The teams were back in Turkey for the second year in a row for the FORMULA 1 ROLEX TURKISH GRAND PRIX 2021. The weather conditions were better than last year, but still damp. It was Valtteri Bottas who took victory from pole, but it was Max Verstappen who took the lead of the World Drivers’ Championship.
Valtteri Bottas got away well off the line in the damp conditions and stayed in the lead from pole position, despite some wheel spin in the second phase of the start.
Fernando Alonso was spun by Pierre Gasly in the first corner, ruining the Spaniard’s best start since Japan in 2014. Gasly was in the middle of the corner with Sergio Perez on the inside and Alonso on the outside and the Frenchman had nowhere to go. The stewards disagreed, giving the AlphaTauri driver a five-second time penalty to be served during his pit stop. Alonso earned a five-second time penalty of his own for spinning Mick Schumacher on the second lap.
Lewis Hamilton was stuck behind Yuki Tsunoda, trying to make up positions after an engine penalty dropped him from pole position down to P11 for the race start. In took the Brit 8 laps before his dove around the outside of turn 3. It was a steady climb from there, setting the fastest lap of the field.
Carlos Sainz also had his work cut out for him, starting ahead of only Daniel Ricciardo after an engine penalty. He charged his way through the field, reaching the top 10 after only 15 laps.
Daniel Ricciardo was the first to pit for new intermediate tyres on lap 22 from P16, providing some good data for his teammate. While he was initially slower on the new rubber, he did eventually begin the match the pace of the leaders, but it wasn’t enough for any teams to take the gamble that early in the race.
On lap 35, fans were treated to the battle everyone was waiting for: Perez vs Hamilton. Hamilton and Perez were side-by-side down the long straight running up to turn 12. Hamilton tried to get around the outside of Perez in the long left-hand turn 12, but the two were still side-by-side. The outside line changed to the inside line for turn 13 and Perez was forced to run a little wide, having to run over the white line to avoid the bollard at the pit entry. The two continued to battle down the main straight, but Hamilton was able to take the position.
Max Verstappen was the first of the leaders to pit for fresh intermediate tyres on lap 37. Bottas and Perez responded the following lap taking new intermediate tyres as well.
Sebastian Vettel was the only driver to gamble on the slick tyres, taking a set of medium tyres when he pitted. It turned out to be a gamble that didn’t pay off. The German rapidly dropped down the field as his crawled around the slippery circuit to return to the pit lane to switch back to intermediate tyres after only a lap.
Neither Charles Leclerc (who inherited the lead) or Lewis Hamilton pitted. On the older tyres, Leclerc was quickly caught up by Bottas and it was fairly easy work for the Mercedes to get by the slow Ferrari. Leclerc eventually made the decision to pit for new intermediate tyres on lap 48.
Hamilton was determined to make it to the end of the race on his intermediate tyres, not wanting to lose his podium position and more points to Verstappen in the championship. The team called Hamilton into the pit lane with less than 10 laps remaining in the race, dropping him down to P5. Hamilton expressed his frustration over the team radio after realizing it lost him track position. He was nearly caught by Pierre Gasly before the end of the race as Hamilton’s tyres went through the graining phase, but he was able to keep P5.
But it was Valtteri Bottas who took the race victory from pole position, plus a point for fastest lap. Max Verstappen finished in P2, taking the lead in the championship. Sergio Perez claimed the bottom step of the podium.
Next, the teams will be heading for a stint in the Western Hemisphere for a few races, starting in the United States of America for a race around the Circuit of the Americas. That race will be on the weekend of October 24.
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| Race Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | V. Bottas | ||
| 2 | M. Verstappen | ||
| 3 | S. Perez | ||
| 4 | C. Leclerc | ||
| 5 | L. Hamilton | ||
| 6 | P. Gasly | ||
| 7 | L. Norris | ||
| 8 | C. Sainz | ||
| 9 | L. Stroll | ||
| 10 | E. Ocon | ||
| 11 | A. Giovinazzi | ||
| 12 | K. Raikkonen | ||
| 13 | D. Ricciardo | ||
| 14 | Y. Tsunoda | ||
| 15 | G. Russell | ||
| 16 | F. Alonso | ||
| 17 | N. Latifi | ||
| 18 | S. Vettel | ||
| 19 | M. Schumacher | ||
| 20 | N. Mazepin | ||
