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KEY MOMENTS
* Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas won the Turkish Grand Prix from first on
the grid, using a one-stop strategy with two sets of Cinturato Green
Intermediates. The same strategy was adopted by nearly all the drivers.
Bottas then took the lead from Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc with 11 laps
to go, with Leclerc having stayed out much longer on his original set of
starting intermediates.
* Many drivers undertook very long opening stints on the intermediate tyres,
with the track featuring a range of wet and damp conditions from start to
finish. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton stopped after 50 laps for a second
set of intermediates, eventually finishing fifth from 11th on the grid
following a grid penalty (having set the fastest time in qualifying).
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon did not stop at all for a tyre change, finishing the
race in 10th on just one set of intermediates.
* Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz made up 11 places with two stints on the
intermediates, coming from 19th on the grid (after an engine change penalty)
to eighth at the finish. The Spaniard was voted driver of the day.
* Conditions were cool with intermittent rain throughout the race, finishing
with 17 degrees centigrade ambient and 19 degrees on track.
HOW EACH TYRE PERFORMED
INTERMEDIATE: Used for the entire race by every driver, with Ocon taking
just one set from start to finish. There were several long initial stints
ranging from 35 to 50 laps on this compound, which proved to be extremely
adaptable to the changing mixed conditions, delivering both grip and
performance.
MEDIUM C3: Only one lap was run on this tyre by Vettel, 20 laps from the
end, but the conditions were still too damp, despite some drier lines
emerging on the track.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“Following wet conditions in Saturday’s free practice, we had wet weather
from start to finish of the grand prix today. However, this was never heavy
rain that required the full wets: instead it was perfect territory for the
intermediates, which showed themselves to be very well-suited to a wide
range of changing wet conditions. The drivers who changed their tyres in the
final stages of the race found a slightly drier track, leading to a bit more
graining. Those stopping earlier were able to limit graining on a wetter
track, and this was a key advantage in the intermittent rain conditions.
Bottas ran the perfect strategy under the demanding circumstances: a
one-stopper with two runs on the intermediates. Many other drivers delayed
their pit stop: also because it wasn’t clear to what extent the track would
dry out before the end of the race, perhaps even allowing a final run on the
slicks. Going for the whole race on the intermediates though was not what we
would advise, and in fact we alerted some teams to the potential risk of
doing that. Nonetheless, the performance of the intermediates was very
strong here, without a single driver retiring despite the slippery
conditions over all 58 laps.” |