Turkish Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying result as Lewis Hamilton quickest and Valtteri Bottas on pole
Follow all the latest updates from qualifying at the Istanbul circuit
Formula One world championship leader Lewis Hamilton was fastest in qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix on Saturday but will start 11th due to a grid penalty with Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas on pole position.
Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen qualified third for Red Bull and will join Bottas on the front row at Istanbul Park on Sunday.
Follow qualifying live, below.
Hamilton and Sainz off the track
Lewis Hamilton goes wide into turn one and aborts his lap, and immediately afterwards Carlos Sainz spins off the circuit at the same corner on a damp piece of tarmac.
This session could be carnage.
One lap shootout
Drivers including Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo are being warned that they will only have one lap to ensure they make it into Q2.
Lance Stroll, Max Verstappen, and Sebastian Vettel are the drivers at the back of the queue who could be caught out by the weather.
Qualifying underway with dry tyres
There is an enormous queue of cars at the end of the pitlane, with the track currently dry but rain expected very shortly.
All cars are on the soft tyres, and every driver needs to put in a strong first lap before the rain comes.
Everybody needs to take a bit of a risk, here, and isn’t that what we all want from a qualifying session?
Get the popcorn ready.
Who will drop out in Q1?
With five drivers dropping out of Q1, the Haas, Alfa Romeo and Williams cars are normally the most vulnerable.
But with the conditions uncertain this could be a far more unpredictable opening to qualifying than normal, which could out any driver at risk.
The likes of Yuki Tsunoda, Sergio Perez, and Sebastian Vettel will be looking for strong results after poor qualifying performances in recent weeks.
Why Turkey is a fan favourite circuit
Last season’s Turkish Grand Prix was a certified F1 classic, with Lance Stroll starting pole in the Racing Position before Lewis Hamilton mastered the low grip surface and changing weather to storm to victory by almost a minute. The win was unquestionably one of the seven-time world champion’s best ever.
That was the first F1 race at this Istanbul Park circuit for almost a decade, and it has returned again this year as a late replacement for the cancelled event in Japan.
The track’s high speed, high G-force turn eight is especially popular with fans, but with a combination of high speeds on the straights and more overtaking opportunity than most modern F1 tracks, it’s no wonder Turkey is particularly popular with fans,
Chance of rain is "100%”
Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft has been giving a track update and says that the timing screen he has access to in the commentary booth now reads “dry track” but also declares that rain is “100%” likely for qualifying.
This could be about to get extremely interesting. The likes of Norris, Russell and Sainz in particular have been strong in changeable track conditions recently.
Wet track could cause havoc in Turkey
The Istanbul Park circuit was re-tarmacked last year and even in the dry proved treacherous for every driver with its lack of grip.
This morning’s practice session was similar, albeit this time because of the weather. George Russell ended up in the gravel, causing a red flag, while Fernando Alonso went off at turn one too.
The track has been drying since then, and should be good for slicks, but the grip will be far from optimal and we could possibly see a shaken-up grid order just like in Belgium and Russia.
Hamilton’s grid penalty crucial
The ten-place grid penalty Lewis Hamilton will be taking this weekend could be vital in deciding who ultimately wins the Drivers’ Championship.
Last time out in Sochi Max Verstappen started from the very back of the grid having changed his entire power unit, but drove through the rain and into second-place to secure a result Red Bull would not have considered possible before lights out.
Hamilton needs a very strong qualifying this afternoon if he is to give himself a chance of scoring strong points and limiting the damage Verstappen will likely do to his two-point lead in the standings.
Practice round-up
Formula One drivers hailed the Istanbul Park circuit’s grippier surface on Friday, saying the Turkish Grand Prix track was fun to drive again and very different to last year’s wet and slippery “ice rink”.
Turkey returned to the F1 calendar in 2020 after nearly a decade away with a resurfaced track that lacked grip in wet conditions.
The drivers were unimpressed and organisers reacted to the criticism ahead of this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix by water-blasting the asphalt to make it more abrasive.
Mercedes’ world championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who last year called the track “terrifying” and joined other drivers in comparing the surface to ice, said after lapping fastest in Friday practice that the track was “much, much different”.
“I didn’t really know what to expect when we went out there today but, Jeez, so much more grip than we’ve ever had before,” said the seven times world champion who smashed the track record.
“It’s intense how much grip there is out there, which is awesome.
“So it’s made it a much, much more enjoyable track to drive, much more like it was before (years ago),” said the Briton, who will be taking a 10-place grid penalty on Sunday for exceeding his season’s engine allocation.
Hamilton’s Red Bull championship rival Max Verstappen, who was off the pace in Friday’s practice, said the track was now “super-nice”.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo said the track was “completely different” to last year, adding his car was a lot quicker than in the 2020 race.
Istanbul Park, which hosted F1 between 2005-2011, offers good opportunities for overtaking but weather forecasts have shown rain is expected this weekend and strong winds posed a challenge for some drivers on Friday.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said the track was “a lot grippier” than last year and Ferrari racing director Laurent Mekies commended officials for their work on the circuit.
“I think all the drivers have enjoyed a much higher grip level compared to last year. We’ll see how it will evolve during the weekend but certainly we are in a much better place than last year,” Mekies said.
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