Hamilton wins thrilling wet Turkish GP to clinch seventh F1 title
Lewis Hamilton won an epic wet-weather Turkish Grand Prix to claim a record-equalling seventh Formula 1 world championship.
Hamilton recovered from sixth on the grid following Mercedes’ worst qualifying result in seven years to charge to a 94th career victory that saw him match Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of world titles.
The Briton, who so often excels in the wet, turned in another stellar drive in treacherous conditions to take his 10th victory from 14 races this season by a margin of over 30 seconds.
Sergio Perez just hung on to second place to take his first podium finish of the season, ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who completed the podium in what marks his first podium appearance in a year.
A brilliant launch saw Hamilton move up to third place with a dive past Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault into Turn 1, but he soon returned to sixth place as he dropped places when he ran wide at Turn 10.
Hamilton moved up to fifth when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen spun at Turn 10 while attempting a pass on Racing Point’s Sergio Perez on Lap 19, before jumping up to third when Sebastian Vettel made a second stop for Ferrari and Alex Albon pirouetted his Red Bull at Turn 4.
A second stop for pole sitter Lance Stroll handed Hamilton second, before he surged past Perez with a DRS-assisted pass on the run to Turn 12 on Lap 37 to snatch the lead.
Having overruled his team to stay out on his set of old Intermediate tyres, Hamilton comfortably pulled clear of the rest of the pack on his way to claiming a comprehensive victory that wrapped up his seventh world championship amid a record-breaking year.
Valtteri Bottas, who needed to outscore Hamilton by eight points in order to keep the title race alive, endured a shocker of a race that featured a total of six spins as he finished 14th having been lapped by his teammate.
Charles Leclerc looked set to claim a third podium of 2020 but ran deep at Turn 12 as he attempted to pass Perez for second place on the final lap, before he was mugged by teammate Vettel three corners from the end.
McLaren's Carlos Sainz claimed a brilliant fifth to boost the Woking squad's hopes of challenging for third place in the constructors' championship, ahead of Red Bull pair Verstappen and Albon, both of whom suffered spins on their way to sixth and seventh.
Lando Norris beat Stroll to eighth place with a last-lap overtake as the Canadian plummeted down the order having comfortably led the opening half of the race. Ricciardo took the final point on offer for Renault in 10th, having survived his own spin.
