The 14th Grand Prix of the 2020 Formula 1 Championship season is set to get underway in awful conditions in Istanbul.
After an incredible qualifying session that took place in terribly wet conditions, Lance Stroll produced a fantastic lap to snatch the first pole position of his Formula 1 career and cap off a great qualifying session for Racing Point, with Sergio Perez qualifying in third as the two Racing Point drivers sit either side of Max Verstappen who qualified second. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas qualified sixth and ninth respectively.
Hamilton comes into this race with a huge chance to win his seventh World Drivers Championship, but he may do this without finishing on the podium which may make his achievement feel a little disappointing.
Here’s how the drivers line-up on the grid today:
Live coverage from Luke Hookings to follow….
Another day of horrendous conditions in Turkey and George Russell and Antonio Giovinazzi have encountered the challenges of the track condition before the race has even started! With Russell hitting the pit wall when leaving his garage and the Italian spinning on his way to the grid.
A change to the starting grid as Pierre Gasly has been forced to start from the back of the grid as his team wanted to replace his power unit overnight but then u-turned the decision. Since race control can’t be sure no changes were made, he will start from the back.
There has been talk about whether the drivers would be starting behind the safety car but it seems as if it will be a normal start. It has the prospect to be a very exciting and action-packed beginning to this race.
Williams have made the decision to start Russell and Nicholas Latifi in the pitlane. It seems to be a tactic to keep their tyres warm and stay out of the carnage at the first corner.
The Cars head out for their Formation Lap.
LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO
OCON AND BOTTAS SPIN OUT AT TURN ONE
Esteban Ocon is clipped by his teammate Daniel Ricciardo and spins off the track, closely followed by Bottas who loses grip as he tried to avoid the spinning Renault. They fall to 14th and 18th respectively.
Hamilton has a great start but he runs wide and loses three places and falls back to sixth place as Sebastian Vettel, Verstappen and Alex Albon overtake him.
WHAT A START FROM RACING POINT
An incredible start from the two Racing Point drivers as they storm ahead in P1 and P2 and lead Vettel who finds himself in a podium position after a blistering start which saw him gain eight places.
Bottas needs to outscore Hamilton by eight points to take the championship to Bahrain, but after an awful start he finds himself down in 16th.
LAP 5
Verstappen can’t find a way past Vettel and finds himself 15 seconds behind the race leader Lance Stroll.
PITS
Charles Leclerc comes into the pits on lap seven and goes onto the intermediate tyres, which is a risky choice if the track hasn’t dried out enough as the tyres will burn up their tread leading to a significant loss of grip.
LAP 9
Hamilton and Vettel come into the pits and both put on the intermediates, This gives Verstappen a chance to chase the front two.
LAP 10
In comes the race leader. Stroll goes into the pits for intermediates and comes out behind his teammate and the two Red Bulls.
Leclerc makes some ground up after pitting and passes Russell for 12th.
LAP 11
Problems with Perez’s front right tyre and the pit-stop is a slow one, he comes out just in front of Vettel and Hamilton in fourth place.
LAP 12
Verstappen with a slower stop than the Red Bull pit crew normally provide means he comes out behind Perez but crucially in front of Vettel and Hamilton.
Stroll Leads by 10 seconds!
GIOVINAZZI IS OUT
Giovinazzi stops on the side of the track and we have a virtual safety car in place as the Alfa Romeo is cleared away.
A shame for the Italian following his strong qualifying performance yesterday.
RACING RESUMES
The Virtual Safety Car ends and racing gets back underway on Lap 15.
HAMILTON DOWN TO SIXTH
Hamilton goes wide following a lunge on Vettel and as a result cedes fifth place to Albon who then overtakes Vettel for fourth.
VERSTAPPEN SPINS OUT
Verstappen tries to go round Perez and clips the back of the Racing Point and sends himself spinning round in circles! He has to come into the pits and finds himself down in eighth.
