The change of engine in his W12 implied a penalty of 10 places, but
Lewis Hamilton
does not give his arm to twist so easily. Not even in Istanbul, a track not very conducive to him, where until now he had not added a single
pole
. The one achieved this Saturday, 102nd of his vast record, serves as a warning for
Max Verstappen
, who could not overcome
Valtteri Bottas either
. It seems that Mercedes can count on the good work of the Finn this time, with a good pace on a track between dry and wet. Under these conditions,
Fernando Alonso
rubbed shoulders with the fastest.
"It was my best qualifying of the season," admitted the Alpine leader, sixth in the table and fifth on a grid to be closed by
Carlos Sainz
, after the planned engine change announced on Thursday. The aggressiveness of Fernando attacking the vertices was reflected in the first sector. That progression of the A521, however, could not be exploited by
Esteban Ocon
, twelfth classified.
Although not all were rivalries within the same garage, because at Ferrari, teamwork propelled
Charles Leclerc
, fourth classified. The Monegasque was able to get ahead in Q2 thanks to the selfless work of Sainz, who took to the track only to offer him a couple of snips. Before, the Madrid native had also collaborated to knock out
Daniel Ricciardo
, without confidence in his McLaren. The main surprise of that Q1 was
Mick Schumacher
, able to get into the top 15 for the first time since the French GP, while his teammate at Haas,
Nikita Mazepin
, linked spins with track starts.
In the last free session,
Pierre Gasly
had set the best time on a soggy asphalt, just ahead of the Red Bulls.
Three hours later, the sky was still cloudy and the track presented these kinds of difficulties for those who do not know very well what to expect.
"The rain is going to dissipate and from now on the conditions should improve," they told Verstappen on the radio, with difficulties to keep up with Hamilton.
The most difficult point was located on the descent towards Turn 1 although it was not advisable to be distracted either in the last corner, where
George Russell
and Leclerc
had more than trouble
.
The next Mercedes driver lost all his options in that last swerve.
"No, no, no, no. It was a good lap," he lamented on the radio.
All the favorites had opted for the medium tire, from which Alonso extracted optimum performance.
The Asturian was able to rise a couple of times to third place, only behind the two World Cup contenders.
Ricciardo's early elimination, added to Sainz's engine change and
Lando Norris's
hesitations
, even with the Sochi fiasco on his head, also cleared the way for the two-time champion, who applied with fantastic solvency.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
sports
Formula 1
Max verstappen
Lewis hamilton
Formula 1A clumsiness of Hamilton gives the 'pole' to Verstappen in Monza
Formula 1The dominance of a sanctioned Hamilton
Formula 1 Verstappen and Hamilton united by catastrophe on McLaren's glory day
See links of interest
La Palma volcano
Last News
Translator
What
2021 business calendar
Home THE WORLD TODAY
Master investigative journalism
Olympiacos Piraeus - Real Madrid
Baskonia - Olimpia Milan
Real Valladolid - Malaga
Lugo - Girona
Mirandés - Eibar