Race Highlights | 2021 Russian Grand Prix

And it's lights out, away we go. Lando Norris does get away very well. Daniel Ricciardo too. And Norris now leads George Russell, who's ahead of Carlos Sainz with Ricciardo coming up alongside him. And Sainz is getting a good slipstream. Hamilton trying to go down the inside into the first braking zone. We go. Carlos Sainz locks up, going straight on, it's Fernando Alonso. It's Sainz in the lead from Lando Norris. Then comes George Russell and then a very good start for Lance Stroll. Lewis Hamilton is wheel to wheel with Daniel Ricciardo. As towards turn four we go now. It is Sainz out in front for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton is now along just ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. Sainz from Norris. Then comes the Williams of George Russell. And then Fernando Alonso just behind Lance Stroll with Hamilton on the inside. Here's the start. Look at the start that Russell's got. But Sainz actually gets a poor start and it must be in the second phase. He picks his slipstream up. Look how the difference it is here. And Lando Norris giving him that and opened it up. There goes the challenge. Norris is on the dirty part of the track and Sainz getting his way through here. Here comes Hamilton round turn three. Taking the long way round as he got the momentum to try and squeeze ahead. As into turn four they go. Hamilton has got past Fernando Alonso and made a move up into sixth place. On board now with Max Verstappen. Is he going down the inside? He's going to try, you know, and he's going to succeed as well. Verstappen has cleared Valtteri Bottas. That's a big move for Max Verstappen in the championship battle. Oh, Verstappen was trying an opportunist move down the inside there and had to back out. But he has gone ahead of Charles Leclerc, who goes wide. Verstappen can see what is going on ahead as Leclerc goes down the inside of Vettel. Goes too deep. Vettel thinks, I'll get you back. Thank you very much indeed. And now Verstappen is just going to go on the inside and they might have touched, you know. Norris leads the race. Lando Norris has got past Carlos Sainz. He's been trying for a while. Dropped back just a touch, complained about his tyres, but has now managed to get enough grip to put the brakes on late enough to get past Carlos Sainz and go on to take the lead of this race. Got him. Daniel Ricciardo, I think, is the McLaren. Oh, they're slow. It's a slow pit stop probably. We can see he's still stationary. Finally, Daniel Ricciardo is released. Hamilton to the pits. Caroon take us through the pit stop. And the Red Bull in the pits as well, Crofty. We've got Red Bull Mechanics with a set of the medium tyres there. Hamilton is in and out as the Red Bull is getting service at the same time. It's a bit slower there for Max Verstappen, but he comes back out. OK, Lando, we will be boxing this lap. We are going to box this lap. Go for it. So Norris now stops and they get to work. Tyres service nicely. And that's a much more efficient, faster stop for Lando Norris, who can come back out onto the track again. He'll be behind Charles Leclerc down that main straight. Hamilton has got fresher tyres and he's got better pace than Carlos Sainz. And into the first braking zone they go. At Turn 2, Hamilton makes the move on Carlos Sainz. Mercedes is absolutely wrapped up in a straight line, isn't it? Lewis, you can win this race. We'll see how Alonso got past Verstappen. And now we approach the part of the track where we're near the seafront, where it is going to be at its wettest. You can see the rain signs there. Hamilton is getting so much closer to Lando Norris. These next two corners are really critical as Lando Norris goes wide. And you can see just how slippy it is for both Norris and for Hamilton. Norris hasn't got as much experience in this sort of situation. Hamilton has. Now, what's going to win out? This is the part of the track where it's wet. Do you stay out in slicks? Do you stop for enters? What do you do? Because you're going to benefit later in the lap. You can see they've already got the grip back. So if you're Verstappen, do you gamble? Do you fit the enters? Of course, Red Bull will be watching that. The rain is increasing out there on the track. What's Vettel done? Is Vettel having a spin? Well, that's his teammate Lance Stroll just ahead of him. And Stroll, wandering over to the left hand side, puts his teammate into the wall. Has that broke the steering arm on Stroll's car? If you watch. Well, no, they both got away with it. Perfect. Lando, what do you think about an enter? What do you think about an enter? No! Now, is that the right decision or the wrong decision? We'll only find out at the checkered flag. What Hamilton loses by making this pit stop, will he be able to make up as Norris continues to struggle out on the track? And all the lap times have got that much slower. Damage for Lance Stroll as he slides his way off the circuit and into the barriers. He managed to get out, but you can see... And that might have been an earlier moment with Pierre Gasly. And it's now just four seconds between Norris and Hamilton. Verstappen could finish P2 here. And Hamilton takes the lead of the race as Lando Norris slides off the track and avoids the barriers, manages to keep going. But Hamilton takes the lead. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen is on the intermediate tyres. He's making his way through the field. This is how the lead swapped hands. Absolutely incredible. I feel so sorry for Norris. He had everything, but that's the benefit of being second. You can hang it out or go forward. Has he crossed the line? Is he going to get another penalty? No, no, no. And he's gone back into the pits and that is going to earn him a penalty. For Lewis Hamilton and his personal milestone, he is going to become the first ever driver to reach 100 victories in Formula 1. Brazil and their amazing Marchantlers have only ever produced 106 victories between them. Hamilton is going to get 100. He came into this race as a gladiator. He finds the chequered flag as a Centurion. Lewis Hamilton, it's 100 race victories. He wins the Russian Grand Prix and he retakes the championship lead. Get in there, Lewis. That's it, mate. That's the 100. Yeah, well reacted at the end there, Lewis. Beautiful drive, mate. Great effort, guys. That was hard work, man. It's taken us a long time to get that 100. But so grateful for all of you, for all the work back in the factory and here. Thanks so much for not giving up on me. Well done, Lewis. Great job, man. Really well done. Behind the top five, Fernando Alonso. Sixth place for him after starting sixth on the grid. Lando Norris, seventh. Behind Norris, Kimi Räikkönen picks up his best finish of the season. Eighth ahead of Sergio Perez and George Russell, who takes the final points place.