[ad_1]
Lewis Hamilton won the Eifel Grand Prix and in doing so has equaled Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Formula One victories. The world champion had started from second place on the Nürburgring grid, but took the lead early on. of the race and remained untouchable ahead.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came in second, but couldn’t really challenge. Having started the day on pole position, Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas retired due to a power outage, while Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo was third. Sergio Pérez was fourth for Racing Point and Carlos Sainz fifth for McLaren.
Hamilton had been disappointed not to get pole, but executed on Sunday when it mattered. He had taken the lead from Bottas before the Finn retired and closed with a sequence of fast laps that defined the clinical form that has dominated this season and F1 for the past six years.
It was a performance that illustrated how he has come to be alongside Schumacher with a win tally many thought was far from his reach. In matching Schumacher, Hamilton has accomplished a remarkable feat, doing so in his 261st race.
Schumacher claimed his first victory at Spa in 1992 and his last in China in 2006 with his 246th Big prize. He retired for the first time at the end of that season. The German won 19 races with Benetton and 72 with Ferrari, while Hamilton’s account is also split between two teams, 21 with McLaren and now 70 with Mercedes.
Hamilton already has the poles and podium records scored. He is now 14th season in the sport and remains the only driver to have won a victory in every season he has competed. Schumacher’s biggest record of seven world championships is now almost in the hands of Hamilton. He leads Bottas by 69 points in the world championship with a maximum of six races remaining and has previously stated that he covets the title record far more than the win count.
Hamilton has yet to sign a new contract for next season with Mercedes, but has made it clear that he feels he could keep racing for several more years.
This is the second victory at the Nürburgring, having taken the McLaren flag in 2011 and it is also a significant victory for Mercedes, who have not won here since 1954 when Juan Manuel Fangio was behind the wheel.
The weekend had been a testing time for the team. Two staff members tested positive for Covid-19 and four others were subsequently quarantined, prompting six new team members to fly in from Brackley headquarters. Hamilton noted that they would have to do their best and minimize the disruption this would cause to the team’s operation. Then, with no race practice on Friday due to adverse weather conditions, the weekend became increasingly intense, especially given that F1 has not raced here since 2013.
Hamilton duly delivered. He made a quick start and got ahead of Bottas at turn one, but when the pair broke open, Bottas held his line instead of giving in and regained the lead on the inside at turn two.
Verstappen installed himself aft of the leaders and the three forwards immediately opened a gap. That Red Bull was competitive was clear with Verstappen staying comfortably a second and a half behind Hamilton, but the British driver held his position with a similar gap to Bottas.
By lap 13, however, Hamilton had closed the gap and when the Finn had a major block at turn one, the world champion seized his opportunity and lunged inward to take the lead. Bottas had a flat tire and had to pit immediately. Hamilton, who has a remarkable ability to handle his tires, was left out. In the low temperatures, where granulate was a real threat, his touch was deft but confident.
Hamilton pitted on lap 17, also to take the medium tire, and Verstappen matched it, but hopes for a proper fight up front were dashed as Bottas suffered further problems. The Finn lost power on lap 18 and fell down the field. He was forced to withdraw the car one lap later.
With his teammate out of the picture, Hamilton made a solid gap with Verstappen and enjoyed a serene race to the flag, in doing so, executing one perfect lap after another, including managing a late restart on cold tires after a car. security with serene calm. The execution that has ensured its success could not have been better illustrated. It may have been far from spectacular, but it will surely be memorable for Hamilton.
Pierre Gasly was sixth for AlphaTauri, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took seventh. Nico Hülkenberg, drafted to Racing Point in the last minute before qualifying on Saturday, did an excellent job of finishing eighth out of 20th In the net. Romain Grosjean de Haas was ninth and Antonio Giovinazzi of Alfa Romeo finished tenthth.
