MILESTONE LOOMING
Hamilton likely to equal Schumacher record in Russia
Lewis Hamilton is one win away from matching Michael Schumacher’s all-time record 91 and the Mercedes Formula One driver will be favourite to get the job done in Russia on Sunday.
Some felt Schumacher’s tally might never be equalled when the seven-times world champion celebrated his last win in China in 2006.
Hamilton, a winner since his debut 2007 season and now making his 260th start, stands on the cusp of doing just that at a circuit that did not exist when the Ferrari great was racing.
The Briton has a better record than anyone in Sochi, with four wins since the first race there after the 2014 Winter Olympics, and Mercedes have yet to be beaten at the circuit.
If they triumph again, it will also be a record for most successive wins by a team at the same grand prix.
“It just doesn’t seem real,” the six-times world champion said after his 90th win at Italy’s Mugello circuit on September 13. “I never thought that I would be here, that’s for sure.”
The one most likely to keep Hamilton waiting is team mate Valtteri Bottas, who won in Sochi in 2017 — the first victory of his Formula One career.
The Finn needs something special since he is 55 points behind Hamilton after nine of 17 races with only one victory to his team mate’s six.
Mercedes may not have it all their own way, however.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is due a change of fortune after two successive retirements.
“It’s not going to be easy in Sochi and it has not been a favourite for us with a lot of long straights,” the 22-year-old from the Netherlands said.
Sochi is the first stand-alone race of the season, after three successive triple-headers, and also set to be the first with a significant spectator presence.
Organisers, who had aimed for a 30,000 strong crowd, say the race is sold out.
The presence of a Netflix crew, following Mercedes for season three of their Drive to Survive series, will have a few people on edge.
It all went wrong last time the film makers followed Mercedes, at Hockenheim in 2019, where the German marque was celebrating 125 years in motorsport at a home grand prix.
Mercedes endured its worst race of the season, with Hamilton 11th but later promoted to ninth while Bottas crashed out. Verstappen won the race.
“That made for a very entertaining Netflix episode but we hope that this time we can have great content and a great race,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said. —