“This is tragedy in a sporting context”– Lando Norris’ blunder is the biggest mistake the sport has witnessed this year, a glorious run in waste.
Lando Norris would have been the glorious British hero if he had won the race in Sochi. But, in contrast, he served that win on a silver platter to his compatriot Lewis Hamilton and assisted him to mark the 100 wins record.
The 21-year-old race driver was having a glorious run, where he reclaimed his position against Carlos Sainz after losing his pole advantage in the first turn.
From there, it was Norris’ race to lose, as McLaren was doing spot-on work in terms of strategy with him when Hamilton cleared off the traffic around him and was directly up against Norris.
Norris gave an incredible fight to Hamilton, and in the last few laps, it felt that the win for Norris was inevitable, then followed the blunder.
The unforgettable mistake
The rain gradually encompassed the whole track, leaving the sprays behind; initially, Norris and Hamilton decided not to take the wet tyres to continue competing.
But in the end, not risking their P2 result, Mercedes demanded Hamilton to change his tyres, which Norris didn’t follow. The rain flooded the whole track, propelling Norris to lose control, and spun out of the track limits.
Giving Hamilton the golden opportunity to overtake by covering the 14 seconds gap. This was Hamilton’s 100th win in his decorated F1 career, statistically the greatest.
Despite the setback, Norris came to congratulate Hamilton for his remarkable record. On the other hand, Max Verstappen made a super recovery, in the end, grabbing a P2 result, while Carlos Sainz finished P3.
