Bottas wins, frustrated Hamilton loses F1 lead against Verstappen

As teammate Valtteri Bottas claimed his first Turkish Grand Prix victory of the season, it was a frustrating Sunday for Lewis Hamilton as he missed out on a podium place and also lost the championship lead to Max Verstappen. .

Hamilton started 11th due to a 10-place grid penalty, worked his way to third place, but was disappointing fifth after his team ordered a tire change late in the race. Mercedes’ strategy saw Verstappen take the championship race from two points in Hamilton to now in the lead of six with six races remaining.

“It was frustrating back then, because I could see second (place) and then I’m back to fifth,” Hamilton said of Mercedes’ decision. “At that point, I only have a certain amount of information and the team has other information. It’s hard to want to give up something when you don’t know the whole picture.

But Hamilton, winner of a record 100 F1 races, also reflected on what could have happened.

“Could we have stayed outside?” Who knows. If you look at a few other riders who did, they crashed heavily and lost positions, so it was a risk anyway, ”he said. “If I had stayed away, you don’t know if I would have held a position, but I take risks, so I would have wanted to take that risk.

F1 is now leaving Europe, and the next stop is the US GP on October 24.

“With the (six) points, it won’t be easy. We’ll see in Austin how it goes, ”said Verstappen. “I think some tracks can be a little better (for us).”

Sergio Perez capped a good day for Red Bull by finishing third.

Hamilton was the fastest in qualifying on Saturday but was not credited with pole due to an engine change by his Mercedes team. He seemed to be heading for a podium, but Mercedes called him for the tire change over Hamilton’s objections.

The call may have given Verstappen a bigger gap in the championship.

Hamilton eventually came in for new tires on lap 51 but disagreed with the decision.

“Why did you abandon this place?” A frustrated Hamilton barked over the team radio using a curse.

Hamilton became more and more agitated after his pit stop as he lost ground to Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri won.

“Leave him alone,” he told his race engineer when he was informed of Gasly’s gap.

Leclerc stopped earlier than Hamilton and finished fourth, missing a 14th career podium. Gasly finished sixth ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren.

Carlos Sainz Jr. drove his Ferrari from behind to a solid eighth place, he and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo started from behind after extensive engine changes.

Sainz Jr. was voted the best rider of the day, much to his surprise when told about it.

Bottas notched his first victory of the year, passing Leclerc with a dozen laps to go. It was Bottas’ first victory since the Russian GP last September.

“It’s been a while,” he said. “Probably one of my best races in Formula 1, everything was under control.”

His 10th career victory was much needed in a frustrating last season with Mercedes before joining Alfa Romeo next year. He completed the fastest lap on the 5.3 kilometer (3.3 mile) Istanbul Park circuit under gray skies amid persistent drizzle.

Bottas got off to a better start than Verstappen, which has rarely been the case. The Finnish rider hit 100 km / h (62 mph) in 3.09 seconds versus 3.17 for Verstappen as the spray escaped the wet track.

Starting fifth, Fernando Alonso swung outside Gasly, which cut Alonso’s left rear tire and spun him off. Back on track, Alonso also had contact with Haas driver Mick Schumacher. Gasly and Alonso both received a five-second penalty for these incidents.

Hamilton quickly moved from 11th to 9th at the start, but struggled to pass AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda without DRS. Tsunoda did block an attack, but Hamilton passed on the outside then caught Lance Stroll on the next lap, and Norris soon after.

Hamilton then clocked three consecutive fastest laps as he chased Gasly in fifth. He also had it on lap 15, but his relentless high speed was wearing out his tires.

As Sainz Jr. made his way through the field, the fastest laps shifted between Bottas, Verstappen, Hamilton again and Leclerc. The pilots waited for the track to dry out further before changing tires. But the rain has started to fall again.

Mercedes told Hamilton to buy new tires on lap 42.

“Why?” Hamilton said, and did not enter.

“OK, we’ll stay one more lap,” his engineer told him.

Hamilton refused again, then finally agreed.