Snippets from the Turkish GP: Vettel’s failed tactical move or Ocon without a pit stop

This year’s Turkish Grand Prix took place on the rough asphalt of the Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey. There were several very interesting moments on the Asia Minor peninsula that many fans might have missed. Let’s take a look at them together.

It seems almost unbelievable, but since 1950, when F1 saw the light of day, this was only the twelfth race in which all the cars finished. Aside from a few minor contacts, the 58 laps were uneventful and, for many, boring.

Another interesting role was played by two drivers from Red Bull and Alpine. First we look at Sergio Perez of the Red Bulls. The Mexican was the only driver to reach the podium both last year and this year. Last year he finished second in the colours of the pink Racing Point team, this year he finished third behind his teammate Max Verstappen.

Esteban Ocon made history as the driver who, for the first time since 1997, did not stop once at his mechanics, i.e. completed the race without a pit stop. Mika Salo was the last person to achieve this feat until the weekend. He drove away without changing tyres or refuelling the Monaco Grand Prix. For Ocon, the reward was a point for tenth place.

As the race progressed on the wet but drying track, there was talk of changing to dry tyres. However, only Sebastian Vettel eventually tried the so-called slicks. The Aston Martin driver, in agreement with the race engineer, stopped for a medium-hard tyre specification, but that turned his monopost’s four fulcrums into quality skates.

The German driver slipped a lap and, after several more off-track excursions, nearly crashed on the approach to pit lane. It was definitely a race to forget for the four-time world champion.

But the same certainly can’t be said for Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. While the Dutchman hasn’t been entirely happy with his race pace of late, he did score a crucial 18 championship points with his second place finish.

They brought him back the championship lead. The Red Bull driver is currently six points ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The battle continues in the USA from 22 October.

valtteri Bottas, the “Flying Finn”, scored his tenth F1 victory in Turkey in a start-finish fashion. Although Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari led the race for a while, he pitted later and Bottas was able to pass the Monegasque on the track.

Since the VC of Italy, where his move to Alfa Romeo was announced, the Finnish driver has scored more points than both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

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