Turkish Grand Prix LIVE: F1 result as Valtteri Bottas beats Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to victory
Follow all the fallout live from Istanbul, where Bottas claimed the win as Verstappen went six points clear of Hamilton in the title race
Follow all the fallout from the Turkish Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen resumed their razor-tight race for the world championship but were upstaged by the victorious Valtteri Bottas.
An increasingly acrimonious rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen saw the Briton lead the standings by just two points heading into today’s race, but Verstappen leaves Istanbul Park with a six-point lead over the defending champion. Hamilton was handed a 10-place grid penalty this week after Mercedes replaced his Internal Combustion Engine for a third time this season, one more change than is permitted under Formula One regulations. It meant that Hamilton started from 11th on the grid, having been the quickest in qualifying.
He finished fifth as Mercedes teammate Bottas – who had inherited pole position, having finished 0.13 seconds behind the Briton in qualifying – crossed the line first. Red Bull’s Verstappen, meanwhile, started second on the grid and finished in the same place as teammate Sergio Perez rounded out the podium places.
Follow all the fallout from the grand prix below, and read a full race report by clicking here.
Final race report from Istanbul Park
You can read Philip Duncan’s final race report from Istanbul Park below.
Valtteri Bottas beats furious Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to win Turkish GP
Hamilton finished fifth as Verstappen came second to reclaim the title lead
Horner weighs in on Hamilton strategy debate
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has been speaking about why his team never considered going to the end without a pitstop, and why they were surprised Hamilton tried it for so long.
“The crucial moment for us was when to pit Checo,” he explained. “We decided to go early because we didn’t believe those tyres could go to the end.
“You’re looking at the tyres and the moment of time to run, and we never believed it was going to be right for slicks. That’s why with Checo we decided to make Lewis pass him on track.”
Hamilton maintains he could have stayed out
Hamilton, meanwhile, still insists that he could have stayed out without pitting at any point.
“I didn’t know [I would lose two places when I stopped],” the world champion said. “Ocon went to the end I heard, so [my tyres] probably could have. The tyres are bald so you don’t know how far they’re going to go.
“In hindsight I should have either stayed out or pitted much earlier. I had to go through the graining and sliding phase where I nearly lost more positions. It felt good to be in third, so this is worse, but it could be [even worse].”
Wolff defends strategy call which frustrated Hamilton
Mercedes team principal has been defending the call to bring Lewis Hamilton in for fresh intermediates with eight laps to go on Sky Aports.
“We thought we could maybe hang out and finish third without stopping,” the Austrian said. “Or even with a dry line move onto to softs for the end. We saw Leclerc dropping off and then Lewis dropping off and we knew wouldn’t go to the end. It would have been better to stop [8 laps] earlier.”
“In the car it still felt good [for Lewis] but he was 1.5s off the pace. It’s always frustrating not seeing the other cars who have passed you.”
On putting the issue to bed, Wolff added that discussions will take place this evening.
“We have never had any problems [as a team]. Plenty of time to debate it here and on the flight.
“The correct call would have probably been taking it very conservative, pitting when everybody else did, and coming out behind Perez and Leclerc and fighting them on track for P3.”
Livid Hamilton heads straight to Mercedes debrief
An evidently frustrated Lewis Hamilton entered the Mercedes garage to talk with the team’s engineers and strategy personnel after exiting the car, delaying his media duties in order to raise his concerns.
The seven-time world champion clearly believed his team had thrown away a podium after deciding to stop for new intermediate tyres in the final few laps.
Mercedes have strong lead in Constructors’ Championship
Despite Valtteri Bottas’ win, Red Bull feel like the big victors today after scoring a double podium and seeing Max Verstappen rise to the top of the drivers’ standings once again.
Mercedes though have a solid margin at the top of the Constructors’ Championship, which they head by 36 points.
Perez delighted to be battling at the front again
Sergio Perez has been absent from the podium for a long while now but has spoken of his delight to be fighting with cars out-front once again.
“The tyres were tough so we had to pick the right time to push,” the Mexican said. “It’s always nice to win a good [overtaking] move. Obviously Charles [Leclerc] is a very good driver so it’s nice to fight with him.”
Verstappen pleased with second
Max Verstappen has been telling Coulthard about finishing second in a race in which he never really stood a chance of winning.
“It wasn’t easy today, the track was greasy so we had to manage the tyres and couldn’t really push,” the Dutchman said. “It was all about managing the tyres.”
When asked what the hardest part of the race was, Verstappen responded: “To stay awake!
“I’m sure again in Austin it will be a good battle again with Mercedes. So far, this season has been really good.”
Bottas delighted with one of "best ever” races
Valtteri Bottas has been talking to David Coulthard about being back on the top step podium for the first time in a long while.
“One of the best races I’ve had ever,” The Finn declared. “Everything was under control, and I had confidence with the car in every condition. It’s not easy to choose the strategy here but I’m glad everything went smoothly for me for once.
“When there’s only one drying line it doesn’t take much to go off, so I needed to focus.”
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