Monday, September 27, 2021
The lessons of the Sochi GP
Norris’ heart breaks in the Russian rain
McLaren driver Lando Norris throws away his first Grand Prix victory in the rain of Sochi. The 21-year-old Brit just wants to sleep. This is how Lewis Hamilton comes to his 100th victory. But Max Verstappen also benefits from the late downpour. He will be washed onto the podium from position 20 on the grid.
Hamilton is a magical attraction for Verstappen
They seem to attract each other like magnets, even if there is a whole field of drivers in between. And if necessary, the weather will help. Lewis Hamilton had a great chance of an effective hit in the title fight, Max Verstappen had to fear this when he started the race from 20 on the grid – but after a late downpour that rearranged the field, both were back on the podium side by side. Hamilton is now back in front, but only a ridiculous two points separate him from Verstappen after 15 runs.
“We shimmy from race to race,” says Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff and says: It could go on like this. Because among the seven remaining grands prix are both tracks that Mercedes are good at and tracks where Red Bull is strong. The eighth record title for Hamilton or the first for Verstappen – both scenarios seem completely realistic.
Norris just wants to sleep
The 21-year-old’s plan to forget after a final phase? “Just go home and sleep,” said Lando Norris, the tragic hero of Sochi. The highly talented Brit has long been considered the Grand Prix winner of tomorrow – the weather on the Black Sea ensured that he remains one of tomorrow. “For some reason we didn’t see the rain coming,” said Norris, who stopped changing tires at the end and then lost his seemingly safe lead on a slippery track.
“Up to three laps before the end it was a great weekend for us,” said McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl, “then we gambled away”. But the German can also comfort himself: McLaren is already driving up to the top again and again and is raising hopes that with the rule changes there will finally be more than two winning teams again in the coming year. The traditional racing team is already well on the way to taking third place in the team championship ahead of Ferrari.
German hopes rest for 2022
Sebastian Vettel, however, is really only hoping for the next season, in this season no more jumps seem possible for Aston Martin. Again, both cars missed the points, the British luxury brand is still a long way from its long-term goal, the fight for the World Cup. Mick Schumacher, however, convinced in the rain qualifying with 17th place, even moved up to 14th place on the grid due to numerous penalties against the competition – you don’t know that with the defeated Haas team this year.
In the race, however, the car’s deficits showed up again, and technical problems ended Schumacher’s Sunday prematurely. The best thing about this weekend for the German was the contract extension – next season everything could get better at Haas too.