Nithyanandam Ramasamy
The Turkish GP was one of the driest ‘wet races’ in Formula 1 history. It was redemption time for Valtteri Bottas as he drove the race impeccably and won it by 14.5s ahead of the championship protagonist Max Verstappen. Fantastic turn around as he went from spinning 6-times in 2020 to winning the race by 14.5s in 2021. He thoroughly deserves accolades. The race also had a couple of Fernando Alonso moments in the spotlight and audacious strategy from a few drivers, where only Esteban Ocon made it work (kinda?). Now let’s delve into the data to know more about the race that unfolded in Istanbul on Sunday.
Race Start:
Only 4-drivers have held their positions at the end of the first lap at the Turkish GP. Fernando Alonso was the biggest loser in the first lap, where he lost 11-positions after coming together with Pierre Gasly. It also led Gasly to lose a place to Sergio Perez. Nicholas Latifi had the worst possible start, where he spun and lost 5-positions in the first lap. Meanwhile, both Alfa Romeo drivers were very quick to get off as they gained 4-positions respectively. Let’s not forget the man of the moment, Carlos Sainz, who was able to gain 2-positions in the first lap.
Carlos Sainz. Jr charges through the field:
Carlos Sainz. Jr charged through the field to finish 8th after starting 19th on the grid. It eventually earned him the first-ever driver of the day award of his F1 career. In the first 10 laps, he was able to gain as many as 8-positions. It was truly sensational seeing him charge through the field with overtakes after overtakes in the wet surface. His overtaking feast has also earned some air time, which he was missing in his career. On-track, he’s made 11-overtakes (if we consider Latifi and Schumacher’s spin). Arguably, one of the best races of his career.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton drop off:
Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon are the 3-drivers, who tried the audacious strategy to finish the race without a pit stop. Only Ocon was able to pull it off whereas Leclerc and Hamilton pitted late and lost ground on the podium positions. The drop off rates for Hamilton and Leclerc before the pit stop was 1.7s and 2.8s per lap respectively. In hindsight, if both the driver stayed for a few more laps, they would have lost more places. Eventually, they might have even suffered a tyre blowout.
After their pit stop for a new set of Inters, they have also suffered tyre graining. During the tyre graining stage, both Leclerc and Hamilton lost 3.2s and 2.5s per lap respectively. Effects of graining were more palpable as Leclerc lost the podium to Perez, who was quick after going through the graining phase. Moreover, Hamilton had to settle for 5th position by holding off Gasly.
These drop off and graining will prompt a question on whether both these drivers have made a wrong call. There is a fine margin between masterclass and a stroke of poor luck. Leclerc and Ferrari wanted a win at any cost, and Hamilton wanted to gain as many points as possible. These were just impulsive decision making. One day, the same decision could work in their favour, and we would call them a genius.
Esteban Ocon – The zero pit stop wonder:
Our relative gap analysis shows how far Esteban Ocon had fallen in the last 15 laps. After passing Ocon, Sainz. Jr was able to gain 53.417s in just 13 laps to Ocon. That’s more than 4 sec a lap faster than Ocon. Moreover, Sainz. Jr was the fastest on track after 45 laps. Antonio Giovinazzi, after pitting, was able to gain 23s to Ocon in just 17 laps. He was unlucky to miss out on points as he finished just a second behind the Frenchman. As Ocon said, a few more corners meant he would have finished outside of points, and another lap would have ended his race. He really drove the later stage of the race on thin ice. He also becomes the first driver since Mika Salo to make the 0 pit stop work in a race. He’s indeed a zero pit stop wonder man.
The 2021 Turkish GP wasn’t a blockbuster. It explains that every wet weather race will not be a cliffhanger. However, it has given us a new twist in the topsy-turvey drivers’ title battle, rejuvenation of no.2 drivers and also hotting up the battle for the 3rd best team in the championship. With only 6-races to go, the margin for mistakes from Hamilton and Verstappen has to be very minimal as the world waits to see what’s in store at the US GP.
