Alfa Romeo stuns Ferrari when Vettel and Leclerc fall out of Q2 in Turkey

Nine years have passed since the last time the F1 circus came to Turkey, but after two (very long) qualifying sessions, it can definitely be said that it was worth the wait. However, with the Q3 session still to finish, one team that will not be in the race is Ferrari.

The Maranello-based team had a grim performance in the rain-soaked Istanbul Park. While arguably not a new thing for Sebastian Vettel, the Scuderia have really taken a hit to the stomach with the ever-reliable Charles Leclerc also getting knocked out in Q2.

His performance during qualifying in Istanbul was another bump in a season full of low points.

While they were far from the only team struggling over the course of qualifying, they didn’t have any real pace in Q2. After that disappointing session, Vettel will start tomorrow’s race in P12, while his teammate Leclerc will line up in P14 on the grid.

The Tifosi would definitely not be happy about it. What probably hurts, even more, is that Alfa Romeo outperformed them quite convincingly.

Alfa Romeo splashes salt on Ferrari F1 wounds

Ferrari’s unofficial junior team (if you want to call it that) has its two drivers in Q3. Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi were just amazing in the rain.

Furthermore, they went on to show that it was not just a fluke. Raikkonen and Giovinazzi also did some better laps during the third qualifying session; however, towards the end of the session, they were overtaken by the other riders.

However, with Raikkonen starting at P8 and Giovinazzi at P10, they couldn’t be happier. Furthermore, Kimi even beat Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who will start the race in P9. This was a performance by the Hinwil team in very difficult conditions.

With an extremely exciting qualifying day behind us, it will be interesting to see what race day brings us. Even if we got a race that matches today’s qualifying, it would be crazy.

Another top 10 result for both Alfa Romeo cars tomorrow would greatly help their cause, as their goal is to keep rivals Haas and Williams behind them.