After the final laps in Sochi where we saw the weather wreak havoc on the Russian GP and Lewis Hamilton claim his 100th victory in Formula One this 2 week break in action seemed to drag on longer than usual. Not a lot of news coming out over the break besides the added race in Qatar but that was a terribly kept secret that everyone seemed to know already. The somewhat shocking part of the news was the 10-year contract after this years race that they signed for the Qatar Grand Prix without ever having a race there before. The Losail International Circuit, that is out in the middle of the desert, is primarily a motorcycle track for MotoGP and to commit to a 10-year contract before a single race there you know they must have got some serious money. It will look cool having the race under the lights in the middle of the desert though.
Finally comes race weekend as Formula One comes to Intercity Istanbul Park for the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix and we have one of the tightest races for the championship in recent memory. Lewis Hamilton holds a 2-point lead over rival Max Verstappen as we sit right now and after qualifying today looks to have the faster car. Hamilton was flying out there for friday’s practice sessions and brought that speed into Saturday as he finished P1 after the 3rd session but will receive a 10-place grid penalty after Mercedes decided to change Hamilton’s power unit and sill start P11 instead.
This opens the door for Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to take Pole postion after Hamilton’s engine penalty who managed to also finish ahead of Max Verstappen which could be a big factor in tomorrow’s race and the Driver’s Championship. If Bottas is able to get a good start tomorrow and stay ahead of Verstappen, something he hasn’t showed much interest in doing in previous races this season, he could allow Lewis close the gap from P11 and get closer to the front without having Max fly off in the distance. Remember last race in Russia Verstappen also had an Engine penalty and started at the back of the grid. And even thought Hamilton was able to win the race (assist to the rain; poor Lando) and take the lead in the championship, Max fought his way all the way up the field and ended up limiting the damage when he finished P2. Hamilton will be hoping for similar results as he will be the one chasing everyone down this time but in a seemingly superior car right now.
Qualifying Top 10
- Valtteri Bottas 1:22.868
- Max Verstappen 1:23.196
- Charles Leclerc 1:23.265
- Pierre Gasley 1:23.326
- Fernando Alonso 1:23.477
- Sergio Perez 1:23.706
- Lando Norris 1:23.954
- Lance Stroll 1:24.305
- Yuki Tsunoda 1:24.368
- Sebastian Vettel 1:24.368
One shocker coming out of qualifying was the absence of Italian GP winner Daniel Riccardo in Q2 and Q3. The McLaren driver was unfortunately on the bubble in Q1 sitting in P15 with not enough time to go around for another lap. When McLaren’s’ top rival Ferrari had driver Carlos Sainz put in another lap, even though he will be starting at the back of the grid due to his own engine penalty, and was able to out qualify Danny Ric thus relegating the Australian to start tomorrow’s race in P16 and more importantly behind both Ferrari’s.
Sainz’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc will be starting tomorrow’s Turkish GP in P3 and showed great pace at the end of each qualifying session placing him amongst the top drivers of the day. We even saw Ferrari working together in Q2 when Sainz was again out on the track, this time ahead of his teammate and created a nice slip stream for Charles to pick up some speed and then went right to the garage once Leclerc went passed him.
Last year’s Turkish GP was a crazy race weekend where we saw Lance Stroll take pole position and the traction on the track was terrible. Drivers were spinning left and right and it didn’t get better once the rain started. Hamilton ended up winning the race last year and track officials have spent a lot of the last year improving the grip around the circuit and it looks like its working.
Tomorrow’s race is looking to be another great race in what is in my opinion the best F1 season of all time. With Hamilton starting in the middle of the pack and having the likes of Vettel, Lando and Perez to get by before even having to start the battle the crack the top 3. I can not wait for this race and we will have a review blog coming shortly after. #LetsGoFast