Mercedes F1 driver Valtteri Bottas is finally at the top

In a season of epic tatters between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, it was the third man to have his moment in the spotlight in Turkey.

Valtteri Bottas has had a tough time lately. His five-year stay with world champion Mercedes is drawing to a close and he has shown admirable performances, remaining apolitical, while playing the team game. No driver likes to be called the number two driver, but Bottas has played that role regularly for five seasons, supporting Hamilton and occasionally playing the guinea pig. From 2022 it will be a fresh start, with Mercedes hiring George Russell and the popular Bottas instead doing his trade at Alfa Romeo, which is currently in ninth place in the table.

Wins could be pretty far-fetched for Bottas beyond the end of 2021, and on Sunday in Istanbul Park he used the top machinery at his disposal. Since Lewis Hamilton only started from eleventh place due to an engine penalty and Red Bull did not have the optimal pace for the whole weekend, Bottas strolled away from pole position and mastered special conditions.

After leading only 27 laps at the last 15 Grand Prix in 2021, Bottas led 49 of the 58 laps and finally took his first win of the season. It was a sovereign performance in difficult conditions, with the drivers staying on the intermediate tires the entire time and a year after Bottas had one of his worst career performances in similar weather on the same track. On this occasion, Bottas spun six times, partly due to a damaged car, and finished 14th. This time there were no such dramas, because for the first time in his career he won a Formula 1 race in wet conditions.

“Last year it was like day and night, and in terms of my race, I had probably the worst race of my career here last year, now one of the best, so much better,” said Bottas after his number 10 victory. “It’s nice to have a win to remind you that you can win races.”

It was a somewhat atypical Formula 1 race, especially one where the conditions were wet. The front runners stayed off intermediate tires for a long first stint while preparing for a slick tire crossover that never arrived. It wasn’t quite a move, but it didn’t come close to the chaos that usually reigns when wet tires are needed.

“It’s still easy to go wrong and when you wear the Inters it’s almost like a slick tire and then it doesn’t run really well on wet spots so I tried to avoid the critical spots,” explained Bottas. “At no point was it clear whether it was going to be dry or not, so we had to drive quite a long time in the first stint and it was good.”

Bottas led 49 of the 58 laps on Sunday.

Clive Mason – Formula 1Getty Images

Bottas’ performance meant the title contenders took a back seat, but they still had mixed luck as they continue their battle for the championship.

For Verstappen he was pinned to second place the whole time, could not challenge Bottas, but without a rival behind him. He pocketed the 18 points offered.

Hamilton, meanwhile, had a more complicated race. He moved up from his penalized 11th on the grid to fifth place and stayed outside when Mercedes asked him to buy new intermediate tires. That made him third, but finally, after 51 of the 58 completed laps, he followed Mercedes’ request and got these fresh green tires. The pit stop meant he dropped from third to fifth, behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

A not amused Hamilton said he should have stayed outside and took care of the worn rubber up to the flag, an achievement by Esteban Ocon of Alpine, who ran the entire race on his starting tires and finished 10th. But in the midst of the title fight, Mercedes was careful that Hamilton’s worn-out intermediates – which have practically become an almost slippery tire – would suffer a significant loss of speed. They’d seen Leclerc try a similar strategy and suddenly hit a cliff, meaning he lost several seconds per lap over those with fresher tires. There were also concerns about the safety of the tires, with supplier Pirelli warning of significant wear.

As Ocon reached the flag, he quipped afterwards that he was probably a lap away from a puncture on his Alpine, with the tires almost reaching the canvas. He did 57 laps instead of the full 58 compared to Hamilton when he was lapped, and his pace also deteriorated towards the end. That’s a risk worth taking when a midfielder has a point at stake, but not a front runner looking for a title. Playing alongside his rivals instead of waiting for a dry line that never showed up would have been the wealthiest option for Hamilton, but that’s easy in hindsight.

Hamilton explained his thinking. “We had a debate at the start of the race: some members of the team thought it would dry out in 10 laps, I thought maybe in lap 30,” said Hamilton. “On lap 30 it was very slippery and greasy. I do not know why. For me I was third once and hoped that I would miss a stop. Everyone else made the Inter switch and I was hopeful if there would be another one [stop] to slicks that would keep me in third place, so it would give me positions.

“If I had stayed outside you don’t know if I would have held the position, but I’m a risk taker so I would have wanted to take that risk, but you know how I said we’re 11th new engine today so have we get points. “

Lewis Hamilton leaves Turkey 6 points behind Verstappen.

ANDREJ ISAKOVICGetty Images

Hamilton was calm about the situation, which means that Verstappen will race six points ahead of the United States Grand Prix on October 24 at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

This event begins a triple leg in America – with Mexico and Brazil planned – ahead of the Middle East showdown in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi to wrap up an exciting season.