2021 Turkish Grand Prix - Istanbul Park, Oct 08 - 10

[Juzh]

Verstappen mentioned they were slow on the back straight and he seems to be onto something. Top speed on first Q3 lap: 322 kmh at ~6s slipstream, top speed on second Q3 lap: 313 kmh at ~5s slipstream. Definitely something wrong with deployment strategy there.

[Marty_Y]

Looks like theTrolling has started early!

[Shrieker]

Damn, Lec was a lot closer to Ver there in the end than expected, could've beaten him

I think it was more of a case of RB being slower than expected, rather than the Mercs being faster than expected.

[NathanOlder]

Verstappen mentioned they were slow on the back straight and he seems to be onto something. Top speed on first Q3: 322 kmh at ~6s slipstream, top speed on second Q3 lap: 313 kmh at ~5s slipstream. Definitely something wrong with deployment strategy there.

Yeah was losing most of the time in S3, but its not like they were faster in S1 or S2.

[nimoraca]

Does this still count as a pole lap for Lewis?

[AeroDynamic]

Pole

[AeroDynamic]

I think it will be a dry race tomorrow, maybe inters for the opening phase of the race.

[Fulcrum]

Odd starting positions had a massive advantage last year. The track improvement may have nullified some of that advantage, but all drivers on the racing line have an advantage to move forward at the start.

Starting P11, if Hamilton gets through the 1st corner without dropping positions or damage, he has a decent opportunity to win this race. Mercedes looks consistently quicker than Red Bull by 2-4 tenths per lap.

[bonjon1979]

Does this still count as a pole lap for Lewis?

Oddly, I don’t think it does.

[214270]

Does this still count as a pole lap for Lewis?

Oddly, I don’t think it does.

He did all the signing of the tyre shenanigans associated with pole, no? Surely, it’s counted as a quali pole but doesn’t get credited as starting the race in first place/pole position.

[godlameroso]

It seems the mediums are probably good for 23-24 laps, the hards will do the one stop, the two stop isn't that powerful you gain about a second per lap with the undercut and a late pit for mediums. So you will need 22 laps to the end to even think of converting to a two stop. The start will be crucial otherwise Bottas will just manage the race.

18M 20H 19M

or

22M 35H

If you suffer from graining and can find free air the 2 stop may make sense. Otherwise the 1 stop is likely the way to go.

No one managed to complete a whole stint during practice, and the track is going to be rubbering in heavily tomorrow, so perhaps a two stop can be fast. Hopefully it stays dry for the rest of the weekend. There may be a graining phase on the tires that lasts 2 or 3 laps, the hards will grain no matter what so the car with the most downforce will be the car that can exploit that tire the most.

I have a feeling once the track rubbers in and the track temperature goes up a bit the RB will come into its window, so probably be ready to take off some front wing after the first stop. In case they put too much front end on it.

[AeroDynamic]

Odd starting positions had a massive advantage last year. The track improvement may have nullified some of that advantage, but all drivers on the racing line have an advantage to move forward at the start.

Starting P11, if Hamilton gets through the 1st corner without dropping positions or damage, he has a decent opportunity to win this race. Mercedes looks consistently quicker than Red Bull by 2-4 tenths per lap.

Assuming Lewis can progress without too much difficulty, max just needs to stay in the podium, if Lewis wins then max just needs to worry about not falling further back outside of the podium. That or he hopes for some weather lottery at some stage.

[Bill_Kar]

Yeah, I have a feeling that Valtteri won't be able to match Max, I hope he does though.

Let's see how will Leclerc fall into the picture. But Hamilton is pretty much guaranteed 4th, so if Max doesn't win, all is well.

[codetower]

What tyres do the drivers have available for the race?

[Mr.S]

Lewis is not winning this unless he overtakes 4-5 guys in the opening lap. The cars infront (Mclaren-Alpha Tauri) are 0.5-0.7s slower than RB on full tanks. Lewis has to overtake so many guys & run behind so many guys. Not to forget Perez & Gasly both. By the time he catches up to Max, Max should be 25-30s ahead. This changes if he has a blistering opening couple of laps & manages to go to P6-P7 types in the 1st 2 laps.

There is more chance of Max pressurizing Bottas & Gasly-Perez are high enough to hold Hamilton. Also, the following car will lose a couple of tenths here & there in the dirty air. There are many fast corners where the chasing car will lose. If Max can go past Bottas in the 1st 2 laps, he can hold him up. And we know RB had better race pace than qualifying in Monza & Russia (Since Silverstone new tyres). And Bottas is not as good in the race than qualifying.

The problem for Max is not Bottas but Leclerc. Leclerc is also a young prodigy in the league of Max & Ferrari have made up a few tenths with the engine upgrade & Charles is good in starts as well & now has the race pace to hang on to Max (Maybe 2 tenths behind like RB is to Mercedes - But that can all evaporate in the dirty air). Hopefully, Max goes past Bottas otherwise Leclerc will put him under pressure.

Hamilton can go to P4-P5, maybe even a podium in a dry race. If it wet all bets are off. Mercedes has the pace to make up grid positions !