Albon in the other Red Bull sets the fastest lap and is chasing down the leaders.
BOTTAS SPINS AGAIN
A fourth spin of the afternoon for Bottas who finds himself down in 17th place. What a horrible day for the Finn.
LAP 25
Albon and Perez were 10 seconds off of the leader Stroll but they are now just three seconds behind, They are rapidly catching him.
Further down the grid, Russell has been forced off the track by Lando Norris who takes 11th place.
LAP 28
Things really beginning to heat up now and it’s looking like it could be a five-car race for the win as 12 seconds separates Stroll in first and Hamilton in fifth.
LAP 29
On the team radio Albon says: “the fronts are gone completely,” suggesting he is struggling in third as the drivers get half-way.
LAP 30: DRS ENABLED
Just 10 seconds separates the top five and now with track conditions improving DRS (Drag Reduction System) has now been enabled which should lead to more overtaking opportunities.
LAP 33
Ricciardo loses grip and Carlos Sainz overtakes him for sixth, Ricciardo enters the pits and comes out in ninth behind Leclerc.
LAP 34
ALBON SPINS OUT
Albon makes his only mistake of the race and sees himself spin round and Hamilton overtakes him for third.
Vettel suffers a slow pit-stop of 5.3 seconds and it sees him come out behind Verstappen in fifth place.
LAP 36
Kevin Magnussen has an issue as he leaves the pits and has to be rolled back to the pits and finds himself in 18th place.
LAP 38: HAMILTON LEADS
Hamilton overtakes Perez for the lead, but neither of them have stopped again.
LAP 39: STROLL LOSES TWO PLACES
Stroll loses fourth to Vettel but tries to regain his position and runs wide allowing both Vettel and Leclerc to pass him.
Stroll didn’t want to pit onto fresh inters and it looks like he was justified. The young Canadian looks like a sitting duck out there.
LAP 40
Leclerc overtakes Vettel for fourth as they both charge towards the podium.
STROLL LOSES ANOTHER TWO PLACES
It has all unravelled for Stroll as the man who was on pole drops down to P8 after Albon and Sainz overtake him.
LATIFI RETIRES
LAP 44: LECLERC OVERTAKES VERSTAPPEN
Leclerc catches and overtakes Verstappen for the third podium position.
LAP 45: SAINZ OVERTAKES ALBON
Sainz overtakes Albon for fifth place as Verstappen drops to P7 after pitting.
LAP 46
Hamilton has now lapped his teammate. Bottas as he seems on his way to winning his record-equalling seventh Drivers Championship!
LAP 49: RICCIARDO LOCKS UP AND LOSES OUT TO NORRIS
Ricciardo goes wide and locks up, spinning off as Norris goes past.
LAP 51: RAIKKONEN AND VERSTAPPEN SPIN
Rain seems to be forming on parts of the track as Kimi Raikkonen spins along with Verstappen at turn four, both are able to carry on with Verstappen still in P7 and Raikkonen in back in P15.
LAP 53
Verstappen makes up for lost time and passes his teammate for sixth place as heavy rain is scheduled for the final lap of the race.
LAP 56: THREE LAPS TO GO
Hamilton leads Perez and Leclerc as we go into the final three laps!
Stroll goes off the track and Norris passes him. Stroll now finds himself P9 after looking comfortable leading the race for a large portion of it!
FINAL LAP!
HAMILTON WINS THE TURKISH GRAND PRIX AND IS A SEVEN TIME FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPION
Leclerc locks up and Perez and Vettel pass him to fill the final two podium spots.
An emotional Hamilton after the race.
What an end to an incredible race
Hamilton with one of the best drives of his career, wins the Turkish Grand Prix and his seventh World Title.
Perez claimed second place after a lock-up from Leclerc on the last lap when the Ferrari tried to overtake him, which also allowed Vettel to pass through and capture third place after an incredible drive, his best of the season by far.
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