After a nine-year Fotmula1 arrive to the Turkish circuit, Formula1 drivers have returned to the famous Istanbul Park. Due to the turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is only now for the first time this season that the queen of motorsport will be racing beyond the borders of the old continent. The long-awaited training sessions caused a lot of emotions.

Low temperature, rain and a freshly replaced surface are the factors that led to a lot of turns and almost never disappearing yellow flags from the track. Qualifying started on time. At 1:00 p.m. the drivers left the track, some on intermediate tires, some on full rain tires. Everyone knew that even more rain was coming, so each driver wanted to start the qualifying lap as soon as possible. Lando Norris was the first to finish with a time of 2: 07: 947. The Briton did not keep the lead for a long time, just behind him Valtteri Bottas came on the finish line, with time 2: 07: 001. Seven minutes before the end of Q1, a red flag appeared on the track. When the drivers pitched into the pit, Bernd Maylander pulled out onto the track in a safety car to checked track conditions.

The organizers of the race sent to the track special machines that try to get rid of the standing water on the track. At 13:50 the fans were informed that the session would be resumed. Moments after the session resumed, Haas’s driver Roman Grosjean landed in the gravel trap and unable to get out of the gravel, causing another red flag. Q2 started with yellow flags again, Latifi’s car was stuck in the gravel during the first part of qualifying. During the second part, we watched the dominance of Max Verstappen, who improved subsequent sectors every lap.

The Dutchman was completely out of the question. Alex Albon, who was in second place, was losing almost two seconds. Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly said goodbye to the qualifications. Q3, the moment that all the fans have been waiting for, but nobody expected Max Vertsappen will be fighting … Racing Point! As the Red Bull driver broke records, his team decided to take the car to change tires to intermediate tires (Max had 2s advantage on that lap).

As Sergio Perez jumped to the top of the table, Max announced that he has no grip … “Max knew he is out” Lance Stroll did the best qualifying time! After qualifying, it was not known what the starting line-up would look like. Penalties went to: Mclaren’s duo, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and George Russel, who will start from the last positions.

The Mercedes will start from the sixth and ninth positions, which is a great surprise, because we got used to the dominance of Black arrows. The race will start at 13:10 local time. It is going to be a very interesting competition, because Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas do not start from the first row, which guarantees emotions in the fight for the podium. The fans of the British driver, Lewis Hamilton, will be very stressed during tomorrow’s race, no one knows whether the leader of the general classification will seal the next championship and equal the legendary record of Michael Schumacher.

Written by Wiki Monczak