First day

The 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, which has returned to the Formula 1 calendar thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, was the site of Lewis Hamilton's triumph.

The victory on the slippery track due to rain and fresh asphalt allowed him to win the seventh title in three races before the end of the championship.

This season, there could be no such denouement in Istanbul.

The Mercedes pilot is no longer fighting with himself, but with Max Verstappen from Red Bull, and their rivalry can be called the most acute in recent years.

Before the reporting race, they were separated by only two points in the overall standings - this gap was so small that it did not leave any rider room for error.

And on the hilly and varied track "Istanbul Park" you can make a lot of them.

On the first day, there were no major incidents.

During the two free sessions, the pilots in the worst case took off the track and then quickly returned back.

Many cut corners, for which they were deprived of lap time - both Verstappen and Mercedes co-pilot Valtteri Bottas fell into this trap.

The Briton, on the other hand, felt great at the Turkish autodrome - in both trainings he showed the best time, updating the old track record, which has been preserved since 2005.

But he managed to show phenomenal speed with a new engine.

Because of his replacement, the Mercedes pilot knew in advance that he would lose ten places on the starting grid.

Qualification

It became much more difficult for the pilots on Saturday.

Even before the third free practice over “Istanbul Park” it started raining, which forced the cars to be fitted with special tires.

Not everyone managed to cope with the elements.

So, George Russell from Williams already on the third lap flew into the gravel and stayed there to wait for the evacuation.

Verstappen got off with a U-turn in one of the corners.

Hamilton, on the other hand, decided not to waste his energy and limited himself to symbolic participation in training, which is why even Nikita Mazepin from Haas exceeded his lap time.

The lead before the qualification, which promised to be unpredictable due to the rain, was captured by Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri.

For the decisive races, the track still dried up, but Hamilton drove off the track on one of his laps.

However, this did not prevent him from correcting himself and heading the minutes of the first session.

Its main surprise was the entry into the second round of Mazepin's partner Mik Schumacher - the Russian showed the worst time, and the Haas pilots were divided by six positions.

The second segment passed without surprises, Hamilton still showed the best time and did not let Verstappen near him.

Only in the final round did Bottas try to impose a fight on his partner.

In the first attempt, he rode the circle faster than the two leaders of the World Cup, but in the end Hamilton still prevailed over him.

The Briton even received a prize as the winner of the qualification, but was forced to return it to the Finn, the formal pole position holder.

Bottas, along with Verstapenn, took the first row of the starting grid, and Hamilton had to catch up with them from 11th place.

Another super Saturday from @LewisHamilton as he finishes quickest in qualifying 🚀



The reigning champion faces a 10-place grid penalty on Sunday, handing pole to his teammate @ ValtteriBottas # TurkishGP 🇹🇷 # F1pic.twitter.com / oFGpWFrDlK

- Formula 1 (@ F1) October 9, 2021

Race

On Sunday, the weather continued to cause problems for the pilots.

Due to the morning rain, the track remained very wet and slippery until the start of the race, so everyone had to start on intermediate tires and prepare for the endless splashes from the cars in front.

The only one who maintained normal visibility was Bottas.

At the start, he did not feel pressure from Verstappen and kept the lead.

In difficult conditions, many pilots decided to play it safe, but there were no incidents at all.

Gasley hit Alpine's Fernando Alonso, who fell from fifth place into the second ten.

Later, the Spaniard himself deployed Schumacher.

This allowed Hamilton to climb into the points zone and bypass Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin.

But then the world champion got stuck behind the pilot of AlphaTauri Yuki Tsunoda.

Only on the eighth lap the Mercedes driver overtook the Japanese and approached Verstappen, who was about 16 seconds ahead and expected to catch up with Bottas himself.

Then Hamilton played back positions much easier and quickly moved up to sixth place.

To get close to Gasley, who received a five-second penalty for contact with Alonso, Hamilton had to show the best lap times several times.

He achieved his goal and became the fifth, but the gap from the two leaders did not decrease in any way.

Bottas and Verstappen owned the fastest laps for a while, until he passed to Charles Leclair.

The Ferrari pilot all this time was in third place and managed to be in sight of the Dutchman by the 26th lap.

The next goal of Hamilton was Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez.

The Mexican did his best to help the Dutchman.

When the Mercedes pilot approached the attack distance and walked forward, Perez did not give up.

Several hundred meters they rode side by side, and the Red Bull driver still defended his fourth place.

But then he turned into the pits, as did Bottas and Verstappen.

For a while, Leclair became the leader of the race, and Hamilton was behind his main competitor in the championship.

LAP 34/35 of 58



Brilliant battling between Perez and Hamilton 👏



Hamilton looked odds on to take the place but Perez fights back and stays in front for now #TurkishGP 🇹🇷 # F1pic.twitter.com / aoBBdnMXdJ

- Formula 1 (@ F1) October 10, 2021

The leader of the overall standings did not rush to the mechanics, although they persistently called him. Only after a few laps, when the pace of Hamilton dropped completely, he agreed to change the tires. The delay did not do him any good. The Briton returned to the track after Perez, who not only managed to come off, but also began to press on Leclair, and six laps before the finish line climbed to the intermediate podium. Although the Monegasque complained about tire behavior, he kept a comfortable lead over Hamilton. He, in turn, unexpectedly let Gasly come to him - in the last laps, the Mercedes pilot seriously risked missing even the fifth place.

There were no sensations before the finish.

Bottas took first place with the best lap and took his first victory since last year's Russian Grand Prix.

Verstappen stopped fighting him and remained second.

Perez was on the podium for the first time in nine races.

Hamilton finished fifth and lost the overall lead to Verstappen.

Following the results of the Turkish Grand Prix, the Dutchman was ahead of the Mercedes driver by six points.