The Turkish GP F1 as it happened

By: Jake Boxall-Legge, Haydn Cobb, Tom Howard

Summary


	F1 Turkish GP begins at 1500 local time (1300 BST) Bottas on pole after Hamilton grid penalty, Verstappen second Ricciardo takes grid penalty after yesterday's Q1 exit Track is damp, everyone is starting on intermediate tyres. Alonso spins at Turn 1 after contact from Gasly, drops to P15 - Five second penalty for Gasly Alonso receives 5s penalty for causing a collision with Mick Schumacher Hamilton climbs from P11 to P5 in 15 laps, Sainz sits P10 after starting from back of the grid. Bottas leads Verstappen. Leader Bottas and Verstappen pit for new intermediates. Hamilton and Leclerc stays out and moves to P4 and P1 respectively. Bottas passes Leclerc for the lead on lap 47/58. Leclerc pits for new Inters and rejoins P4. Hamilton makes first stop for new inters on lap 50, drops to P5. Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas wins the Turkish GP from Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Leclerc finishes fourth ahead of Hamilton in fifth.
	Leaderboard Bottas, Mercedes Verstappen, Red Bull Perez, Red Bull Leclerc, Ferrari Hamilton, Mercedes Gasly, AlphaTauri Norris, McLaren Sainz, Ferrari Stroll, Aston Martin Ocon, Alpine

Status: Is about to start

16:53 We'll see you in a couple of weeks' time for the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Bring your stetsons, and we'll see y'all then!

16:52 And here's the report from the Turkish Grand Prix! https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-turkish-gp-bottas-dominates-ahead-of-verstappen/6684480/

16:49

16:45 Perez: "It was quite an intense race, racing with Lewis and fighting with Charles. It was one of those races where you had to be efficient and push at the right times."

16:43 Verstappen: "The track was very greasy, we just had to manage the tyres the whole race. It just seemed Valtteri had more pace, was able to manage the tyres better."

16:42 Bottas: "I think from my side, one of the best races I've had ever. Apart from that one little slide, everything was under control. It's not easy to choose the strategy, but I'm glad it went smooth for me."

16:41 Ocon was the only driver to no-stop in the end, setting a 1m37s lap on the final tour - nearly 5s slower than Giovinazzi behind.

16:37 "Hi Valtteri, it's James. Great job." "That was fun," says Bottas.

16:36 Gasly, Norris, Sainz, Stroll and Ocon complete the top 10.

16:36 Leclerc converts his second-row start into fourth, as Hamilton holds onto fifth.

16:35 Verstappen finishes second, 14.5s adrift, as Perez completes the race in third.

16:35 Valtteri Bottas wins the Turkish Grand Prix - and sets a 1m30.432s as he crosses the line!

16:34 Both Alfa Romeos do catch Ricciardo late on - Giovinazzi getting by at the start of the final lap and quickly followed through by Raikkonen - to see the McLaren driver pushed back to 13th place.

16:34 Bottas is on the final lap, and is going to try and cement the fastest lap point...

16:33 Leclerc got out of the graining phase as Hamilton went into it, with their gap now at a seemingly-insurmountable 4.6s.

16:32

Ricciardo, who pitted way earlier than the rest, is now defending from the Alfa Romeo duo to keep hold of 11th place. Further back, Schumacher has got ahead of team-mate Mazepin for P19.

16:32 Bottas out front now sets a 1m31.023s, opening the lead over Verstappen to 10 seconds with two laps left.

16:29 Gasly's now coming at Hamilton, as the Mercedes driver hits the graining stage on those inters.

16:29 And there Stroll goes up the inside at Turn 1 to take ninth place from Ocon, and he now has 5.6s to defend for three laps against Ricciardo behind him to stay in the points.

16:28 "What position am I in?", Hamilton asks. The Mercedes pitwall mumbles something about P5, leading him to reiterate that he wanted to stay out.

16:26 Hamilton is now less effusive about having to stop, having realised he's lost places to Perez and Leclerc. Leclerc, however, is haemorrhaging time to the Mercedes driver now.

16:25 Ocon is the last driver standing when it comes to not pitting in this race. The Alpine is on a supreme eco-drive when it comes to tyre life but he's about to lose ninth place to Stroll behind him.

16:25 That elevates Leclerc into third, but not for long as Perez dives past at Turn 12!

16:24 Mercedes, however, decides to make the stop and Hamilton complies as they want to pit him into the slot ahead of Gasly.

16:22 "I'm sliding around, but it's okay," says Hamilton, who seems content to no-stop for the time being.

16:19 Sainz is still on a charge, having been held up by his slow pitstop, as he puts in a new fastest lap of the race of 1m32.597s. He has 14.7s to gain to catch Norris ahead of him in the space of the last 10 laps.

16:19 Leclerc rejoins in fourth for now, and will hope to hold off Perez as he warms up his tyres.

16:19 Leclerc concedes defeat and stops from second place, but won't risk it and takes on fresh inters.

16:18 Meanwhile, a more comprehensive dry line is starting to form, giving Mercedes food for thought about what to do with Hamilton.

16:17 Bottas now gets a run on Leclerc out of the final corner, getting the inside and reclaims the lead!

16:16 After a couple of laps behind Ocon, Sainz makes his move charging up the inside into Turn 1 and gets ahead to take eighth place.

16:15 "What are we looking at in terms of position?" Leclerc asks. "If you keep Bottas behind, P1," comes the reply. So, can he?

16:14 Verstappen reports his steering wheel is starting to go left-hand down, while Leclerc has a lock-up at Turn 12 and invites Bottas to come even closer - the gap just 1.2s now.

16:12 Leclerc's had a bit of a slow lap last time around, giving Bottas the ammo to cut the gap to three seconds.

16:11 "Feels like we should stay out," Hamilton says, happy to remain on his worn inters.

16:11 Behind non-pitters Leclerc and Hamilton, Ocon is the only other driver yet to opt for fresh tyres. Ocon is P8 but has Sainz right behind him.

16:10 Hamilton gets the call to box, but doesn't comply. "New inter is the way to go," Bono tells him, but Hamilton says "I don't think it is."

16:08 "Can I stay on this set until the end of the race?" Leclerc asks. He gets the thumbs up to do so, so he's set to no-stop here if he can keep the life in them.

16:07 Gasly stopped from fifth and served his five-second penalty before taking on new intermediates.

16:06 Vettel duly pits at the end of the lap, sliding into a half-spin at pit entry, and was a whole minute slower compared to the rest. Vettel is now P18 and well out of it.

Live commentary and updates from Formula 1's Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park.

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The Turkish GP F1 as it happened

Live commentary and updates from Formula 1's Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park.

Summary

Top Comments

Trending

Latest news

Latest videos

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Contact us

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Motorsport prime

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