By RaceScene Publisher on Sunday, 10 October 2021
Category: Paddock Magazine

2021 Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix highlights

Introduction

 

The 2021 Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix was won by Valtteri Bottas that was run in damp conditions, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez completing the podium.

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Light rain peppered the track well before the race and while the rain stopped, conditions called for intermediate tyres throughout.

Bottas led the race away from the pole, his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton having started 11th thanks to his 10-place engine-related penalty, while Verstappen followed the Finn. By Lap 11, Hamilton was up into the top five having passed Pierre Gasly. The defending champion would be promoted to fourth when Sergio Perez pitted on Lap 38.

The pit stops came thick and fast from Lap 35 as Lando Norris was first to choose new inters, Verstappen in next on Lap 37 from P2, and Bottas pitting from the lead one lap later. Charles Leclerc was released into the lead but on Lap 48 of 58, he decided the gamble to forgo a pit stop wasn’t going to pay off and came in for new inters. Bottas delivered his first win since Russia 2020 with a flawless performance from then on, a bonus point is given as he also took the fastest lap.

Leclerc’s stop put Hamilton into third, the Briton seemingly trying to make it to the end on his starting tyres, or at least make it to dry conditions. The looming clouds said otherwise, and he finally boxed on Lap 51 – his tyres having turned into slicks. He was left furious, asking his team: “Why did we give up that place?!” P5 would be his final spot.

That promoted Leclerc back into the top three but he was passed by Perez on Lap 52, the Red Bull driver taking P3 and his first podium since France. Leclerc finished fourth as Hamilton could not catch the Ferrari driver in the closing laps.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took sixth, having shrugged off a five-second penalty for a Lap 1 collision that sent P5 starter Fernando Alonso into a spin. Next on the board was Lando Norris, who was one of the earliest to pit for new inters (on Lap 35) and who settled for seventh having started there.

Carlos Sainz managed a brilliant recovery to P8 as engine penalties saw him start 19th, the Ferrari driver up into the points by Lap 14. His foray up the order was somewhat hurt by an 8.1s pit stop late on, without which he could have been in touching distance of Norris ahead.

Lance Stroll finished P9 having started eighth for Aston Martin, bumped up a place thanks to a pass on Alpine’s P10 finisher Esteban Ocon with five laps remaining. Ocon started 12th but made up two places with Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda dropping out of points contention thanks to respective spins.

Mario Isola – Head of F1 and car racing at Pirelli commented:

Following wet conditions in Saturday’s free practice, we had wet weather from start to finish at the 2021 Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix today. However, this was never heavy rain that required the full wets: instead, it was perfect territory for the intermediates, which showed themselves to be very well-suited to a wide range of changing wet conditions. The drivers who changed their tyres in the final stages of the race found a slightly drier track, leading to a bit more graining. Those stopping earlier were able to limit graining on a wetter track, and this was a key advantage in the intermittent rain conditions.

Bottas ran the perfect strategy under the demanding circumstances: a one-stopper with two runs on the intermediates. Many other drivers delayed their pit stop: also because it wasn’t clear to what extent the track would dry out before the end of the race, perhaps even allowing a final run on the slicks. Going for the whole race on the intermediates though was not what we would advise, and in fact, we alerted some teams to the potential risk of doing that. Nonetheless, the performance of the intermediates was very strong here, without a single driver retiring despite the slippery conditions over all 58 laps.

2021 Formula 1 Turkish GP Race Results

PosNoDriverCountryTeamTimePointsOverall
1.77Valtteri BottasFinlandMercedes-AMG Petronas1:31:04.10326177
2.33Max VerstappenNetherlandsRed Bull Racing+14.584s18262.5
3.11Sergio PerezMexicoRed Bull Racing Honda+33.471s15135
4.16Charles LeclercMonacoScuderia Ferrari+37.814s12116
5.44Lewis HamiltonGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas+41.812s10256.5
6.10Pierre GaslyFranceScuderia AlphaTauri+44.292s874
7.4Lando NorrisGreat BritainMclaren Racing+47.213s6145
8.55Carlos SainzSpainScuderia Ferrari+51.526s4116.5
9.18Lance StrollCanadaAston Martin F1 Team+82.018s226
10.31Esteban OconFranceAlpine F1 Team+1 lap146
11.99Antonio GiovinazziItalyAlfa Romeo F1 Team+1 lap01
12.7Kimi RäikkönenFinlandAlfa Romeo F1 Team+1 lap06
13.3Daniel RicciardoAustraliaMcLaren Racing+1 lap095
14.22Yuki TsunodaJapanScuderia AlphaTauri+1 lap018
15.63George RussellGreat BritainWilliams Racing+1 lap016
16.14Fernando AlonsoSpainAlpine F1 Team+1 lap058
17.6Nicholas LatifiCanadaWilliams Racing+1 lap07
18.5Sebastian VettelGermanyAston Martin F1 Team+1 lap035
19.47Mick SchumacherGermanyHaas F1 Team+2 laps00
20.9Nikita MazepinRussiaHaas F1 Team+2 laps00

2021 Constructor Standings

PicturePosTeamPoints

1.Mercedes-AMG F1 Team433.5

2.Red Bull Racing397.5

3.McLaren Racing240

4.Scuderia Ferrari232.5

5.Alpine F1 Team104

6.Scuderia AlphaTauri92

7.Aston Martin F1 Team61

8.Williams Racing23

9.Alfa Romeo Racing7

10.Haas F1 Team0

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

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