Conclusions after Turkey | Hamilton is going to win 8th title, Stroll slept badly

A few things stood out during the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. GPBlog draws five conclusions from the race at Istanbul Park. Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull Racing drivers all had their own story afterwards.

Hamilton will also take title number eight

Lewis Hamilton showed in Turkey for the umpteenth time that he is made of strong stuff. The Mercedes driver had a disappointing qualifying, but a day later he drove clear in the difficult conditions at Istanbul Park. Hamilton patiently waited for his chances and ended with a lead of thirty seconds over Sergio Perez. Meanwhile, his teammate was spinning all over the place.

Only in a fight with Sebastian Vettel did Hamilton lose some time, but otherwise the 35-year-old driver did what he had to do. Unlike Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton was able to impress. It is further proof that Bottas is not good enough to make it difficult for his teammate for an entire season. The difference in the World Championship is also painfully clear to see: 307 to 197 points.

That means that only Max Verstappen can prevent an eighth world title for Hamilton. The cars of 2021 are almost identical to the current cars, which means that it will be a very difficult task for the Red Bull Racing driver, probably impossible.

Perez shouldn't look outside of F1

The question is whether Sergio Perez will be offered a contract with Red Bull Racing. His second place in Turkey is, in any case, a nice windfall for the Mexican, who saw 'fellow job candidate' Alexander Albon spin and a good result disappear. If no place becomes available in 2021, a sabbatical is certainly an option according to Perez.

For Formula 1, Perez must choose to do so and not opt ​​for Formula E or IndyCar. Once that step has been made, it's unlikely he'll be able to return to the premier class of motorsport and that would be a huge waste of Perez's talent. In 2022 there will be new opportunities and Perez is one of the top ten drivers; also in 2022.

Red Bull drivers struggle again

With both Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon, Red Bull could have won their second event of the season in Turkey. Verstappen spun behind Sergio Perez, while Albon also spun after closing the gap with the lead as much as possible.

Both drivers should have known better and waited for their chance. It was known for the majority of the race that it would not rain any more. On the intermediates, Red Bull also had (one of the) fastest cars, so Helmut Marko's criticism is certainly justified.

Vettel has not forgotten

Almost everyone seemed to think that Sebastian Vettel can no longer do anything about it, but nothing could be further from the truth. On the circuit in the Turkish capital, Vettel finished in the podium places for the first time since Mexico 2019, more than a year ago.

The German defended strongly when he had Hamilton and Verstappen in range. It is precisely in that area that Vettel's qualities have been questioned, but the four-time world champion shows that he must be taken into account in 2021. At Aston Martin, he will be driving a car that better suits his driving style and so Lance Stroll will again have a tough teammate battle.

Stroll slept badly

Lance Stroll started from pole position and in the first ten laps, everything was positive for the Canadian. He opened the gap with Perez, while Verstappen was stuck behind Vettel. The gap was even 15 seconds at one point, but Racing Point gave up the victory by bringing in the young Canadian for the second time for a set of intermediates.

That strategic decision hampered Stroll. He finished 72 (!) seconds behind winner Hamilton in ninth place. That P9 seems to have been nothing more than a normal race for Stroll, but anyone who has seen the Turkish GP on television knows better.

This article was originally published on the Dutch version of GPblog and was written by Corwin Kunst