Bottas holds Verstappen and Sainz completes great comeback in Istanbul

• Turkish GP Qualifying and times

• World Cup 2021 The pulse between Hamilton and Verstappen

A year later, without serving as a precedent, everything went smoothly for

. The Finn won in Istanbul with the fast lap bonus (1: 30.432), keeping

and

at bay

and complying with all rigor the mission that had been entrusted to him at Mercedes, obliged to minimize the damage for

, fifth on the finish line. On an unpredictable asphalt, at times slippery but never completely dry,

completed a fantastic comeback, from the penultimate spot on the grid to eighth at the finish, for which he was chosen driver of the day. In the other range of the spectrum, the darkest,

stayed

, sixteenth after an incident with

in the first corner.

Since the 2020 Russian GP, ​​Bottas did not win.

And well that Mercedes missed him in this World Cup, where Hamilton has a six-point deficit against Verstappen.

, head of the Silver Arrows, can be proud of his second pilot today.

And even more so from the pace of the W12, who Verstappen and Pérez could not follow the trail.

The fate of this championship will be played in its last six races.

And the role of the secondary actors seems crucial.

Ask if not in the Red Bull garage, where he toasted the courage shown by Pérez against Hamilton.

During four laps, between 33 and 36, the Mexican held the seven-time champion, who was sharpening his fang in search of fourth place.

Hamilton pushed his opponent until he made him jump the

entrance bollard

.

Any misstep brought disaster, so Hamilton acted sensibly and with restraint.

Caution before Tsunoda

He had been climbing the seven-time champion from eleventh on the grid and during the first seven laps he was already very cautious against

, before getting rid of

and

without much trouble

. After a terrible fright in front of

, who well deserved the condemnation of the commissioners, an idea began to float through Sir Lewis's mind: to reach the checkered flag without a single stop.

Continue with those tires, no longer tread or ability to dislodge water, it seemed more like a suicide mission.

And the fight for the World Cup means minimizing any risk, so Hamilton ended up giving in to Wolff's conservative plan.

The only driver to survive 58 laps on the same wheels was

, tenth, to award a consolation point to Alpine.

Bottas, on the podium, next to a crestfallen Verstappen.REUTERS

In the French team everyone had twisted the gesture with the incident of Alonso, defenestrated until the sixteenth place, just ahead of Sainz, with whom he held an exciting hand in hand. "What a stupid guy this Gasly is!" Exclaimed Fernando, who had already put the whole car inside the French driver. At that moment the magnificent sensations of the A521 disappeared throughout the weekend to the despair of Alonso, who shortly after collided with

. Both Gasly's defensive maneuver and that of the two-time champion were penalized by the stewards with five seconds. A punishment almost as cruel as driving 17 laps behind

rear wing

.

The McLaren was nothing like that dominant car at Monza and Sochi, so it was Ferrari who took on the role of animator.

During the first half of the race, Leclerc kept pace with Verstappen, in search of the podium, while Sainz galloped with unshakable faith.

He had started penultimate on the grid, but he was leaving behind whoever got on the road.

It is enough to point his overtaking to two careful opponents, such as

and

or the ease with which he got out of the way of the Alfa Romeos.

His hasty braking against

, at whom he threw a light tail, was simply unforgettable.

Leclerc's broken dream

One more week, all the strategies were structured according to what came from a cloudy and threatening sky. The first drops were made to wait until beyond the equator of the race, when the intermediate rain tires had already said enough. On lap 36, Verstappen was the first to change the tires and Bottas, who was dominating with some ease, followed in his footsteps almost immediately to ward off any scare. Suddenly, Leclerc was in the lead and Ferrari considered the same position as Mercedes.

The risk was plausible for the Monegasque, seeking his first win of the season.

Given the infuriating slowness of the mechanics in Sainz's passage through the pits (8.1 seconds) and the skidding of Vettel, the only one who dared to try dry tires, Leclerc had to hold the push from Bottas and Verstappen.

Mission Impossible.

Eleven laps from the end, he was summoned urgently to renew his footwear.

The end of the yearnings among the troops of

.

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Know more

• sports

• Formula 1

• Lewis hamilton

• Max verstappen

• Fernando Alonso

• Carlos Sainz Jr

• Mercedes gp

• Red bull racing

• Valtteri Bottas

• Sergio perez

Formula 1 Hamilton dominates in Istanbul and Alonso completes his best Saturday

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Formula 1A clumsiness of Hamilton gives the 'pole' to Verstappen in Monza

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