Sports

Mercedes driver Bottas wins F1 Rolex Turkish Grand Prix 2021

Valtteri Bottas wins first race since Russia 2020, receives his 10th career victory in Intercity Istanbul Park

Emre Asikci  | 10.10.2021 - Update : 11.10.2021
Mercedes driver Bottas wins F1 Rolex Turkish Grand Prix 2021 Formula 1 Rolex Turkish Grand Prix 2021 is started in Istanbul, Turkey on October 10, 2021. The 16th race of the racing season is taking place at Intercity Istanbul Park on a 5.4-kilometer (3.4 miles) circuit with 58 laps. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )

ISTANBUL

Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas won the Turkish Grand Prix 2021 for his first victory of the season on Sunday.

The drivers had difficulty controlling their vehicles in the race amid wet conditions caused by heavy rains at Intercity Istanbul Park on a 5.4-kilometer (3.4 miles) circuit.

Finnish driver Bottas, who began from the pole position won the 58-lap race at 1:31:04 on a wet track.

In the post-race interview, Bottas said his victory was one of his "best ever" Formula 1 races.

"It's been a while. It feels good. From my side, that's one of the best races I've had. It's not easy to choose the strategy here in these conditions. It feels like a well-earned victory," Bottas said.

He received his first Formula 1 win since Russia in 2020 and on Sunday achieved the 10th victory of his career.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished second to reclaim the overall lead from title rival Lewis Hamilton with drivers facing huge challenges due to weather conditions.

Verstappen was the runner-up -- 14.58 seconds behind Bottas -- while Sergio Perez finished third with 33.47 seconds behind the race's winner.

"It was not easy today! I'm happy to finish second, in these conditions it would have been easy to get it wrong," Max Verstappen said in an interview.

Red Bull Racing's Mexican driver Perez said it was one of those races to be patient.

"We didn't really know what was going on with the tires today. It was pretty hard to manage," he added.

British driver Lewis Hamilton, who started in P11 due to an engine penalty, came fifth in the Turkish GP.

About 100,000 live spectators

This weekend's race was held with spectators as the novel coronavirus continues to affect daily and social life.

The last time F1 fans were able to watch a race here was in 2011, while almost 100,000 fans attended the Turkish Grand Prix today.

Driver Standings

DriverTeamPoints
1Max VerstappenRed Bull262.5
2Lewis HamiltonMercedes256.5
3Valtteri BottasMercedes177
4Lando NorrisMcLaren145
5Sergio PerezRed Bull135
6Carlos SainzFerrari116.5
7Charles LeclercFerrari116
8Daniel RicciardoMcLaren95
9Pierre GaslyAlphaTauri74
10Fernando AlonsoAlpine58
11Esteban OconAlpine46
12Sebastian VettelAston Martin35
13Lance StrollAston Martin26
14Yuki TsunodaAlphaTauri18
15George RussellWilliams16
16Nicholas LatifiWilliams7
17Kimi RaikkonenAlfa Romeo6
18Antonio GiovinazziAlfa Romeo1
19Mick SchumacherHaas-
20Robert KubicaAlfa Romeo-
21Nikita MaepinHaas-

Constructor standings

TeamPoints
1Mercedes433.5
2Red Bull397.5
3McLaren240
4Ferrari232.5
5Alpine104
6AlphaTauri92
7Aston Martin61
8Williams23
9Alfa Romeo7
10Haas-

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