This might not have been the action-filled race we had hoped to be, but not all races in 2021 can be golden, and this rain-affected run in Istanbul essentially came down to having the right strategy. So if you are as big of an F1 nerd as me, you might have found yourself on the edge of your seat a couple of times during the race.

Here are the top class contenders and struggle bus riders from the Turkish Grand Prix.

Top of the class:

Carlos Sainz – Qualifying: 15^th (started 19^th due to engine penalties) | Race: 8^th

Sainz was voted driver of the day by fans, and whilst I didn’t vote myself this time around, I feel inclined to agree.

Carlos Sainz found himself starting at the back of the pack as a result of exceeding power unit components. This he was already aware of on the Saturday, so whilst he did manage to pull through to Q2, he did not set a time in the second qualifying session. Only heading out towards the end to give teammate Charles Leclerc a tow.

Then on Sunday, Carlos Sainz charged through the pack from 19^th to 8^th, making most of his moves on others at turn 12. There were two nail-biting events for Sainz, his pitstop lasting 8.1 seconds was less than ideal, but then the Spaniard also slid into Sebastian Vettel during an overoptimistic overtake.

Overall, it was a strong result for Carlos, and with this penalty taken he’ll hopefully be clear of them for the remaining 6 races – meaning he’ll have plenty of opportunities to make the most of the end of the season, as Ferrari really is looking quite strong.

Mick Schumacher – Qualifying: 14^th | Race: 19^th

Alright, I must admit, Mick is mainly making this list for his qualifying result. It is no secret that Haas doesn’t have the pace to keep up with the pack, which means that on a regular weekend both drivers get relegated to the back of the pack.

The fast-improving track in Istanbul certainly played in the German’s favour, but it is undeniable that Mick himself managed to put his car into Q2 whilst keeping normally faster competitors behind. In Q2 he then managed to nab himself P14 rather than P15, but this only because Carlos Sainz didn’t set himself a time, as he would have to start from the back anyway.

This isn’t the first time this year that Mick managed to put his car in Q2. He managed it once before on Paul Ricard during the French GP, but then he didn’t actually get a chance at setting a time in the second qualifying session, as he put his Haas in the wall just seconds before the end of Q1.

The race wasn’t necessarily anything to write home about. His start was reasonable, and a lap or two into the race he still found himself in P14, but an overenthusiastic move from Fernando Alonso relegated Mick’s Haas to the back of the pack once more.

One positive, he managed to then overtake his teammate to finish 19^th, so Mick’s still winning against the one driver in a comparable car. He also outqualified his teammate by over 3 seconds for a second consecutive qualifying session which is a decent achievement, or embarrassing for the other Haas driver, whichever way you look at it.

Valtteri Bottas – Qualifying 2^nd (started 1^st due to penalties) | Race: 1^st

What a difference a year makes, cast your minds back to the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix and Valtteri having arguably the worst race of his career, he could barely keep his car on track in the greasy conditions.

Fast forward to 2021 and Bottas claimed a dominant victory at Istanbul Park, gracing the top step of the podium for the first time this year. He comfortably led the first 37 laps before dropping behind Leclerc when he pitted for a new set of intermediates to remain in sync with Verstappen.

Valtteri then quickly closed the distance to Charles, finding himself in striking distance with only 14 laps to go, swiping past the Monegasque a mere 3 laps later. He didn’t just take his first win of 2021, but also his first win in rainy conditions. Rain normally isn’t the Finn’s best friend when it comes to racing, so this can certainly be considered a job well done.

Honourable mentions:

Then an honourable mention to Charles Leclerc. For a moment it looked like the Monegasque would have a shot at a podium position, but even with those dreams not coming to fruition it still was a good weekend. Nothing gained and nothing lost, as he qualified P4 and finished P4 – and with his teammate’s race also taken into consideration, it really was a good weekend for both sides of the Ferrari garage.

A second honourable mention goes to Esteban Ocon for simply completing the race on a zero-stop strategy, becoming the first driver since Mika Salo at the 1997 Monaco Grand Prix to do so. By sticking to this strategy, Ocon nabbed a point by finishing P10, but those tyres looked a state to say the least.

The struggle bus:

Sebastian Vettel – Qualifying: 11^th (started 10^th due to penalties) | Race: 18^th

On Saturday, Seb found himself out-qualified by his Canadian teammate, not quite able to put together a good lap in the changing conditions. It also meant that he didn’t quite manage to pull himself into Q3, but really it wasn’t a particularly bad or disappointing result. Certainly not anything which would result in him ending up on the struggle bus. Sebastian really only finds himself on this struggle bus due to a wrong strategy call during the race.

