Red Bull Racing Honda’s Max Verstappen came second at the Turkish Grand Prix, behind Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. The Dutch driver, who started the race in P2, now leads the drivers’ standings on 262.5 points with a six-point lead over reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Sergio Pérez of Mexico came in behind his Red Bull Racing Honda team-mate, crossing the line in third on the 58-lap race at the Istanbul Park circuit, where weather conditions meant racing in constant drizzle.
Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver Pierre Gasly, of France, finished sixth, after serving a five-second penalty for tagging Fernando Alonso into a spin at the start of the race.
Gasly’s team-mate, Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda, finished 14th, having lost a few positions following a spin on wet track in the first half of the race.
Red Bull Racing Honda
MAX VERSTAPPEN – 2nd
“As a team, to finish second and third here was a great result. It was a pretty straight forward race today and I think in general we had a decent day. The race was all about managing tyres, to make sure they lasted to the end, which means it wasn’t the most fun race to drive as you always want to push hard. Nevertheless, I think we maximised the result today and it’s good to be leading the Drivers’ Championship again. I do wish I had a bit more pace in the car, but we are still in the fight – we’ll keep pushing and we’ll see in the coming races how competitive we will be.”
SERGIO PÉREZ – 3rd
“This podium is very special because it was not an easy race for me. It was hard and exhausting at times, so I am very happy this evening. It has been a while since I have been up there. I think the last two or three races we should have been on the podium, but we have been so unlucky. I got a good start, I think there was some contact between Fernando and Pierre into Turn 1, so there were three cars, including me, and I thought we weren’t going to make it, but in the end, it was a good result for me. After that I didn’t feel comfortable in the first stint with the car and I lost a lot of ground, but then the second stint was all about pushing at the right time and using my experience to get a podium for the team. Lewis was closing in really fast and at that time I was struggling quite a lot with my tyres; he had good pace and I thought he might get past me, but it turned into a good fight and I came out on top. Lewis is a top driver and it was enjoyable racing with him. When I was standing on the podium I saw a lot of Mexican flags in the grandstands. We are so far from home here in Turkey, so it was lovely to see. I think there is a lot we can learn from this race. It is a good result for the team and now we’re looking forward to Austin.”
CHRISTIAN HORNER – Team Principal
“A double podium for us was a great result to come away with this weekend. Max has regained the lead in the Drivers’ Championship at a track that has traditionally been strong for Mercedes. We limited the damage and it was a great team job with lots of constructor points, so we’ll keep fighting. The lead for the championship keeps changing hands and the rest of the year is going to be incredibly tight. We have some big races coming up and it’s good to be putting Mercedes under pressure. For us the crucial moment today was when to pit Checo – we could have kept him out to keep holding up Lewis, but we decided to pit him because we didn’t believe Hamilton’s tyres were going to make it to the end of the race. Checo did an amazing job today; he raced Lewis just as hard as Max does. He went wheel to wheel with him and he actually ended up in the pit lane when Lewis ran him out there, and then it was a drag race down the start-finish straight and he just stuck with it. The next race in Austin has been a Hamilton stronghold, so we are going to have to be at the very top of our game. It’s great to be in this fight and the whole team is really enjoying it.”
Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda
PIERRE GASLY – 6th
“I’m really happy to be back finishing in the top six. I think this is probably one of our best performances this season, particularly in these difficult conditions. To be finishing just 10 seconds from the podium, after a five-second penalty, is really good for us. The Turn 1 incident was a bit unfortunate, I was sandwiched between Sergio and Fernando, we touched a little bit, but it was just enough to spin Alonso, so I want to say sorry to him. After that, though, the pace was really strong, and I’m pleased with the performance of the car this weekend. It feels nice to have been fast straight from Friday again.”
YUKI TSUNODA – 14th
“It’s a real shame today, as I think I could’ve been in a position to finish in the top 10. I used too much tyre early on, battling with Hamilton, and after that it was really hard to keep up the pace. Unfortunately, I then had a spin, and this ruined my whole race. Today was another big learning curve for me, completing so many laps on the Intermediate tyres, but I’m disappointed as I was really hoping to get points to help the team in the championship.”
FRANZ TOST – Team Principal
“We’ve had quite a successful weekend here in Turkey. Yesterday, we finished qualifying with both cars in the top 10, so Pierre started today’s race in fourth, after Hamilton’s penalty, and Yuki in ninth position. Unfortunately, Pierre had a collision with Alonso at Turn 1, and this resulted in a five-second penalty for him, which he had to serve at the first pit stop. However, he managed to keep his sixth position, as Norris was seven seconds behind him. After the pit stop, he drove the sixth place home, doing a fantastic job despite today’s difficult conditions. This was the first time that the drivers have been out on the inters for this many laps, so no one from the engineering side knew how long the tyres would last for or how well they would work. This is why it was not an easy call to decide when to pit, but I must say that our strategy group did a really good job, particularly with Pierre, who stopped at exactly the right time. Yuki also had a good start today and spent quite a few laps in eighth position, managing to keep Hamilton behind for a long time, showing a great performance. Later on, he unfortunately spun and went back to 14th position. It was an enormous learning process for him, as he had not driven in the wet that many times, so he now understands more about how the intermediates work and he is more familiar with the car in these conditions. Generally speaking, the team showed a good performance this weekend and we’ve managed to score more points for our battle for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship. We’re now looking forward to heading to the United States.”