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Pole position qualifier Lance Stroll of Canada and Racing Point celebrate in parc fermé during qualifying ahead of the Turkish F1 Grand Prix at Intercity Istanbul Park on November 14, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey.
• Lance Stroll got his first pole of his career on Saturday.
• Mercedes had grip problems throughout the weekend, with Hamilton only at P6 and Bottas at P9.
• Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was the fastest all weekend, only to get P2 at the end.
• For more racing stories, go to Wheels24.
Lance Stroll eclipsed Formula One title-chasing Lewis Hamilton on Saturday when he took his first career pole position at the Turkish Grand Prix, and the Canadian said “it feels really good right now.”
The 22-year-old Racing Point driver made the most of the drying conditions on a treacherous track to end Mercedes’ 13-race dominance in qualifying this year.
However, the driver’s joy lasted shortly after being investigated for not respecting the yellow flags during the session. McLaren’s Stroll and Lando Norris had no further action against them.
Stroll took a dazzling fast lap at 1min47.765 seconds in the final seconds to usurp teammate Sergio Perez and then withstand one last wave from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The disappointed Dutchman was second, three tenths behind Stroll, but ahead of Mexico’s Pérez, who claimed his career best starting position after finishing fourth nine times in the past.
However, the FIA has given Carlos Sainz a three-place grid penalty for obstructing Sergio Pérez. Now the race will begin in P16 on the grid.
Stroll was the first Canadian to take pole since Jacques Villeneuve at the 1997 European Grand Prix in Jerez and was the first pole for the Silverstone-based Racing Point team since competing with Jordan at the Belgian Grand Prix. from 2009.
The result left Mercedes well beaten at the weekend as Lewis Hamilton tries to seal a record-matching seventh drivers’ championship and tie with seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
The six-time champion finished sixth behind Alex Albon in the second Red Bull and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, whose teammate Esteban Ocon qualified seventh.
“Yeah yeah yeah guys,” Stroll yelled over the team radio.
“I really can’t put it into words,” he added.
“I’m surprised. I didn’t expect to be here after FP3.
Kimi Raikkonen and his Alfa Romeo teammate Antonio Giovinazzi were eighth and tenth with Valtteri Bottas ninth for Mercedes.
“Yeah yeah yeah guys,” Stroll yelled over the team radio. “I am so happy,” he added. “It’s been a difficult time, but this is so good.”
His surprising performance in qualifying comes after a difficult few weeks in which he had to miss the Eifel Grand Prix and tested positive for coronavirus the next day.
This is the first time this season that neither Hamilton (nine) nor Bottas (four) have surpassed the classification.
Hamilton can seal a record-setting seventh driver’s world title on Sunday if he prevents Bottas from beating him by eight points.
‘It feels good right now’
“There were a lot of things that we weren’t sure of going into qualifying. We didn’t look that competitive in Q3.”
His surprising performance in qualifying comes after a difficult few weeks in which he had to miss the Eifel Grand Prix and tested positive for coronavirus the next day.
“It’s been a pretty rough ride for me, so I feel good. It feels really good now.”
This is the first time this season that neither Hamilton (nine) nor Bottas (four) have surpassed the classification.
Hamilton can seal a record-setting seventh driver’s world title on Sunday if he prevents Bottas from beating him by eight points.
After Friday’s ice rink conditions on the resurfaced circuit, heavy rains ushered in even more treacherous challenges in which most drivers slipped and turned.
The Q1 session was interrupted twice by red flags, when Race Control declared that the track was unsafe, firstly due to conditions and then secondly when Romain Grosjean turned into a gravel trap in his Haas.
The outages added 50 minutes to the schedule as daylight receded in appalling conditions, but the brilliant car control of Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Albon was on display when they led the times, the Dutchman with 1, 9 seconds ahead.
In the drama, Leclerc slipped into Q2 while Hamilton, his best lap canceled for exceeding the track limits, struggled in 14th place.
Grosjean was eliminated along with his Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen, the two Williamses of George Russell and Nicholas Latifi and Daniil Kvyat of Alpha Tauri.
In the severe conditions, crews were making extreme use of their tire warming facilities to ensure drivers could find at least minimal grip before the rain set in, encouraging some to try intermediates.
In Q2, both Mercedes were clearly struggling to keep warm in their tires as Verstappen, brimming with confidence, set the pace.
At the flag, the Dutchman was two seconds ahead of Albon with Hamilton 2.4 down in third and Bottas in seventh, while both Ferraris failed to make it to the top ten.
In Q3, Verstappen was four seconds ahead of his closest rival, Bottas, before Perez, at Intermediate, restored expectations by beating the Dutchman and prompting a tire change for everyone else for the last surprising races. .
