Alfa Romeo stunned Ferrari as Vettel and Leclerc from the second quarter in Turkey

It’s been nine years since the F1 circus last came to Turkey but after two (very long) qualifying sessions it can definitely be said that the wait was worth it. With the Q3 session still pending, Ferrari is a team that won’t be in the race.

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The Maranello-based outfit was gloomy in the rain-soaked Istanbul Park. While it can be said that it’s nothing new to Sebastian Vettel, the Scuderia was really given a slap in the face, and the ever-reliable Charles Leclerc was also knocked out in the second quarter.

Her performance during qualifying in Istanbul was another slip in a season full of lows.

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While they were far from the only team that struggled during qualifying, they had no real pace at all in the second quarter. After this disappointing session, Vettel will start tomorrow’s race in P12, while his team-mate Leclerc will start P14 on the grid.

Formula 1 F1 – Turkish Grand Prix – Istanbul Park Istanbul. Turkey – Ferraris Sebastian Vettel in action in the qualifying pool via REUTERS / Ozan Kose

The Tifosi would definitely not be happy about that. What probably hurt even more was that they were convincingly outperformed by Alfa Romeo.

Alfa Romeo rubs salt into the wounds of the Ferrari F1

Ferrari’s unofficial junior team (if you want to call it that) has both drivers in the third quarter. Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi were just amazing in the rain.

Plus, they proved that it wasn’t just a coincidence. Räikkönen and Giovinazzi also completed some top laps in the third qualifying. However, towards the end of the session they were surpassed by the other runners.

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Formula 1 F1 – Turkish Grand Prix – Istanbul Park, Istanbul, Turkey – Kimi Raikkonen from Alfa Romeo in action during the training pool via REUTERS / Ozan Kose

Nevertheless, they couldn’t be happier with Raikkonen on P8 and Giovinazzi on P10. In addition, Kimi even beat Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who will start the race in P9. This was a performance of the Hinwil-based outfit under very difficult conditions.

With an extremely exciting day of qualification behind us, it will be interesting to see which race day lies ahead. Even if we get a race that matches today’s qualifying, that would be insane.

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Another top 10 result for both of tomorrow’s Alfa Romeo vehicles would help their cause massively as they aim to leave rivals Haas and Williams behind.