F1 2021: VTB Russian Grand Prix

Moving on from their Monza incident, the clash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen continues in Sochi for the Russian Grand Prix of the F1 2021 season. With Verstappen starting last because of the Monza incident, will this be the chance Hamilton's looking for, or will Verstappen pull a come-from-behind trick? Let's find out.

The race kicks off with Carlos Sainz taking the lead while Daniel Ricciardo gets past Hamilton, who has dropped to 7th place from 4th place. As Sainz continues his lead, the other drivers are catching up until the leader entered the pits alongside Lance Stroll and George Russell on Laps 13 to 15.

20 laps progressed and Max Verstappen puts his crosshairs on Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, Hamilton, and Ricciardo while Norris is struggling to remain in the lead. On Lap 27, the title rivals are in the pits with Hamilton returned to the race in 9th place while Verstappen's in 12th place. Norris pitted as well with Sergio Perez stormed into the lead.

With 30 laps completed, Hamilton is on the offense as he storms through the front-runners. Lap 34 saw heartbreak for Mick Schumacher as his engineer tells him to return to the pits and retire the car.

As the race draws nearer to its climax, Hamilton's charge against Norris continues until Lap 51 saw Norris spun off the track, giving Hamilton the chance he was looking for. However, the one thing Hamilton's worrying about is Verstappen who is now hounding Hamilton from behind.

Screengrab from Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton finally made history by becoming the first F1 driver in history to reach 100 wins.  Verstappen finished 2nd and Sainz finished 3rd.

Hamilton's record-breaking feat in Russia puts him back at the top of the championship standings with two points ahead of Verstappen, 246.5 vs. 244.5, while Valtteri Bottas is in 3rd with 151 points.

The next race will be at Istanbul for the Rolex Turkish Grand Prix on the 10th of October, 2021.