(Motorsport news) Mercedes AMG’s Valtteri Bottas ended his 2021 drought with a dominant performance at Istanbul Park that saw the Flying Finn lead in almost every lap of the race and finish first past the chequered flag, comfortably ahead of 2nd place Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was 2 points behind Lewis Hamilton approaching the race weekend but his 2nd place finish while Hamilton finished 5th means Verstappen is now 6 points ahead of the seven time World Champion with six races to go.

Hamilton started the race in 11th place after incurring a grid penalty for exceeding the engine replacements but was in a respectable third position before being called in to pit by Mercedes with eight laps to go. The British racing driver had earlier refused to pit and had the aim of finishing the race with the same set of Intermediate tyres he had to maintain his grid position. However, Mercedes’ call for a pit stop cost Hamilton two places as both Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc finished above Hamilton who was struggling to keep Pierre Gasly at bay once he rejoined the race.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari also attempted to finish the race in the same set of Intermediate tyres but the wet conditions of Istanbul Park meant that the Monegasque driver struggled with grip and was easily overtaken by Valtteri Bottas. The Ferrari driver then pitted, only to be overtaken by Sergio Perez for the final podium finish while Leclerc finished fourth. Pierre Gasly finished sixth despite having a five second penalty for a collision with Fernando Alonso in the first corner. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz put up a majestic performance as the Spaniard started in 19th position due to an engine penalty but finished in eighth.

Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin had a bizarre pit stop strategy in which a set of medium tyres were installed and struggled with grip in the wet conditions of Istanbul Park. The German was then forced into the pits again for a set of wet tyres which resulted in the four time World Champion finishing the race in 18th position. Esteban Ocon was the only driver on the grid who finished the race on the same set of Intermediate tyres and finished in a respectable 10th position despite struggling towards the end of the race.

With only six more races to go, Formula 1 will now move to the United States Grand Prix on 25th October from 12:30 am IST onwards.

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