The entire race everyone seemed to be waiting on one thing, for the time to be right to put slicks on. Vettel seemed certain that the time was right with 23 laps to go, asking to pit for slicks. It was a ballsy call to make, a call which sometimes pays off and other times doesn’t. One thing is sure, this time it certainly didn’t pay off, which Vettel himself readily admitted in post-race interviews.

So a 10 for the effort but a 3 for the execution, as Vettert but a 3 for the execution, as the German found himself slipping and sliding his way back into the pitlane to pit once more to change his slicks for a new pair of inters. Dropping down the pack in the process.

I do give Seb a special commendation for his helmet design though, raising awareness to taking care of our oceans, some more wholesome content from the German.

Daniel Ricciardo – Qualifying: 16^th (started 20^th due to engine penalties) | Race: 13^th

Whilst some drivers were able to take advantage of the rapidly improving track on Saturday, the Australian fell victim to it, going out in Q1 whilst teammate Norris made it to Q3 and ended up eight. Daniel wisely took this opportunity to take a grid penalty, taking a new internal combustion engine, turbo and MGU-H aboard his McLaren MCL35M.

Whilst on Sunday other drivers like Lewis and Carlos were able to cut through the pack to recover some of what they had lost, Daniel didn’t manage, mentioning in an interview that as soon as he got close to other cars, he lost all grip. His second stint was better than his first, but still not much to write home about.

We all hoped that Daniel’s win in Monza would be a turnaround point, but this doesn’t entirely seem to be the case. Perhaps we judge too harshly, as it could just be a bad weekend at the office, but it remains true that as a racing driver you are only as good as your last race, and this racing result really isn’t one we’d like to be seeing.

Lewis Hamilton – Qualifying: 1^st (started 11^th due to engine penalty) | Race: 5^th

To be quite honest with you, Lewis perhaps can’t necessarily be considered a struggle bus contender, but we’ve had a surprisingly clean Sunday in Turkey… Which means that Lewis finds himself back on the lower end of my list this week simply due to the lack of mistakes from other drivers and teams.

In a strategic call, Lewis and his team decided to only change the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) which saw him having to take a 10-place grid penalty rather than the usual 20 places you’d get when the entire engine gets replaced. With him then having an excellent qualifying on Saturday to nab Pole, he minimised the damage by starting 11^th.

Lewis initially marched through quite confidently, with only Yuki Tsunoda giving him some trouble. By lap 11, he found himself in the top 5. With Sergio Perez pitting on lap 38, he was promoted to 4^th and Leclerc’s pitstop then elevated the Brit into the third position.

A debate about the right strategy call then followed, as Mercedes suggested for the Briton to come in whilst Lewis himself thought the best call was to remain outside. With ten seconds on the next car behind (Leclerc), finishing on his first set of intermediates seemed to be a real possibility, as they had essentially been driven to slicks. In the end, Hamilton was persuaded to box for a new set, but when he then returned P5 he wasn’t very amused. Furiously asking on the radio why they gave up that position.

With Verstappen finishing P2 and Hamilton P5, the Briton lost the championship lead to the Dutchman, now finding himself 6 points behind, but with 6 races to go there still is all to play for.

Dishonourable mentions:

Then for dishonourable mentions. I’ve really only got Russell to put down, although a dishonourable mention is perhaps a little drastic.

George has shown us the amazing things he can do with the Williams, which means that he’s set the bar of expectations incredibly high, not just for us, but for himself as well. He was clearly very disappointed with qualifying p13, feeling like more could be done. Which was something he didn’t just communicate over the board radio, but during interviews as well. His trajectory in the race wasn’t forwards, but backwards instead, meaning that he finished p15, which the Brit wasn’t satisfied with. But chin up George, there are still 6 races to go.

A second one goes to Pierre Gasly’s penalty for the collision with Fernando Alonso, it seems very harsh. The pair tangled at turn one with Alonso spinning onto the runoff on the exit of turn 1, but I fail to see how that was any different to the incident between Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon in the 2020 race, which went unpunished. Once again the Stewards’ decision making is as clear as mud.

Next up we’ll be crossing the pond to the United States, where we’ll find the F1 paddock in Austin for the 17th round of the 2021 season. The race will take place on the 24th of October over 56 laps of the 5.513-kilometre Circuit of The Americas. The lights will go out at 14:00 local time, meaning that in the UK you’d need to be in front of the telly at 20:00 to watch the race.