TOPS
Hamilton, the wall of the 100
At the end of a mad race which he led only during the last three laps, by making the right choice of tires with the intermediaries, Lewis Hamilton won his hundredth career success, Sunday, during the Russian GP in Sochi.
The seven-time world champion continues to maintain his legend.
He has now won 35.59% of the Grand Prix he started, one in three races.
And he also takes the lead in the world championship with two points ahead of Max Verstappen (246.5 against 244.5).
Read alsoThe ten unforgettable victories of Hamilton the centenary
Verstappen, the crazy comeback
Starting last and finishing second, the race was obviously good for the Dutchman. And the rain helped the now second in the world championship. Author of a big first part of the race, Max Verstappen then stumbled over Alonso for a long time, in seventh place. But the rain fell and allowed the Batavian to grab places. So much so that he ended up third and took advantage of McLaren's strategic error with Norris to steal second place from him. In the end, the Red Bull driver, who had changed his engine and took a penalty, only lost seven points on Hamilton and found himself two points behind the latter in the world rankings. An almost unexpected operation.
Sainz makes Ferrari smile
And three podiums for the Spaniard this season.
After Monaco and Hungary, Carlos Sainz adds Russia to its good season with a good third place.
Second on the grid, the Iberian was first after two corners before giving way again to Lando Norris.
Sainz didn't panic and stayed the course.
In the end, he climbs again on the podium and overtakes Leclerc in the world championship.
The Spaniard takes more and more place at the Scuderia.
FLOPS
Norris came so close
The British team were not far from remaking the Monza shot where Daniel Ricciardo had won in front of his teammate. Seven laps from the finish, Norris held his first F1 victory, resisting the monster Hamilton. But the rain changed everything. Hamilton dived into the pits, four laps from the finish, and Norris and his team procrastinated as water flooded the Russian track. On a real ice rink with dry track tires, the young Briton lost everything, finally taking seventh place in a race he led 80% of the time. A hell of a blow behind the head of Norris who did not hide his tears on arrival. A disappointment that will serve him well in the future.
Faulty shutdowns
From Belgium, shutdowns are less automated and leave more room for human error. This was clearly visible in Russia on Sunday, with a bunch of missed stops which wasted time for many drivers, notably Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo. This puts more pressure on the mechanics who will have to work to improve and try to limit the errors that are expected to be numerous during the coming weekends.
The French in the rough
Some drivers managed to pull off the game with the onset of rain, but the French did not.
In the hard race throughout the weekend, Pierre Gasly took a modest 13th place, narrowly ahead of Esteban Ocon and his Alpine.
No point therefore for the French who will try to revive in Turkey in two weeks.