Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on October 09, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Turkish GP: Bottas claims pole as Hamilton takes grid penalty
Lewis Hamilton went fastest in qualifying for the Turkish GP, but will start from 11th on the grid after taking a ten-place grid penalty.
Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on October 09, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton went fastest in qualifying for the Turkish Formula 1 Grand Prix, but will start from 11th on the grid after taking a ten-place grid penalty for replacing his car’s engine.
That left Hamilton’s teammate Valterri Bottas to start from pole after he was second fastest in Q3 ahead of the Turkish GP.
“Yeah, it was a good quali. Not easy conditions, especially Q1 it was bit on the edge with the damp parts,” Bottas said.
Lewis with his penalty, that’s the minimum penalty he can have, I’m on pole, so that should be good.”
Hamilton’s WDC rival Max Verstappen was down on pace against the Mercedes but managed to go third fastest. He will start on the front row alongside Bottas with his teammate.
Verstappen remained confident of getting the kind of result he wants with Hamilton’s championship lead at just two points.
“Conditions were tricky but overall the laps were quite good,” Verstappen said.
“We didn’t have enough to fight for pole but I’m pretty happy. Let’s see how the weather is tomorrow and how competitive we can be”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc left it late to claim third on the grid with the fourth-fastest time, separating the lead Red Bull from their Alpha Tauri racing family in the form of Pierre Gasly who will start directly behind Verstappen.
Fernando Alonso bumped the second Red Bull down to fifth on the grid with a dialled in final flying lap, Lando Norris, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda complete the top ten.
Sebastian Vettel narrowly missed out on Q3 but will start from tenth, gaining a place due to Hamilton’s penalty.
Hamilton has taken the penalty on the chin and is upbeat about his chances, saying: “The track is absolutely awesome. The team did a really great job getting us out at the right time.
“We’ll see what we can do tomorrow [after 10-place grid penalty] and hopefully give the fans an exciting race”
Turkish GP qualifying
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