Engine penalty renders 11th slot for Hamilton in Sunday’s Turkish GP.
ISTANBUL, Turkey—Lewis Hamilton knew that he had to qualify Saturday afternoon at the highest position possible despite an engine penalty, and the Briton did just that by taking the best time of 1:22:868. His time was ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Hamilton will start Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix from 11th, making it easier for Verstappen, as he will begin the race on the front row with Bottas, who was declared the pole winner.
Charles Leclerc managed to get his Ferrari up to fourth overall with a last-minute flying lap, while Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly improved by taking fifth. Fernando Alonso was an impressive sixth in the Alpine, and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished seventh. Lando Norris was eighth in his McLaren, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the second Alpha Tauri of Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top ten.
“The track is awesome with the grip,” Hamilton said. “It was tricky in general because there were still some damp patches and trying to get the temperature in the tires. I imagine tomorrow is going to be difficult to move up.”
Bottas knew that without his teammate, he could worry only about Verstappen at the start.
Valtteri Bottas: I missed a bit in the last sector, but the car was starting to gain understeer. Lewis with a minimal penalty, and I’m on pole, so it should be good.
For Verstappen, it was an excellent way to achieve more points towards the world championship. “It was quite tricky with the conditions,” he said. “We managed to turn it around quite well. Let’s wait and see what the weather will do overnight. Tire wear is quite high around this track. But the track is entertaining to drive, especially Turn Eight.”
Hamilton dominated the qualifying sessions with no other driver getting close to him. Verstappen, the only challenger in the opening session, couldn’t improve and settled for third in the final period.
The opening session had light rain and drivers were trying to see how much their slick tires could work to their advantage. But as Hamilton, Carlos Sainz Jr, and Verstappen found, the real problem was at turn one where most of the water could not run off quickly enough, and all three drivers experienced control issues. However, the sun came out in the final session, and teams changed to soft tires for faster laps.
Still, many drivers exited. Daniel Ricciardo in his McLaren was a big surprise, being eliminated in the first session, along with Williams’s Nicolas Latifi. The Alfa Romeo pair of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, and Haas driver Nikita Mazepin, also went out. Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, the second Williams’s of George Russell, Hass’s Mick Schumacher, and Sainz Jr. exited in the second round.
You can watch tomorrow’s race on ESPN2. Starting time is 8a U.S. Eastern Time.
