi, which would mark Russia's final year on the F1 calendar.
While the year had largely been controlled by Verstappen and
Hamilton, there was a shock result on the cards on Saturday during
qualifying. In mixed conditions, Lando Norris fired to his first
career pole position with McLaren. The Woking-based squad's
position in the pecking order was far from the title-winning form
it finds itself in today, and it was still recovering from the lows
it suffered in the mid-to-late 2010s. Norris beat former team-mate
Carlos Sainz to pole position, while Max Verstappen started 20th
with a grid penalty for a fresh power unit. George Russell
capitalised on the changing conditions to pull his Williams machine
into third while Hamilton was fourth, despite a spin during his
final attempt. With the run of almost one kilometre from pole
position to the first braking zone at Sochi, Norris was immediately
under pressure at the start of the grand prix. Sainz swooped around
the outside of Norris into Turn 2 and claimed the lead, putting a
slight dent the Briton's hope of a first grand prix win. However,
Norris stuck with his rival and on lap 13, he took back first spot.
All the while, the threat of rain lingered over the Sochi Autodrom
and as Norris built up his lead and attempted to seal his first win
in F1, dark clouds rolled in. Late on in the race, the first spits
of rain began to pelt the track. Lewis Hamilton, in the tricky
conditions, managed to close the gap to Norris as a crossover
period to the intermediate tyre emerged. But with just a handful of
laps remaining, Norris opted against pitting while Hamilton decided
to fit the wet-weather tyre to his car. Although he now had a large
gap to Hamilton, Norris had to hope the rain would ease off, or at
the very least, not intensify any further. Unfortunately for the
McLaren driver, the heavens opened. Still running the slick tyre,
Norris saw his margin to Hamilton dramatically close and on lap 51
of 53, Norris slid off the track at Turn 5, gifting the lead to
Hamilton. Things went from bad to worse for Norris when he finally
decided to pit. He slid across the pit entry line, costing himself
further time and putting himself at risk of a penalty. However, on
this occasion, the stewards decided to simply issue him a
reprimand. The strategy call from Mercedes aided Hamilton to a
milestone 100th race win as he became the first driver in F1
history to reach the figure. He also reclaimed the championship
lead over Max Verstappen, but the Dutchman was content with his
recovery to second place on the road after starting at the very
back of the field. But there was an underlying feeling of
disappointment for Norris, who classified in seventh place. It
would be a wait of four and a half years before he finally got to
climb to the top step of the podium at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.
Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton's tense fight for the championship.
As the season entered its final stretch of races, the battle began
to intensify. Round 15 of the campaign saw the paddock descend on
Sochi, which would mark Russia's final year on the F1 calendar.
While the year had largely been controlled by Verstappen and
Hamilton, there was a shock result on the cards on Saturday during
qualifying. In mixed conditions, Lando Norris fired to his first
career pole position with McLaren. The Woking-based squad's
position in the pecking order was far from the title-winning form
it finds itself in today, and it was still recovering from the lows
it suffered in the mid-to-late 2010s. Norris beat former team-mate
Carlos Sainz to pole position, while Max Verstappen started 20th
with a grid penalty for a fresh power unit. George Russell
capitalised on the changing conditions to pull his Williams machine
into third while Hamilton was fourth, despite a spin during his
final attempt. With the run of almost one kilometre from pole
position to the first braking zone at Sochi, Norris was immediately
under pressure at the start of the grand prix. Sainz swooped around
the outside of Norris into Turn 2 and claimed the lead, putting a
slight dent the Briton's hope of a first grand prix win. However,
Norris stuck with his rival and on lap 13, he took back first spot.
All the while, the threat of rain lingered over the Sochi Autodrom
and as Norris built up his lead and attempted to seal his first win
in F1, dark clouds rolled in. Late on in the race, the first spits
of rain began to pelt the track. Lewis Hamilton, in the tricky
conditions, managed to close the gap to Norris as a crossover
period to the intermediate tyre emerged. But with just a handful of
laps remaining, Norris opted against pitting while Hamilton decided
to fit the wet-weather tyre to his car. Although he now had a large
gap to Hamilton, Norris had to hope the rain would ease off, or at
the very least, not intensify any further. Unfortunately for the
McLaren driver, the heavens opened. Still running the slick tyre,
Norris saw his margin to Hamilton dramatically close and on lap 51
of 53, Norris slid off the track at Turn 5, gifting the lead to
Hamilton. Things went from bad to worse for Norris when he finally
decided to pit. He slid across the pit entry line, costing himself
further time and putting himself at risk of a penalty. However, on
this occasion, the stewards decided to simply issue him a
reprimand. The strategy call from Mercedes aided Hamilton to a
milestone 100th race win as he became the first driver in F1
history to reach the figure. He also reclaimed the championship
lead over Max Verstappen, but the Dutchman was content with his
recovery to second place on the road after starting at the very
back of the field. But there was an underlying feeling of
disappointment for Norris, who classified in seventh place. It
would be a wait of four and a half years before he finally got to
climb to the top step of the podium at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.
The post Lando Norris suffers agonising heartbreak as Lewis Hamilton hits historic milestone appeared first on RacingNews365.