F1

VALTTERI BOTTAS has claimed victory in the Turkish Grand Prix after holding off Max Verstappen.But it hasn’t been such a happy story for Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The Brit looked like he may be able to battle from eleventh place to an unlikely podium before his team asked him to pit against his will.
That stop saw him lose places to Sebastian Perez and Charles Leclerc, which he was unable to regain.
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VERSTAPPEN READY FOR WHAT’S TO COME
🗣️ “It’s been close the whole year and I’m pretty sure again in Austin it will be a good battle with Mercedes”Max Verstappen on the fight for the F1 Championship, after P2 in Turkey 🇹🇷Race report over at #SkyF1 👇— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 10, 2021

FULL RACE RESULTS

VERSTAPPEN TAKES CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

BOTTAS WINS

BOT TOP
Bottas’ last win came over a year ago in the Russian GP.
He has now won his 10th in his F1 career, and he believes his performance was one of his best.
He said: “It’s been a while. It feels good. From my side, that’s one of the best races I’ve had.
“It’s not easy to choose the strategy here in these conditions. It feels like a well-earned victory.”
VALTTERI BOTTAS WINS THE TURKISH GP
Verstappen is second. Perez is third. Leclerc is fourth and Hamilton is down in fifth.
Good results all round for Red Bull, as Verstappen has a six point lead in the championship.

FINAL LAP
Bottas is on his way to his 10th win in F1. His first since Russia last year.
HAMILTON NOW UNDER PRESSURE FROM GASLY
He is struggling with those new tyres. Gasly meanwhile is flying. He could pass the world champion here.
HAMILTON IS FURIOUS
He’s discovered he dropped from third to fifth following that pitstop. He is now closing in on Leclerc, who is struggling for grip.

LAP 52
Perez has now passed Leclerc and moves into the podium places.
LAP 51 HAMILTON PITS FOR TYRES
He has gone for a new set of intermediate tyres. He has now dropped to fifth and behind Perez.
Hamilton was incredibly relaxed about the decision but with the threat of rain, perhaps Merc could not risk keeping him out.
LAP 50 HAMILTON ASKED ABOUT HIS TYRES
He says: “I am sliding around, but it’s ok.” He’s still on the same set of tyres he stated the race on.
LAP 47
Bottas regains the lead as he is on the new set of intermediate tyres. He passes Leclerc into Turn One. Good move from Bottas.

LAP 46
Slow burner this race, but it is about to get pretty exciting. Hamilton is still on the same set of intermediate tyres.
LAP 44
Leclerc, Bottas, Verstappen, Hamilton; that’s you top four. Bottas and Verstappen have stopped for new tyres.
LAP 42 HAMILTON QUESTIONS HIS TEAM’S CHOICE ON TYRES
The team have a new set of intermediate tyres ready, but he says he is not so sure.
His team are back in the garage while they re-assess the conditions.
Mercedes: “Box box, box box” Hamilton: “Why?” Mercedes: “New inter is the way to go” Hamilton: “I don’t think it is, man”
PEREZ ALSO STOPS
The Mexican is in for tyres and Hamilton is now in fourth.
LAP 38
Bottas now stops he has opted for a new set of intermediates. Leclerc leads the race, but has yet to stop.

LAP 37
Verstappen pits from P2. It is a good stop. Very quick. 2.1 seconds. He is back out on track.
LAP 35
Fantastic wheel to wheel action from Hamilton and Perez. Both kept it clean. It looked as thought Hamilton had the move done, but he fought back and held his time into Turn One.
The Mexican retains his position and stays in fourth and crucially holds up Hamilton for his teammate.
LAP 33
Hamilton is now under a second off Perez. Crucially that means he is DRS distance.
LAP 29
Good fight between Vettel and Ocon for 10th place. The Aston Martin man remains ahead.

HAMILTON REPORTS THAT HE IS LOSING GRIP
He radios the team saying: “Grip is starting to drop a little bit. Still no dry line. Exit of 8 only.”
LAP 26 – CRUCIAL PART OF THE RACE
The pitstop window is open as we approach this halfway stage of the race. Bottas leads Verstappen.
Leclerc, Perez, Hamilton is the top five.
BOTTAS HAS A MOMENT
It was looking easy for the Finn up front, but perhaps it is not that straight-forward in the conditions.

