Valtteri Bottas won the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday, taking his first victory of the season as Max Verstappen reclaimed the lead in the world championship.
f1 standings is a website that displays the current standings of Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.
Valtteri Bottas won the Turkish Grand Prix, while Max Verstappen finished second to reclaim the championship lead for Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton was in fifth place, arguing with his crew over the radio over their choice to pit late for tyres, which dropped him from third.
With six races left in the season, Verstappen has a six-point advantage over Hamilton.
Sergio Perez of Red Bull finished third ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a tight race on a slick circuit.
The tyres that never seemed to wear out
When Hamilton was in third place, he made a late pit stop for a tyre change, ultimately finishing fifth.
Bottas won his first race of the season with a dominating performance for Mercedes, easily holding off Verstappen, who was unable to take advantage of the wet track to threaten the Finn.
Hamilton, who began 11th due to a penalty for using too many engine components, was up to third with 10 laps to go after a powerful drive and some spectacular overtaking manoeuvres, and he intended to finish on the same intermediate tyres he started on.
Hamilton fought off several requests from Mercedes to pit, fearing that his tyres would degrade severely in the last laps, leaving him exposed to Perez, Leclerc, and Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly behind him.
With eight circuits to go, Mercedes called Hamilton in, but he had issues with his fresh tyres and vented his frustrations over the radio as he battled to hold off Gasly after losing positions to Perez and Leclerc.
“Man, we shouldn’t have come in,” Hamilton said. “I have a lot of graining. I warned you.”
Hamilton would have trailed Verstappen by just one point if he had been able to stay in third position.
Given the rainy circumstances, the race was fairly uneventful, with just a few spins.
With Leclerc, Ferrari was in a similar situation.
With little over 20 circuits to go, he went into the lead when Verstappen and then Bottas stopped for new treaded intermediate tyres, and he was originally attempting to hang on to the lead until the finish.
However, the Ferrari’s tyres wore down, and Bottas moved up on him and overtook him for the lead with 11 laps remaining.
Hamilton attempted to keep going, believing he could remain ahead of Leclerc and Perez for the last podium spot, but his crew overruled him. By this point, Mercedes was certain that his tyres would not get it to the finish line.
Gasly finished sixth behind Hamilton, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who made a remarkable comeback from the bottom of the grid after receiving a penalty for a new engine.
Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon of Alpine, the only driver who did not pit, rounded up the top ten.
Today’s driver is
This is a tough one to call, with strong drives from Perez, Leclerc, Hamilton, and Sainz. But let’s give it to Bottas, who ruled the front row and delivered precisely what Mercedes wanted.
What they had to say
Bottas regarded his tenth Formula One win – his first since the Russian Grand Prix in September 2020 – as one of the most memorable races of his career.
“It’s been a long, but it feels wonderful,” the Finnish driver remarked on the podium. “From my perspective, it was one of the greatest races I’ve ever participated in.” With the exception of one little stumbling block, I’ve had everything under control. The vehicle was excellent in all conditions, and I had complete faith in it.
“I’m relieved that things went well for me this time.” It was enjoyable.
“When you just have one drying line, it doesn’t take much to blow it out. It was a tough race for me since I had to concentrate the whole time, but it felt like a well-earned win.”
Verstappen was quoted as saying: “The track was extremely greasy today, and we had to manage the tyres throughout the race, so we couldn’t really push. Valtteri appeared to have a faster speed and could take better care of his tyres, so I’m pleased to finish second.”
When asked what the most difficult part of the Grand Prix was, he joked: “To remain awake! You were never really pushing because it was all about managing the tyres.”
What’s going to happen next?
In two weeks, the US Grand Prix will be held in Austin, Texas. Hamilton’s favorite track, where he had a string of great performances. At the Circuit of the Americas, he will be optimistic about regaining the championship lead.
Related Tags
- f1 results
- 2018 f1 standings
