Turkish GP – Hamilton wins his 7th world title in the rain in Istanbul

Lewis Hamilton secured his seventh world title ahead of schedule by winning the Turkish GP. With that, the Brit reaches the level with record holder Michael Schumacher.

The podium

• 1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR, Mercedes)
• 2. Sergio Perez (MEX, Racing Point)
• 3. Sebastian Vettel (GER, Ferrari)

Lewis Hamilton did it! In the fourth to final race of this special season, the Briton secured his seventh Formula 1 World Championship title early with a victory at the Turkish GP. The 35-year-old Mercedes driver is now at the level of the previous record holder, Michael Schumacher.

In the world championship standings, Hamilton extended his lead over team mate Valtteri Bottas to 110 unassailable points with 3 races still to go. Bottas was Hamilton’s only remaining contender in the title fight, but after several laps he finished out of the points in the race.

Perez on the podium, Stroll cannot use pole

Behind Hamilton, Sergio Perez (Racing Point) and Sebastian Vettel, who captured his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc at the last corner, completed the podium. Racing Point’s second driver, Lance Stroll, failed to take advantage of his first career pole. After being in the lead for a long time, he finished the race in 9th place.

Rain in Istanbul

As for the whole race weekend, also on Sunday the weather was not the best. Especially at the beginning of the race in Istanbul Park it was still raining. But the longer the race lasted, the drier the track became. However, conditions remained difficult, especially when a short downpour returned just before the end. Quite a few pilots found themselves next to the track during the race.

Alfas cannot gain momentum with them

With Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi starting from positions 8 and 10, the qualification for Alfa Romeo went better than it had been in over a year. On race day, disillusionment spread quickly. Even before the race Giovinazzi landed in the gravel.

The Italian was able to tackle the race normally but had to park the car after less than a third of the race distance due to technical problems. Raikkonen finished 15th at the team’s 500th GP weekend.

So it goes on

Like so many races this season, next week’s Brazilian GP has been canceled. This is why the third to last race of the season will take place in two weeks. The Bahrain GP is scheduled.