Lewis Hamilton won his 100th Formula 1 Race after frantic final laps in the Russian Grand Prix, where heavy rain ruined Lando Norris’ hopes of a maiden win.
After timing his change of wet tyres perfectly, Hamilton's title rival Max Vertappen moved up to second in Red Bull's Hamilton Cup.
Hamilton is now back in the title lead after the Briton's win, but Verstappen drove from the back of Sochi's grid to give Hamilton a two-point advantage.
Hamilton held the record for the most F1 victories with Michael Schumacher following next on the all-time list at 91 wins.
The race was turned upside down by the torrential rains. Verstappen won, but Mercedes took the win.
McLaren's Norris took his maiden pole spot on Saturday. He was leading with five laps remaining in his McLaren, when it began to rain.
It was very light at first and it was only over a few corners. Verstappen was seventh in the standings at that point, so he was one of those drivers who pitted for intermediate tyres.
Norris also lost lead on the first lap
It was the turning point of his afternoon, as Norris & Hamilton were more than 30 seconds ahead in their fight for the lead. Hamilton initially stayed out.
A similar decision temporarily elevated Alpine's Fernando Alonso from sixth to third place, before the rain.
Norris was half-way through the lap after Verstappen's stop. He was asked if Norris wanted to stop for intermediate tires and he replied: "No."
Hamilton also said it wasn't raining very heavily but was told to go in because there was more rain.
With four laps to go, he stopped one lap behind Verstappen. Norris was still in front of him on his slick tires as the rain fell more heavily.
Hamilton was 14.9 seconds slower than Norris after he stopped. However, the rain had become so severe that Hamilton caught the McLaren in five corners more and took the lead.
After tip-toeing the lap, Norris stopped but his delay in getting tyres changed him to seventh.
Carlos Sainz from Ferrari, who stopped at the same moment as Verstappen for tyres, was third. McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo, and Mercedes' Valtteri bottas, were also among those who took advantage of early stops for treaded tires to be fourth and fifth, respectively, ahead of Alonso.
Norris's gamble to keep on slick tires cost him his first race win
Norris is in for a terrible turn
After appearing on track for an impressive maiden win, Norris was disappointed by the mistake of team and driver in late rain.
At the start, Sainz led the 21-year-old. He followed the Ferrari for 13 laps and then passed for the lead.
Hamilton had fallen from fourth to seventh on the grid on the first lap. He spent the first half of the race in a train with George Russell, Williams' driver in third. Ricciardo and Lance Stroll, both Aston Martin's, were ahead of Hamilton.
Russell and Stroll were both out of the way when Ricciardo seemed to be keeping Hamilton back in order to allow Norris breathing room.
Verstappen was also making great progress from the back row after an engine penalty. He was now only two seconds behind Hamilton, with Sergio Perez (teammate) and Alonso (between them) after just 20 laps.
After Hamilton and Norris pitted, Norris held a 10-second lead which Hamilton remorselessly closed.
With 10 laps remaining, Norris seemed to be in command, Hamilton not being able to catch him within a second, but the rain changed everything.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari's chief engineer, was also affected by his late decision to change his tyres.
He started at the back of the grid and was nineteen going into the final laps. Verstappen was two spots ahead. Verstappen was briefly fourth, but he was able to climb up the order as the rain began to pour down.
He stopped late in Norris' lap, which meant that he fell out of the points and was able to finish 15th.
Max Verstappen was last on the grid to finish in second place
Verstappen has a lucky break
Verstappen was criticized for stopping for new tyres at 26 laps, which is about half-distance.
He was unable to catch up with the leaders and fell behind a slower-moving group of cars. Things got worse when Alonso, who also started on hards but stopped 10 laps later to get new tyres, passed Verstappen into Turn Two. Verstappen seemed unable to regain sixth place.
Verstappen stated that both were due to the fact that his tyres had worn out from so much time spent in traffic.
The rain saved him. He called for intermediate tyres just in time, and was able jump up to second in what could have been a crucial move in the championship battle that is so close.
Driver of the Day
This one was hard to call. Alonso, Hamilton, Verstappen, and Norris were probably the top picks in the field. But let's not forget about Norris who controlled the race so well after passing Sainz. Even though McLaren and McLaren did misjudge the late tyre choice
What's next?
There is a gap of two weeks until the Turkish Grand Prix. Hamilton made one of his most memorable drives to win the title last year, despite it being a stormy race. It is too close to call for any pre-race predictions.
