The Formula One supporter’s community & paddock were shocked with the appalling conditions at Istanbul Park on November 14th. After treacherous weather on November 13th during the third practice session, torrential rainfall continued throughout the evening & into the morning. This meant qualifying was sustained in wet conditions, with drivers electing intermediate & wet tyres until Q3 was over. Lewis Hamilton found himself struggling during the horrible rainstorm, which saw two red flags delaying the qualifying session twice. Hamilton would sustain P6, marking his lowest placement in Formula One since 2019. The individual that found himself in pole position was an unlikely contender, with Lance Stroll obtaining P1 for the Turkish Grand Prix.
Lance Stroll would sustain pole position by 0.3-Seconds from Max Verstappen, an upcoming champion with Red Bull Racing. Nobody anticipated Lance Stroll a contender for pole position, as during the second round of qualifying, his top placement was P6. Stroll & his team of Racing Point surprised the paddock when pitting Lance unexpectedly. He’d be given intermediate tyres, with the remaining grid running wet tyres. Max Verstappen requested a similar strategy from Red Bull Racing & was refused by Christian Horner, prompting the Dutchman to use explicit language over team radio.
Canada hasn’t seen a Formula One driver maintain pole position since Jacques Villeneuve in 1997. That means for 23 years, Canadians haven’t witnessed one of their drivers start from the top grid placement. Reporters were quick to question Lance Stroll about his potential for 2021 after obtaining pole position on November 14th. He’d reply that with Racing Point rebranding itself to Aston Martin for 2021 & electing Sebastian Vettel for the second seat over Sergio Perez won’t mean he’ll be a sidekick to the four-time champion. Stroll will continue to push for results that outweigh his teammates.
The Top Four
Qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix saw different results than anybody anticipated. Max Verstappen acquired 2nd position on the grid, with Sergio Perez from Racing Point obtaining P3. Alexander Albon shocked the F1 supporter’s community by place 4th, a much-required result to potential sustain his placement with Red Bull for 2021. It’ll mark the first time in F1 history that the top four cars are Red Bull & Racing Point.