Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix in the sixteenth race of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. But Hamilton will take a 10-place grid penalty in the race for a new power unit component. Valtteri Bottas who finished in second position inherits pole position on Sunday.
Max Verstappen was in third position with a big gap of 0.328 seconds to Hamilton. Charles Leclerc finished in fourth position and will be promoted to third because of Hamilton’s penalty.
The qualifying session at the Intercity Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey took place under overcast conditions with air temperatures at 18 degree C and track temperatures at 23 degree C.
Q1: Daniel Ricciardo Eliminated
After a wet final practice session, there was a threat of rain when the session started and rain fell briefly. But the drivers managed to get through the session on the slick tyres.
The drivers struggled to keep the car on the track in the early part of the session. As the track started drying, the times tumbled at the end of the session.
Daniel Ricciardo and Nicholas Latifi who did their final runs earlier than the other drivers were knocked out.
Q1 dropzone: Daniel Ricciardo, Nicholas Latifi, Antonio Giovinazzi, Kimi Räikkönen, Nikita Mazepin
Q2: Vettel and Sainz knocked out
The track was now quickly drying out and the drivers who made it into the top ten positions were on the medium compound tyres except for Yuki Tsunoda.
Carlos Sainz did not set a timed lap as he will start at the back of the grid because of penalties for a new power unit.
Mick Schumacher made it into the second qualifying session and finished in fourteenth position.
George Russell who has made a habit of getting into the top ten shootout had a big slide to go off the track and was eliminated.
Q2 dropzone: Sebastian Vettel, Esteban Ocon, George Russell, Mick Schumacher, Carlos Sainz
Q3: Hamilton tops the session
Hamilton has been quick all weekend and he topped the session. Bottas took provisional pole position, but Hamilton with his second flying lap went to the top of the time charts.
But the 10-place gird penalty drops Hamilton to eleventh position. Bottas inherits pole position and will be joined by Verstappen on the first row.
Leclerc took fourth position with a last gasp effort and will be joined by Pierre Gasly on the second row. Fernando Alonso who has been quick all weekend finished ahead of the Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Pérez.
Lando Norris, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda completed the top ten positions.
Top 10: Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Pérez, Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, Yuki Tsunoda
2021 Turkish Grand Prix Qualification Results:
| Pos | No | Driver | Nat. | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1:24.585 | 1:23.082 | 1:22.868 | 28 |
| 2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1:25.047 | 1:23.579 | 1:22.998 | 27 |
| 3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | NED | Red Bull Racing | 1:24.592 | 1:23.732 | 1:23.196 | 25 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:24.869 | 1:24.015 | 1:23.265 | 30 |
| 5 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:24.704 | 1:23.817 | 1:23.326 | 24 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Alpine F1 Team | 1:25.174 | 1:23.914 | 1:23.477 | 24 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Red Bull Racing | 1:24.963 | 1:23.961 | 1:23.706 | 24 |
| 8 | 4 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1:25.138 | 1:24.642 | 1:23.954 | 25 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1:25.511 | 1:24.601 | 1:24.305 | 23 |
| 10 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | JAP | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:25.409 | 1:24.054 | 1:24.368 | 24 |
| 11 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1:25.787 | 1:24.795 | 19 | |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Alpine F1 Team | 1:25.422 | 1:24.842 | 18 | |
| 13 | 63 | George Russell | GBR | Williams Racing | 1:25.417 | 1:25.007 | 20 | |
| 14 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | GER | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1:25.555 | 1:25.200 | 19 | |
| 15 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:25.177 | DNS | 13 | |
| 16 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1:25.881 | 10 | ||
| 17 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Williams Racing | 1:26.086 | 10 | ||
| 18 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:26.430 | 11 | ||
| 19 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | FIN | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:27.525 | 11 | ||
| 20 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | RAF | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1:28.449 | 10 | ||