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Canadian Lance Stroll surprisingly achieved a pole position for a round of the Formula 1 World Championship for the first time on Saturday, thus ending the official Mercedes team series. In qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul, the Racing Point driver drove the fastest time on a wet track ahead of Max Verstappen at Red Bull (+0.290 seconds) and his teammate Sergio Pérez (Mex / + 1.556 ). World Cup leader Lewis Hamilton starts Sunday (11.10am / ORF1 and Sky) in sixth place.
The Racing Point drivers also benefited from perfect tactics on the freshly paved and, due to the rain, slippery track in Istanbul. They switched to the softer intermediate tires early on and set the tone on the least wet track in stage three (Q3). Max Verstappen had previously dominated, but was first overtaken by Perez and then, after a raise, by Stroll.
The Dutchman from the Red Bull team was upset. “If you’ve been first all day, you don’t want to be second,” said the third of the World Cup. “But we can achieve something in the race.” The series of top 15 times for the Silver Arrows in all-season rankings was not ended by 23-year-old Verstappen, but by the son of team investor Lawrence Stroll, a year younger. After nine “Poles” from Hamilton and four from Valtteri Bottas in 2020, a Mercedes-powered driver will face the 14th round of the season.
“I wasn’t expecting that, I’m almost a bit surprised,” Lance Stroll said after his long-interrupted record set at the end of qualifying. “On my last lap, I had full confidence in my car and took almost every corner perfectly,” explained Stroll, who has so far achieved two podium finishes in 73 Grands Prix (third at Baku in 2017 and at Monza in 2020). “It’s incredibly nice to be back like this after tough weeks.” He had tested positive for the corona virus after the Nürburgring Grand Prix and is now the first Canadian since Jacques Villeneuve in 1997.
Mercedes and Ferrari disappoint
Mercedes drivers, on the other hand, never found themselves in their usual position. Hamilton, who like Verstappen had switched to intermediate tires five minutes before the end, had to content himself with sixth place. So it could be that the 93 Grand Prix (record) winner is not celebrating equaling Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world championship titles with another victory.
A placement ahead of teammate Bottas, the only remaining rival, would be enough for the Brit to triumph. The Finn, who would have to score eight more points than Hamilton to at least delay his title, was ninth on Saturday, starting two rows behind Hamilton.
It was another disappointment for Scuderia Ferrari. Both Sebastian Vettel (12th) and Charles Leclerc (14th) missed the final qualifying round. For the first time this season, the two Alfa Romeo drivers (equipped with Ferrari engines) placed in the top ten, Kimi Räikkönen (Fin) in eighth and Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) in tenth. (apa)
