Despite the fact that
Valtteri Bottas led the race up to the pit stops with
Max Verstappen in his wake, it was
Lewis Hamilton who took the win. A conveniently timed Virtual Safety Car did play a bit of a role in this.
Both Bottas and Verstappen had already made their pit stop. The Mercedes team decided to prolong Hamilton's stint and let him drive as far away from Bottas and Verstappen as possible before making his stop.
Luck is in favour of the champions
He didn't have to make the stint as long as planned; in lap 31 the Virtual Safety Car was used for a very short time because of the stranded Renault of
Esteban Ocon. Hamilton was able to take full advantage of this by coming in exactly at that moment, and therefore losing minimal time.
Former
Formula 1 driver and world champion
Jacques Villeneuve believes that luck belongs to champions, he explains to
Sky Italia.
"Luck always smiles at the champions. When Bottas is in shape, luck will also give him a hand. Hamilton never lowers his concentration, he takes everything he can. That's why he's a great champion," the Canadian said.