Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas claimed his first win of the season in the Turkish Grand Prix as he finished ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in a scintillating race in the wet conditions of the Istanbul Park.
Finnish driver Bottas is set to be replaced by Mercedes at the end of the season but put that behind him as he delivered a remarkable performance to win the race in a time of 1:31:04.103.
Bottas started in pole position despite finishing in second place in qualifying due to the penalty served by champion Lewis Hamilton, who started the race in 11th place for changing his car’s engine.
Hamilton picked up the fastest time in the history of the Turkish Grand Prix in qualifying, but his grid penalty saw him start in 11th place. The British driver claimed his 100th win in the Russian Grand Prix last time out, but could not repeat the trick this time around in Turkey.
Bottas’ Mercedes teammate Hamilton ended up in fifth place after he clashed with his team over the radio for a pit stop late in the race that saw him drop from third to fifth place. The Briton was driving on the same intermediate tyres throughout the race, and the Mercedes team thought that the tyres would not survive the entirety of the race and called him in for a pit stop. Still, Hamilton was concerned about giving up the third place after a brilliant series of overtakes had seen him reach there from his 11th place starting position.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen managed to finish fourteen seconds after Bottas did, earning a second-place finish. The podium was completed by Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who finished 33 seconds after Bottas did to end the race in third place.
Carlos Sainz was the Driver of the Day in the Turkish Grand Prix after impressive driving saw him finish in eighth place after starting the race in 19th place.
Verstappen’s finish in the Turkish Grand Prix saw him return to the top of the championship standings ahead of Hamilton, opening up a six-point gap with only six races left in the season. The drivers will return to action in the United States Grand Prix from October 22-24.
