Turkish Grand Prix: The Editorial Team’s Top / Flop

The three satisfactions of this Turkish weekend:

1. Racing Point on the comeback or opportunistic?

By qualifying first and third respectively on Saturday, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez proudly represented Racing Point’s pink colors. They succeeded on Sunday by leading the Grand Prix without making any mistakes. The Canadian driver was even the longest leader of this race, completing 32 laps at the front of the pack.

In these difficult conditions, the only drawback for the team was choosing a final set of intermediate tires. These did not prove to be effective for any driver who opted for this strategy. Lance Stroll thus experienced a true descent into hell. He will have to wait before securing his first Grand Prix victory. The significant points for the second place were achieved by a rapid, consistent, and strategically savvy Sergio Perez. He is the only driver this year, along with Lewis Hamilton, to have no retirements.

The roses are thus well on their way to recovering and securing third place in the constructors’ championship. Assuming that this race is not just a flash in the pan but a real rebound.

2. Lewis Hamilton, definitively the champion of race management!

Until mid-race, the British driver was patient. Unable to overtake Sebastian Vettel outright, he bided his time and waited for his moment. Well-supported by a strong Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton secured a 94th victory through patience and strategy. His early years filled with mistakes are long gone. Today, driver #44 combines speed, strategy, reflection, and patience to show what an immense champion he’s become. Another great victory that continues to impress the world!

3. Lando Norris, the attack and the mastery.

He finishes eighth and quite far from his teammate Carlos Sainz. However, despite his young age, he showed skill on this drenched and ultra-tricky track. Author of numerous overtakes, he also sets the fastest lap in the race. Among the young wolves, he is one of the most promising. If he remains as focused as he is quick in races, his progression to becoming a world title contender is beyond doubt.

The Three Disillusionments of the Weekend:

1. Valteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc: a race to forget… Once again!

Three outsiders in whom our hopes rest at each race to bring a little suspense to these seasons dominated by Lewis Hamilton. Apart from his six spins, his Finnish teammate at Mercedes was once again completely invisible in the race. His fourteenth-place finish, a lap behind his world champion teammate, stands out and marks a new setback.

On their part, the young Verstappen and Leclerc too often make the same mistakes of impatience, tinged with arrogance. For the former, [a victory was more than conceivable](“/f1/actualite/24417-grand-prix-de-turquie-pas-de-sanction-pour-verstappen.html”) and for the Monegasque, [an unexpected podium was on the horizon](“/f1/actualite/24412-grand-prix-de-turquie-le-dernier-virage-fatal-pour-un-leclerc-trop-gourmand.html”). They ruined everything again by wanting to go too fast. Quite the opposite of Hamilton. It’s time for them to learn from their mistakes to hope to be able to challenge the British driver.

2. Nicholas Latifi, in huge difficulties in the rain: does he deserve his seat in F1?

If some drivers have managed to demonstrate under these daunting conditions that they truly have the talent for F1, and even to become world champions of the discipline, there are others who have proven that they do not have the level required. This weekend was a Grand Prix where pure driving skill took precedence over the cars’ chassis and engine performance. Nicholas Latifi did not just miss out on his race; he simply showed his limits on a wet track. He lost significant time both in qualifying (25 seconds, beyond his crash in Q1) and in the race. And it’s not the fragile Williams that is to blame when looking at the performances of his teammate George Russell. The question arises, does he deserve another year in F1?

3. After Suzuka 2014, the FIA once again endangers drivers with a crane truck

Does the FIA learn enough lessons from the past? You have until the end of the paragraph to answer this question. Let’s not blame the FIA for the last-minute resurfacing of the track, carried out by the owners of the Istanbul circuit.

But let’s be concerned with this qualifying session and the hurried restart at the end of Q2, with a crane truck still removing Nicholas Latifi’s crashed Williams from the outside of the asphalt runoff at the quadruple left of the eighth turn. Fortunately, the machine moved back behind the safety barrier just seconds before the first car, Kimi Räikkönen’s Alfa Romeo, passed by.

Still, how can such a decision be made, a little over six years after Jules Bianchi and the Suzuka tragedy? If the FIA also got tangled up with the yellow flags and the annulled-not annulled times on Saturday, the big mistake is clearly putting the drivers’ physical integrity at risk. With the Turkish ice rink, cold tires on the out lap, and ultra-fast loss of grip, the worst was not far off and catastrophizing is not exaggerated. Fortunately, Michael Masi admitted that the restart procedure would be reviewed. We certainly hope so!

With Alexandre Lepère