Coming to Istanbul, Turkey for round 16, Mercedes announced, that Hamilton was going to face a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change. Several power unit components had been changed to Sainz's Ferrari as well, and the Spaniard was to start to the race from the back of the grid.
The weather forecast predicted 100 % chance of rain for qualifying. However, rain had stopped in the morning already, and everyone headed out on the red-walled soft compound. Conditions were slippery, as there were damp patches on the track. Hamilton ended up wide on his first flyer, and also Sainz and Red Bull's Verstappen had spins of their own. The predicted rain never came, and the track conditions kept improving towards the end of the session. The championship candidates Hamilton and Verstappen topped the timesheets, whilst McLaren's Ricciardo was the biggest name casualty in Q1. The most positive surprise was delivered by Haas' Schumacher, who made it through to Q2 for the first time in his F1 career.
Against the odds, not only the two top teams of Mercedes and Red Bull opted for the medium rubber, but teams like Williams and Aston Martin made a similar choice, too. For long it seemed, that Sainz wasn't going to set a lap time at all (due to the grid penalty), but since his teammate Leclerc was the driver in risk at the end of Q2, the Spaniard headed out to give his teammate a tow. It was a great team effort, as Charles jumped 7th in the end. Russell was setting a competitive lap time in the first two sectors as well, but a crucial mistake in the very final corner dropped "Mr. Saturday" out of the top ten.
Even the sun came out, as the final segment was kicked off. After the first two sessions it had become obvious, that Red Bull didn't have what it would have taken to challenge the Silver Arrows for pole. Bottas laid his hands on provisional pole by two hundredths of a second to his teammate. Verstappen's first flyer had left him two tenths shy of the Finn's benchmark. However, the last attempt saw Hamilton set a new track record and claim pole by a tenth to his Finnish teammate. Verstappen was left third by a 3-tenth margin. Charles made excellent work in the final session and managed to climb as high as P4. AlphaTauri's Gasly was once again a strong 5th and Alpine's Alonso qualified 6th. Perez was again unable to match his team's expectations, as the Mexican couldn't deliver any higher than P7. McLaren's Norris, Aston Martin's Stroll and AlphaTauri's Tsunoda rounded out the top ten. However, due to Hamilton's penalty, official pole was recorded to Valtteri Bottas, as the reigning world champion was dropped down to P11.
It was drizzling, as the cars headed out for the formation lap. The tyre choice was obvious; everyone was to start to the race on the intermediate Pirellis. McLaren's Ricciardo had also been dropped down to the back of the grid due to a power unit element change. Bottas' reaction time at the start was outstanding, and the Finn accelerated into the lead. Verstappen managed to maintain his second place, with Ferrari's Leclerc third. Behind the top three there was a collision in the first corner between AlphaTauri's Gasly and Alpine's Alonso. The contact made Alonso spin, which cost the double world champion some 10 places. Later on, Gasly was given a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision. Ironically, Alonso, too was given a 5-second time penalty for causing a collision with Haas' Schumacher.
From the very first moments on, Bottas kept everything smoothly under his control. Verstappen couldn't get within striking distance from the leading Finn and he had to concentrate on managing his tyres. Both Ferrari's Sainz and championship candidate Hamilton delivered a staggering overtaking show. On lap 14 the Ferrari ace had a slight contact with Aston Martin's Vettel when passing the ex Ferrari driver and making it in the points already. Hamilton, on the other hand, absolutely flied past Gasly on lap 15, which made the Briton 5th in the race.
Ricciardo was the first driver to pit on lap 22. Due to low air temperature and cloudy sky the track wasn't drying up, and the Australian opted for another set of intermediate tyres. However, all top drivers stayed out, although their intermediate tyres had practically turned into slicks. By lap 33 Hamilton had chased down Perez, and the duo had a fiery dual on the track. Hamilton even made it ahead of Perez momentarily, but the Mexican wasn't going to give up.
On lap 37 the team asked Verstappen to box. A pit stop near to perfection and fresh intermediate tyres for the flying Dutchman. Bottas was called in on the sequential lap, and everything worked out perfectly. The Finn rejoined the track in front of the Dutch lion. Charles, who hadn't pitted yet, was now leading the race. Meanwhile, Vettel at the wheel of his AMR21, made a crazy call to switch to the mediums, which proved an overwhelmingly optimistic call. Sebastian could just barely keep his car out of the barriers and was about to spin at the pit entry when pitting for a new set of intermediates only a lap later.
Race leader Charles was asking on the team radio, whether he was allowed to drive till the chequered flag on the same set of tyres. He had an ambitious plan not to pit at all. Meanwhile, Hamilton was told to box. The Briton questioned this call asking, why he should box and didn't agree with his team to put on new intermediates. With 13 laps to go, Bottas had decreased the gap to Charles, who was sliding around on his out-worn intermediates, which reminded more of slicks than wet weather tyres. And on lap 47 the determined Finn attacked. Bottas passed the Monegasque in Turn 1, claiming back his temporarily lost lead. In the end, Charles didn't make it till the end on the same set of tyres but pitted on lap 48 for a fresh set of green-marked intermediate tyres. Charles rejoined the track in P4 ahead of Red Bull's Perez. Hamilton was still bravely staying out, trying to maintain his 3rd place by making a zero-stopper to work.
However, Hamilton had to give in in the end and pit for new intermediates with only seven laps to go. The Briton rejoined the track in P5 ahead of AlphaTauri's Gasly. Unfortunately Charles was in trouble with his fresh tyres, and Perez saw his chance. The Mexican made a successful move on Charles, jumping third. Hamilton, too had difficulties with his fresh tyres, and Gasly was putting serious pressure on him from behind. The grumpy Briton still kept questioning his pit stop on the team radio.
Bottas cruised to the chequered flag as the race winner for the first time this season. He also nailed the fastest lap time on the very final lap. This victory was definitely well deserved. Verstappen finished the runner-up 14 seconds behind the Finn, taking the lead in the championship standings by six points. Perez completed Red Bull's great day by finishing third. Charles made it 4th after all, which meant valuable points for both him and the team. Hamilton was left 5th, but he managed to keep both Gasly and Norris behind him in spite of the pressure. Sainz made it from P19 to P8 in the end, which was an awesome result for the Spaniard. Aston Martin's Stroll and Alpine's Ocon were the last drivers to score points in Turkey. Worth noting is the fact, that Ocon completed his race without pitting at all!
Mercedes still have a 36-point lead in the constructors' standings in spite of Red Bull's double podium today. Due to Ferrari's successful day today, the Scuderia are 7.5 points off McLaren in terms of the 3rd place in the constructors' standings. The nail-biting championship battle will continue in the USA in a fortnight. Forza Ferrari!
With passion for racing red,
Iina Huhmarniemi
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