Formula 1: 2020 Turkish Grand Prix An epic race! One of the best i have seen in the recent years! Not just because of the conditions but also because it really separated the men from the boys!
First up, the 7 time world champion, Hamilton, truly deserves his accolades! He made very less mistakes in these trying conditions,kept his head down and waited for the right window for his tyres to perform and then he just showed rest of the field how its done, by opening up a phenomenal gap to Perez in no time. Im no Hamilton fan, and have been getting a bit frustrated with Mercedes winning non-stop all these years, but you have to give credit where its due. No doubt the Mercedes is leagues ahead of all others, but Hamilton as a driver is right up there.
Next up, the racing point drivers, both Stroll and Perez did a great job in the first half. Once they opened up a bit of a gap, they had the luxury of not following another car in the rain, so I would say conditions favoured them very well at the start. However, it was sad to see Stroll struggle post his pit stop, and he steadily lost positions against other drivers. Perez on the other hand, drove a very mature race and surely deserves his 2nd place.
The Ferraris did very well, Seb had a brilliant start, and even though he was well off the pace of the Racing point drivers, he just looked like a man on a mission, and that was just not to put a foot wrong! So glad he finished on the podium today, he has had a very tough year and a performance like this can lift him up and also boost his confidence for the rest of the races as well as for his next stint with Aston Martin. Leclerc continued to be the quicker Ferrari driver, it was just his luck that he did not gain places at the start and hence he had a lot to make up for. I think he actually covered the most ground in the race, at one time he was some 20 seconds behind Perez, Albon, Verstappen and Vettel and somehow managed to close the gap with some super laps. Very happy with Leclerc, he showed a lot of maturity in his driving skills for his experience, Ferrari have surely got a winner on their hands.
Redbull must be really shocked of all teams, they had a real chance of a win here. The atmosphere, conditions were all so conducive to them as a team, and especially for Max who just loves these conditions. I think Max was too eager, and a bit impatient since he seemed to think that the win was on the cards and he didnt want to just wait for the situation to change, so he was aggressive, thats alright, but it didnt pay off. Albon, surely this was that one race to prove to the team that they must give him that vacant seat at RBR next year, and he did not make a case for himself at all. RBR should get Perez or Hulkenberg for that 2nd seat and let Albon gain some more experience at Alpha tauri.
Of the other drivers, Sainz continues to impress and also remind RBR that he should have been in the senior RBR team. I think he will play the perfect fellow driver to Leclerc next year. Leclerc has got a bit of raw speed, while Sainz seems more composed and consistent.
Lastly, Bottas, all said and done, he does not deserve that Mercedes seat. Forget about beating Hamilton, he is not even remotely competitive. But thats ok for Mercedes I guess. They dont want the situation they had with Rosberg and Hamilton, and they have been bagging both championships so easily, so why rock the boat?
Last edited by motorworks : 15th November 2020 at 20:38.
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