Six spins for Bottas, seven titles for Hamilton - F1 Turkish GP Winners & Losers

In formidable fashion, Lewis Hamilton has won his seventh world championship after a wet and wild race at the Istanbul Park circuit, taking the race win as well. 

He was joined on the podium with two of the underdogs of this year - Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez, in what was a memorable moment in Formula 1 history. 

A recent resurfacing of the track in Turkey combined with wet weather & tyre warming issues led to an intense and exciting return to the circuit, where some excelled and others were sent spinning. 

Here’s our winners & losers from the Turkish GP…

Winner - Lewis Hamilton 

Undoubtedly our biggest winner of today is Lewis Hamilton. Equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world championships is no easy feat, and Lewis did it in a spectacular fashion. 

Hamilton started in sixth following Mercedes’ worst qualifying result in seven years, and despite a strong start moving him into third he would drop back to sixth after going wide. 

He then moved to fifth after a dreadful spin for Max Verstappen while attempting to pass Sergio Perez, before moving up to third when Vettel pitted and Alex Albon joined his teammate in adding to the spin total for the day. 

A second stop for Lance Stroll handed Hamilton second, before he surged past Perez on Lap 37 to snatch the lead, opting to then stay out on his old intermediate tyres and comfortably pull clear of the rest of the pack to claim his 94th victory. 

A huge congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on his mind-blowing seventh world championship, and to Mercedes for fulfilling the double. 

Loser: Valtteri Bottas

On a day where his teammate reigned supreme, Valtteri Bottas had an absolute disaster. 

It was a nightmare start to begin with, launching himself from ninth on the grid down to the first corner only to tangle with the Renault pair and fall to 18th. 

It was then a case for survival for the Finn, who desperately needed to outscore Hamilton by eight points to keep his championship hopes alive. 

However, it was not meant to be for Bottas, who would spin a total of six times, be lapped by his teammate and finish a lowly 14th. 

Winner: Sebastian Vettel

On a day where everyone else was spinning, Sebastian Vettel was one of the very few to keep it on track and drive a brilliant race in the treacherous conditions. 

A strong start from Vettel allowed the German to cruise into third from 11th on the opening lap, and he avoided any errors to hold position early on.

After being overtaken by teammate Charles Leclerc late in the race, Vettel stayed in the hunt as the two Ferrari’s verged closer to Sergio Perez, but a late lunge on Perez backfired on Leclerc as Vettel snuck by to snatch third spot on the podium. 

This marked the four-time world champion’s first top three result of an otherwise disastrous season. 

Loser: Max Verstappen and Red Bull

Red Bull endured a torrid race in Istanbul despite boasting the fastest car on track for the majority of the race. 

After recovering from a dreadful start, Verstappen was favourite for the win as he rapidly hunted down Sergio Perez, but would run over the kerbs and lose control of his RB16. 

Verstappen flat-spotted his tyres and was forced to stop, falling to eighth before eventually recovering to take sixth. 

Teammate Alex Albon was almost on the way to a potential win until he suffered a spin at Turn 4 on Lap 34, leaving the Anglo-Thai racer to finish in seventh behind his teammate. 

Winner: Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez made an airtight case for a seat next year as he held on to finish second and moved himself up to 4th in the drivers’ championship. 

Perez stayed out on a set of intermediate tyres for 48 laps, survived an attack from Max Verstappen and held off a late attack from the Ferrari duo to cling onto second. 

This was Perez’s first podium of the season and his best finish since the 2012 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. 

Surely he will receive a phone call from Austria soon….

Loser: Lance Stroll

It was a day of ‘what could’ve been’ for Lance Stroll, who after taking a momentous maiden pole position yesterday, ended up finishing a disappointing ninth. 

Stroll had a brilliant getaway at the start, pulling away from the pack to achieve a lead of over 10 seconds from the others. 

However, once Stroll pitted for his first set of intermediates, he would then suffer from excessive graining and was forced to pit again for a new pair of inters but struggled with the same issue again, plummeting down the grid. 

It was a bitterly disappointing end for what had been an impressive weekend for Stroll nonetheless, and it would’ve hurt even more to see his fellow teammate Sergio Perez on the podium in second. 

Winner - Carlos Sainz 

Carlos Sainz started 16th on the grid after picking up a penalty for impeding Sergio Perez, but the Spaniard made amends for McLaren’s disappointing Saturday display with a brilliant and calculated drive on race-day. 

Sainz stayed out of trouble when others faulted, and worked his way up the order to claim an impressive fifth with a patient and perfectly-judged performance. Things could have been ever better as he finished just behind the squabbling trio of Perez and the Ferrari duo on the last lap. 

His 10-point haul, along with five points for teammate Lando Norris, has helped keep McLaren well in contention for third place in the constructors’ championship to bounce back from a poor qualifying in style. 

Loser - Renault 

Renault held third in the constructors’ championship heading into the race but slipped to fifth by the chequered flag following a dramatic turn of events in Turkey. 

Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon both occupied places inside the top five heading into the first corner but spins for both drivers during the race meant things soon went south. 

Contact between the pair sent Ocon pirouetting at Turn 1, before the Frenchman was hit for a second time on the same lap by Valtteri Bottas and sent spinning again. 

Ricciardo himself suffered a spin while scrapping with Lando Norris later in the race as he could only manage 10th place and a solitary point. In total, the French manufacturer dropped 19 points to Racing Point, 14 to McLaren and lost 26 to Ferrari. 

Who was your biggest winner & loser from the Turkish GP? Were you impressed by Lewis Hamilton equalling Michael’s seven world championships? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to like and subscribe for more Formula 1 content.