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“Made Me Feel Even Worse” – Lando Norris Mirrors Sochi F1 Heartbreak to Lewis Hamilton’s 100th Race Victory

Published 03/15/2022, 9:04 AM EDT

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When you think about the brightest youngsters in F1 currently, Lando Norris is one of the first names to come to mind. The young Briton has not only taken everyone by surprise with his talent at such a young age but also made himself a force to be reckoned with in the sport. Besides Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, Lando is one of the most popular F1 drivers to come out of the United Kingdom.

Lando has recently renewed his contract with McLaren. The agreement will see him stay on the Woking-based team till 2025. Despite all this, Norris is yet to claim his first race win. The Briton doesn’t feel good about his failed effort to win in Russia, which gave Lewis Hamilton his 100th win.

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The 22-year-old driver has been in an interview with The ‘High Performance’ Podcast. When asked about his first race win opportunity which he lost, Lando conveyed, “Of course, I think of it, I can’t lie. I think everyone on the grid would say they thought about winning the race. Especially that one you know when I saw then Lewis, I think it was his hundredth race win. That just made me feel even worse like I just gave him his hundredth race win. I’ve not even got one.”

And you know you see those few cases where the outsiders won the race, you’ve got Mercedes and Red Bull who are always gonna win. But when Esteban won the race in Budapest… That’s when they look even cooler cause they’re people in my position.”, the McLaren driver further stated.

What happened in Sochi 2021 that gave Lewis Hamilton his 100th win?

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Lando had a better start in the 2021 Russian Grand Prix. It was all fine until it started raining in Sochi. Lewis Hamilton was trailing Lando Norris by a very good margin. As soon as the drizzle started, Lewis was fast enough to pit for his wet weather tires.

via Reuters

However, Lando decided to stay back with his normal tires. This was one big gamble that didn’t pay off for the young Brit. Soon the rain got heavier and Lando lost control of the car. Hamilton took over as the leader and went on to claim his 100th race win in Russia. This win, in fact, helped him chase Max Verstappen for the driver’s championship.

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For Lando, it was his dream start to dream race until everything shattered before his eyes. He had options to go for the wet tires, which he declined. What could’ve been his first-ever race win is just a sad story now as the 22-years-old sits for interview after interview; the day in Sochi is something he could never forget.

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Written by:

Sabyasachi Biswas

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Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports. He has completed his Master's in Mass Communication and Journalism from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Sabyasachi is an ardent Red Bull and Max Verstappen fan and has been following the sport for over a decade now.
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Edited by:

Soumyadyuti Ghosh