Hamilton: Turkey qualifying "the least enjoyable" of F1 career
Lewis Hamilton called qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix "the least enjoyable" of his Formula 1 career, but was happy to finish sixth in wet, low grip conditions.

Heavy rain on the low-grip surface at Istanbul Park left drivers struggling for pace throughout qualifying, with a lengthy red flag due to the weather meaning that Q1 took over an hour to complete.
Lance Stroll snatched a shock pole position for Racing Point ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, while Hamilton could only finish sixth in Q3, marking his worst qualifying result of the season.
After calling the track surface "terrifying" following practice on Friday, Hamilton said qualifying stood out for being one of the least enjoyable of his F1 career.
"It was definitely one of the least enjoyable, if not the least enjoyable that I've had," Hamilton said.
"This track, the layout is so great, but the grip is so poor that you can't really generate the grip to go through the corners at the speed we would like.
"But otherwise, it was a challenge, and challenges are always good.
"The track surface grip is the worst I've ever experienced in any year of racing. Considering how much downforce we have, it's been a challenge.
"Going into the wet today made it even harder. So we were definitely limited by grip and temperature, but I'm pretty happy with the job I did."
Read Also:
Hamilton can secure a record-equalling seventh F1 drivers' championship on Sunday by ensuring Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas - who qualified ninth - does not outscore him by eight points.
But Hamilton said he was unsure how his car would perform in dry conditions after failing to do any set-up work through practice on Friday due to the struggles with the tyres.
"I have no idea what car I've got underneath me tomorrow," Hamilton said. "We made some set-ups going into today, and then it's been wet.
"If it's dry, I have no idea how it is going to feel, if it's wet, I know it's going to be, it could feel as bad as today. We'll just go with it. We're all in the same boat out there, we're all struggling. It's really cool.
"Congrats to Lance on the pole, that's pretty awesome. We look forward to a fight with them tomorrow."
Related video

Previous article
Stroll "shocked" after grabbing Turkish GP pole
Next article
Stroll summoned over yellow flag infringement

About this article
Series | Formula 1 |
Event | Turkish GP |
Drivers | Lewis Hamilton |
Author | Luke Smith |
Hamilton: Turkey qualifying "the least enjoyable" of F1 career
Trending
Scuderia Ferrari Filming Day Backstage Footage
Back to Work | Valtteri Bottas' 2021 Seat Fit
F1 Explained | Mercedes Power Unit
How McLaren F1’s new investors have already made an impact
The deal McLaren concluded with MSP Sports Capital last year which will help the cash-strapped Formula 1 team pay for much-needed infrastructure upgrades, also points toward the future for F1 itself, says GP Racing's Stuart Codling.
Why Verstappen isn't interested in the hype game
In a pre-season where Red Bull has been unusually quiet, Max Verstappen has also been guarded about the team's fortunes in 2021. Even after trying the RB16B for the first time at Silverstone, the Dutchman was careful to manage expectations
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.