The fourteenth race of the 2020 Formula One season is covered here by our F1 correspondent Nick van der Meulen in his report F1 Review Turkey 2020.

This year has been a rollercoaster ride for everyone and this includes F1 events taking place in 2020. As so many scheduled events were cancelled, it has been heartwarming and encouraging to see how many venues prepared to host the F1 circus – and at short notice too. One such venue is that of Istanbul Park, Turkey. It was one of Herman Tilke’s later circuit designs and regarded by many as probably his finest work. It is a flowing circuit with sweeping corners, along with the now-famous Turn 8: a high-speed triple left-hand turn, which places a lot of g-force on the drivers’ necks. It hosted its first F1 event in 2005, before it was dumped from the calendar after the 2011 running thereof. The circuit was recently resurfaced and it received a lot of criticism from the drivers, a number of them stating it was like driving on ice…

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Brilliant qualifying

Racing Point-Mercedes produced a major upset in qualifying, with Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez qualifying in pole and third position, respectively. Stroll comfortably took the lead from the start, in wet conditions, and even managed to extend his advantage over team mate Perez when the surface dried a bit and drivers fitted intermediate tyres. He complained about his front tyres on lap 30 and his complaints were justified, as his lead was slashed from 10 seconds to under two seconds.

His team held him out for as long as possible before pitting him and switching to fresh rubber, but this compromised the Canadian and he rejoined behind Verstappen. He fell away in the latter stages of the race to finish ninth: a heartbreaking way to end a fine drive. Perez, on the other hand, gave the team something to smile about, finishing a fine second, despite having two Ferraris snapping at his heels in the closing stages. This performance would surely stand the Mexican in good stead in his quest for a seat in 2021, having lost his drive to Vettel despite having a contract in hand.

A Champion’s drive

Mercedes were out of sorts the entire weekend, with neither driver featuring strongly in qualifying or race day. Lewis Hamilton could not get his brakes to function, however, he grittily worked his way into the lead of the race with 20 laps to go and take victory, claiming his seventh world title in the process. This tally places him at the top of the all-time title-holder’s list alongside Michael Schumacher. This was a clear demonstration of the Englishman’s ability to take the best out of a bad situation and convert it into a good points haul. His victory at Istanbul Park was a champion’s drive.

Valtteri Bottas had to score eight points more than Hamilton to keep the championship alive, but his weekend was nothing short of disastrous. He qualified poorly, after which he spun at the exit of Turn 1 at the start – in sympathy with Esteban Ocon, who tried to crowd out teammate Daniel Ricciardo around the outside and clipped the Australian’s right front wheel, putting him into a spin and compromising his good start. Bottas spun again on lap 40, underlining his miserable day, and finished out of the points…

Failing to deliver

Red Bull-Honda had a topsy-turvy day, scoring points but disappointing nonetheless. Max Verstappen made a terrible start from the front row of the grid, but recovered strongly to third position and harried Perez for second place, before spinning off spectacularly on lap 18. Luckily, the Dutchman could rejoin. He was placed under investigation for crossing the line at the pit lane exit, which would construe a drive-through penalty if found guilty, but the stewards decided to investigate after the race.

Alexander Albon, arguably, had his strongest weekend of the season, qualifying fourth and running in the top four. He took over from Verstappen after his spin and began harrying Perez for position seven laps later. His hard work was undone with a small spin on lap 34, but he managed to rejoin in fourth place. Both Red Bulls faded in the late stages of the race: Verstappen chased his teammate in the latter stages, the Dutchman spinning on a damp patch with six laps to go, but still managed to pass Albon a lap later to finish in sixth position.

Best of the season

Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) may have qualified 14th (started 11th), but carved his way through the field to run strongly in the top five. Teammate Charles Leclerc did not like the wet conditions at the start and struggled, but pushed into the top ten after being the first driver to switch to intermediate rubber. He carved his way into a podium position with 15 laps to go. The two Ferraris harried Perez for second place in the closing stages of the race, Leclerc managing to briefly get past on the final lap, but his brakes were finished and he ran wide, ceding two places with two corners to go. Vettel claimed his first podium of the season with a sterling drive and the team their best result of the season.

Both McLaren-Renault drivers received penalties post qualifying, however, both drivers, Carlos Sainz in particular, drove well to finish in the points. He chased down the two Ferraris and managed to get in touch on the final lap. Another lap could have resulted in a podium, but the Spaniard finished a strong fifth nonetheless. Lando Norris, on the other hand, had a scrappy fight into the points, finishing eighth and claiming the fastest lap of the race. He made contact with Ricciardo’s Renault on lap 49, spinning the Australian into Turn 1, underlining the Englishman’s scrappy performance. Ricciardo had an anonymous race, but scored the final point on offer.

The F1 circus now moves to Bahrain, where the first of a double-header takes place on 27 to 29 November 2020.