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LEWIS HAMILTON has qualified first in Istanbul with a new track record.However he will start the race in eleventh after taken a new combustion engine, exceeding his allocation of engine changes.
Perhaps more significantly for the Brit, team-mate Valtteri Bottas has qualified in second place, meaning he will start on pole.
Max Verstappen qualified third so will start second, and Hamilton will be hoping Bottas can the Dutchman up while he makes his way through the field.
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HAM HUNT
Lewis Hamilton has warned Max Verstappen he’s gunning for victory in tomorrow’s Turkish GP – despite his 10-place grid penalty.
He said: “It really depends on what the weather we’ve got and yes, partly cautious, but also super attacking; I need to win the race somehow. So that’s my goal.
“I was already third at the end of Turn One last year, so that made a bit of a difference, but it’s a different weekend.
“My eyes are still solely set on winning the race; it’s going to be very hard from 11th, but not impossible.
“So… just making sure we’ll deliver maximum attack. It is not going to be easy to fight through, but whether there is a wheel there is a way.
“We will try and make sure it is balanced and try to minimise the damage and get as high as possible.”
RACE REPORT
We’ve seen the official qualifying classifications, now read the SunSport report for the verdict from Istanbul Park…
Lewis Hamilton was fastest in Turkey but faces a grid penaltyCredit: AFP
TIME KEEPING
Here is the official qualifying classification from Istanbul Park.
As SunSport has reported, Hamilton was quickest in his Mercedes but a 10-place grid penalty will see him start tomorrow’s race from 11th.
That means pole position goes to his team-mate Valtteri Bottas, with Hamilton’s championship rival Max Verstappen promoted to the front row from third.

HAMILTON IS QUICKEST IN QUALIFYING
A mega job from Hamilton, who has that engine penalty and will have a 10-place penalty.
Bottas is in P2 but will be promoted to pole for the race. Verstappen is third quickest and elevated to second on the gird.

VERSTAPPEN IS ONLY QUICK ENOUGH FOR THIRD
Bottas is second.
HAMILTON GOES QUICKEST
A new track record to eclipse Bottas’ time. 1:22.868 is the time. What has Verstappen got in reply?
90 seconds to go. It is Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Gasly, Perez, Alonso, Norris, Leclerc, Tsunoda and Stroll.
GASLY IN FOURTH
With respect to AlphaTauri, it is incredible he has been overlooked for a seat in one of the bigger teams.

GOOD START FOR BOTTAS
The Finn takes provisional pole. Hamilton is second-quickest and Verstappen in third based on their first runs.

Q3 IS GO – BACK ON THE QUICKER, SOFT TYRES
Hamilton v Verstappen. It has been all Hamilton so far this weekend.
ELIMINATED FROM Q2
Sainz, Schumacher, Russell, Vettel and Ocon.
Meanwhile, at the top Hamilton dominates. Verstappen second-quickest.

RUSSELL GOES WIDE AT THE LAST CORNER
Shame for the Williams man, who was flying. But a mistake at the final turn sees him knocked out.
ONE MINUTE TO GO
Sainz, Schumacher, Vettel, Russell and Leclerc are all in the drop zone.
But Lance Stroll has gone off track. He is in danger of getting bumped out.
SPIN FOR LECLERC
He loses it at the end of his lap and spins off. He’s heading back to the garage for new tyres.
STRONG OPENING LAPS FROM HAMILTON
He is looking awesome on these medium tyres. He’s 0.407 seconds clear of Verstappen, who is in P2.
Q2 IS GO – RED BULL AND MERCEDES STRAIGHT OUT
That rain is looming. Both cars on medium tyres, looking to start the race on those sets.
As expected, medium tyres seem to be the order of the day for #Q2. The medium tyre is a bit harder to warm up, but will ensure a longer first stint with the possibility of doing a one-stopper. pic.twitter.com/xrwncJGNHe— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) October 9, 2021

Q1 RESULTS
Close at the top.

WHAT A RESULT FOR SCHUMACHER
In tricky conditions – and in a under-strength car – he is into Q2. He’s over the moon.
He’s quicker than Vettel. And THREE SECONDS quicker than his teammate, Mazepin.

VERSTAPPEN RECOVERS HE IS SAFE
The Dutchman is in second quickest, behind Hamilton. But Daniel Ricciardo is OUT in Q1.
That’s a huge blow to the Aussie, who simply ran out of time. He is eliminated at the first hurdle.
VERSTAPPEN HAS HIS LAP TIME DELETED
He drops to 10th place. Nervous times for Red Bull?
TWO MINUTES TO GO – VETTEL IN THE DROP ZONE
The four-time world champion has some work to do if he is to get into Q2.
SAINZ SPINS
Ferrari man is due to start last due to engine penalties, but is still struggling out there.

ITS IS RAINING
Hamilton goes quickest, he does get his lap in.
As expected, a few spots of rain have started falling at Intercity Istanbul Park… ☔️All eyes glued to this action!#TurkishGP 🇹🇷— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 9, 2021

VERSTAPPEN SPINS TOO
He says he “tried to take it careful but never got the grip”. With the rain looming, could we see a big scalp in Q1?
THIS COULD BE A CHAOTIC
Drivers all bunching up to try and get a lap in. Lewis Hamilton jumps the queue and makes a mistake.
He goes off track and he’s spoiled that lap already.
Carlos Sainz also spins and complains of cold tyres.

GREEN LIGHT – QUALIFYING FOR THE TIRKISH GP IS GO
And with rain expected, it is already a very busy pitlane. Drivers will be looking to get their laps in early – before the downpours!
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