Turkish GP: Stroll shines in the rain and takes 1st pole in F1 ahead of Verstappen; Hamilton is sixth | Formula 1

It is the first time this season that Mercedes is not in pole position. Lewis Hamilton, who could be seven times world champion this Sunday, continued his discreet weekend and took sixth place. On the other hand, his teammate Valtteri Bottas was even worse and finished ninth. The seven-time constructors’ champion’s cars did not do well on the wet track and, The first time since the 2019 Brazilian GP, ​​the team is not in pole position; on that occasion, Verstappen started out front with RBR.

The second row in Istanbul will have Sergio Pérez, who led Q3 and was close to pole position but finished third, and Alexander Albon, who finally made a good ranking with RBR. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo completes the top five on the grid, two places ahead of his teammate Esteban Ocon. Qualifying was also good for Alfa Romeo, who had Kimi Raikkonen in eighth place and Antonio Giovinazzi in tenth.

The Formula 1 Grand Prix of Turkey begins at 7:10 am (Brasilia time) this Sunday, with a live broadcast on TV Globo. The narration will be provided by Cleber Machado, with comments from Luciano Burti and Felipe Giaffone. The ge also shows the race on video.

* George Russell will go down to 20th and last when changing engine components.

WALK: “I can’t put it into words right now, I’m in shock! It’s one of the highlights of my career without a doubt, we dream of those moments growing up, and it’s very special!”

VERSTAPPEN: “I’m disappointed. When you’re first for a long time and come second, it’s not what you want.”

PÉREZ: “A great result for the team, something we did not expect! I definitely prefer third place to second, I think tomorrow, at the start, there will be a good difference.”

What you need to know?

– First pole for a Canadian rider since Jacques Villeneuve at the 1997 European GP.

– Sixth place is the worst starting position for Lewis Hamilton in 2020.

– Alfa Romeo brought its two cars to Q3 for the first time this season.

– Vettel did not beat Leclerc in qualifying since the Hungarian GP.

Just before the start of qualifying, a dog invaded the track and ran freely for a few minutes, around turn 7. The race management managed to rescue the animal, another one in the statistics of abandoned dogs in Turkey.

Q1 – 18 minutes and five eliminated

Qualifying started without rain, but with a very wet track. Some riders, such as Verstappen, Albon, Norris, Leclerc and Vettel, used intermediate tires, while others such as Hamilton and Bottas used the extreme rain compounds, which were more appropriate.

Still on the installation lap, the two RBR riders escaped from the track and the Dutchman mounted, but avoided the accident. Bottas, on extreme rain tires, initially had the best time ahead of Ocon. Albon gave up on the intermediaries and put the tires in heavy rain, but still suffered.

Ten minutes from the end of Q1, the rain increased a lot, and those who started training on intermediate tires came out badly. Verstappen was threatened with leaving the ranked zone in 15th place, just ahead of Leclerc. At 6:55 flag minutes, qualifying was interrupted.

After a 44-minute break, conditions improved and the runway was finally cleared. Right on the installation lap, Raikkonen spun and nearly hit Leclerc.

Soon after, Grosjean turned around and got stuck in the gravel box. The red flag was waved again, but the interruption was quicker and the training was restarted when the timer read 3.50.

In the final minutes, track conditions improved and Verstappen set the fastest time, 1’57s485, with Albon completing the RBR double. The two Williams drivers, both from Haas and Kvyat, who were riding with AlphaTauri, were eliminated. Hamilton was just 14th, ten seconds above Verstappen’s mark after escaping from the track.

16th KEVIN MAGNUSSEN (HAAS)
17th DANIIL KVYAT (ALPHATAURI)
18th GEORGE RUSSELL (WILLIAMS)
19th ROMAIN GROSJEAN (HAAS)
20th NICHOLAS LATIFI (WILLIAMS)

Q2 – 15 minutes and five eliminated

No rain, but with the asphalt still very wet, the drivers immediately hit the track in Q2. The conditions improved lap by lap, but Verstappen set the best time from the front, with 1´57s125. Soon after, Albon fell to 1´56s721, and Stroll took the lead, with 1´55s730, and Raikkonen moved up to second place.

Five minutes from the end, Verstappen resumed the first position, with 1’53s486, and Pérez climbed to second, 0s611 behind the Dutch. Finally the Mercedes appeared, with Bottas and Hamilton in third and fourth, but more than 1s5 behind Max.

Shortly after, Albon jumped into second position and Verstappen improved his lap to 1’52s036. With three minutes remaining, Bottas and Hamilton were among the RBR drivers, and Max dropped the time even further, to 1´50´293. With a minute to go, Raikkonen jumped into third position, behind Albon. On the final lap, Hamilton still ranked third.

In the end, the two McLaren drivers and the two Ferrari drivers were eliminated, as was Gasly, while the two Alfa Romeo drivers advanced, as were both the RBR teams, Mercedes, Renault and Racing Point.

11th LANDO NORRIS (McLAREN)
XII SEBASTIAN VETTEL (FERRARI)
13th CARLOS SAINZ JR. (McLAREN)
14th CHARLES LECLERC (FERRARI)
15th PIERRE GASLY (ALPHATAURI)

Q3: ten minutes and contest for pole

Still on extreme rain tires, Verstappen remained dominant at the start of Q3 and climbed 1m52s326, but was overtaken by Pérez, who did 1m52s037 on intermediate compounds. Max put on the same type of tire and returned to the track, but Pérez improved even more, until 1´49´321.

Stroll also improved and established Racing Point one-two, but Perez’s 2s1. Verstappen improved to 1: 50.667 and was among the Racing Point cars. On the last lap, Stroll snatched the pole from Pérez with 1´47s765. Max almost took first place, but was 0s290 behind.