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Lewis Hamilton made Formula 1 history at the Turkish Grand Prix. In the final fourth race of the season on Sunday (November 15, 2020), he was crowned early world champion, and is now tied with Michael Schumacher with seven titles. The battered Ferrari team had a good day too.
By Christian Hornung
In an exciting race with ever-changing track conditions, Hamilton won in Istanbul ahead of Sergio Perez at Racing Point and the sensational Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari, who came just ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc.
“For all children”
“This is for all the kids who believe in the impossible. They can do it!” Says Hamilton over the radio after the checkered flag, visibly shaken. In the interview with the winner, he said: “I’m incredibly proud of this success, I have to let that sink in first. We’ve all seen Michael win his seven titles. Getting one or two solo is incredibly difficult, but seven, no. I could have imagined that in my wildest dreams. “
Vettel was also happy: “It was quite a long and intense race. It’s a bit surprising that in the end it was the podium, but I’m very happy.”
Chaos in the last corners
At the penultimate corner, events were over: Pérez had initially lost his second place to Leclerc. But then Leclerc also stopped and had to let Pérez and Vettel pass again and in the end settle for fourth place.
On a wet track, Vettel got off to a dream start. While Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes and Esteban Ocon in the Renault touched and left the track, Heppenheimer, who had been unlucky and had not been able to chase him this season, advanced as in the best times, from eleventh to third.
Verstappen with problems at first
Vettel also got hold of the two Red Bulls, Max Verstappen had risked too much at first and almost stopped on the spinning wheels. How strong Vettel’s performance was in this phase was also shown in comparison to his Ferrari teammate: Charles Leclerc rocked in 14th and 15th places.
At the helm, the two Racing Points with Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez, who achieved the surprise pole, did one fast lap after another, before Verstappen benefited from Vettel’s first pit stop: the German changed rain tires at intermediates on lap nine, so Verstappen had a free pass and was now the fastest man on the field.
Hamilton avoids risk
At Hamilton it was clear in the first third of the race that he was driving with little risk to his circumstances: he stayed out of all skirmishes early on, he also switched to intermediates early on, and of course he also knew his last competitor. from the World Cup, Bottas, was long after his spin. was behind.
Hamilton stayed behind Vettel for an astonishingly long time, but at least he didn’t lose his patience like Verstappen: the Dutchman saw a small error by Pérez in third place, wanted to attack immediately, but turned briefly on the grass next to the track. and he was able to do it. he buried his hopes of victory.
Albon turns, passes Stroll
Alex Albon also showed what would have been possible for Red Bull that day. The much criticized Thai reduced the distance with Stroll and Pérez lap by lap. Meanwhile, it looked like Albon might race to victory, but a self-inflicted spin on lap 34 also dashed his hopes.
Actually, it all looked like it had been painted for Stroll’s sensational victory, but after his second pit stop, he suddenly backed out: as soon as he had the new tire on lap 37 on the track more and more dry, he radioed it upset because it was already showing signs of wear (“grainy”) felt – and was literally pierced.
Bottas humiliated
Soon after, Bottas must have been feeling pretty bad too. The drivers’ championship runner-up had run off the track three times in Istanbul, and even his stablemate Hamilton beat him on lap 46. In the end, it ended up being a more disappointing 14th.
From the middle of the race onwards, Leclerc got better and better: he worked his way up to third position and was only intercepted by Vettel shortly before the finish. Vettel was unlucky at his last pit stop, as the team had needed almost twice as much time with him at a whopping 5.3 seconds as it did with Leclerc, because apparently a wheel nut got stuck again.
Hamilton does it without a pit stop
Two laps before the end, it suddenly seemed that Hamilton, who was now in the lead, would have to go back into the pits because, according to the Mercedes team, another rain was expected. His mechanics were already in the pit lane on rain tires, but then they raced back to the garage because Hamilton decided to pass so as not to jeopardize his lead.
After the finish, the Briton stayed in his car for a long time; Vettel was the first to congratulate the Mercedes. Hamilton explained why he had not returned to the pits: “I didn’t want to lose a title again in a pit lane, it happened to me earlier in 2007.”
The end of the race is no longer a problem
Since his contract with Mercedes has yet to be extended, it has already been speculated that Hamilton would be halting soon. But for the first time he vehemently contradicted it: “I still have a lot to do and I feel a bit like I did at the beginning. Our sport has a global message, I want to contribute to sustainability and remain part of the whole for longer.”
Those: sportschau.de
