Bottas wins in Turkey, Verstappen retakes lead

ISTANBUL – Valtteri Bottas ended his year-long drought with a dominant victory in Turkey on Sunday whereas sad Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton completed fifth and misplaced the Method One championship result in Purple Bull’s Max Verstappen.

A commanding drive from the Finn ?#TurkishGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/6zYnpxyww5

— Method 1 (@F1) October 10, 2021

Verstappen, 24, was runner-up and 14.584 seconds behind the Finn at a moist Istanbul Park to overturn a two-point deficit to Hamilton and go six factors clear with six races remaining.

Purple Bull teammate Sergio Perez completed third with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth and forward of seven-time world champion Hamilton, who had began eleventh as a result of an engine penalty.

“It’s been some time however feels good. I feel from my facet most likely among the best races I’ve had ever,” mentioned Bottas, who began on pole place and took a bonus level for quickest lap.

“Aside from that one little slide, the whole lot was beneath management.”

The victory, sealed by overtaking Leclerc 11 laps from the top after the Ferrari driver had taken the lead by staying out whereas others pitted, was the Finn’s first since Russia in September final yr and tenth of his profession.

Verstappen, who began on the entrance row, had a quiet race and mentioned it had all been about tire administration.

“I’m blissful to be on the rostrum. I feel it’s been shut the entire yr and I’m fairly certain in Austin it will likely be battle with Mercedes, so we simply should hold pushing, hold attempting,” he mentioned.

The US Grand Prix in Texas is the following race on Oct. 24.

Heated Hamilton

Hamilton may need been on the rostrum however Mercedes known as him in for a late cease from third place for a contemporary set of intermediate tires with the monitor drying.

“Why did we hand over that place? We shouldn’t have are available, man. Large (tire) graining. I advised you,” mentioned the offended Briton in heated radio exchanges as he realized he had misplaced two locations within the pits.

? “We should not have are available man”

With laps operating out and operating P5, Lewis Hamilton wonders concerning the knowledge of pitting for a brand new set of inters #TurkishGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/60FezdEXw7

— Method 1 (@F1) October 10, 2021

He famous afterward that Alpine driver Esteban Ocon, who completed tenth, had made his one set of tires final your entire race.

Had he stayed out and stored third, Hamilton can be solely some extent behind Verstappen.

“I really feel like I ought to have stayed out” @LewisHamilton displays on Mercedes’ race technique at Istanbul Park#TurkishGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/Lmp7QYl135

— Method 1 (@F1) October 10, 2021

“We thought we might end third with out stopping or, if a dry line emerged, perhaps going to a tender tire,” mentioned Mercedes workforce boss Toto Wolff.

“Then we noticed Leclerc dropping off and Lewis was dropping off and it was clear we wouldn’t make it to the top.”

Pirelli boss Mario Isola mentioned the tires would have been completely on the restrict had Hamilton tried to final your entire race on them.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz was voted driver of the day for going from the again of the grid, as a result of energy unit penalties, to eighth for Ferrari.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was sixth with Lando Norris seventh for McLaren and Lance Stroll ninth for Aston Martin.

Alonso penalty

The beginning was clear however Gasly dropped from fourth to fifth after contact with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, who spun.

The Frenchman was handed a five-second time penalty however Alonso additionally collected an analogous sanction for a later conflict with Haas’s Mick Schumacher.

Bottas was 1.6 seconds clear after three laps with Verstappen complaining quickly after that he had issues with the gear shift.

Hamilton in the meantime labored his method by means of the sphere, tenth after the opening lap earlier than passing AlphaTauri’s stubbornly defensive Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda for eighth place on lap eight.

He handed Stroll a lap later, with Norris and Gasly taken in fast succession.

A worrying second got here on the midway mark when he was lapping Haas rookie Nikita Mazepin just for the Russian to maneuver throughout the monitor, the 2 vehicles avoiding contact however Hamilton shedding time in his chase of Perez.

Hamilton and Perez went wheel-to-wheel by means of 4 corners as they fought for fourth, with the Mexican pressured to run the incorrect facet of a bollard marking the pitlane entry as he held place and his workforce applauded.

With Ferrari lastly recognizing Leclerc had run out of tires after Bottas handed him, the Monegasque pitted and was overtaken by Perez.

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