F1 2020: Hamilton clinches 7th title after winning Turkish GP

Lewis Hamilton scored a hard-earned victory at the Turkish GP to seal his seventh F1 world title and equal Michael Schumacher’s record. Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel completed the podium as F1’s return to Istanbul Park for the first time since 2011 served up one of the most memorable races of the season.

• Hamilton seals F1 2020 world championship
• Perez finishes 31.633 secs behind in 2^nd
• Vettel 3^rd for Ferrari

Bottas struggles in Turkish GP

A newly resurfaced track combined with the added challenge of wet weather set the stage for a treacherous Turkish GP.  Hamilton had climbed from 6^th to 3^rd at the start, only to lose a handful of places after making an error at Turn 9.

But his title victory was more-or-less guaranteed after his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas spun around at the first corner after battling with Renault’s Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo. At least on paper, Bottas was the only man who could deny Hamilton the title in Turkey. But he was unable to recover from his opening lap incident and could only pull off a 14^th place result.

As the Racing Point duo of Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez took control of the race out at front, Hamilton struggled to find a way past Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari cars appeared to be far more competitive in wet conditions and Vettel had made the most of a strong start to place himself among the frontrunners.

Hamilton equals Schumacher’s record

But the race started playing into Hamilton’s favour as the track started drying up. While most of the drivers decided to pit for a second set of intermediate tyres, Hamilton opted to extend his stint. The Briton displayed a masterclass in tyre preservation as he nursed his tyres through a whopping 52 laps to win the race by a margin of 31.633 secs.

With his seventh drivers’ title in the bag, Hamilton cements his name as an all-time great in F1. As Mercedes stormed to a record seventh teams’ title at Imola, Hamilton surpassed Schumacher’s record for the most wins in F1. He now finds himself matching Schumacher’s record for the most F1 titles, and the Briton is more determined than ever to keep adding to that, as he quipped that he’s “only just getting started”.

"We dreamed of this when we were young and when I was young, when we were watching the Grands Prix, and this is way, way beyond our dreams. I think it’s so important for kids out there to hopefully see this and know don’t listen to anyway who says you can’t achieve something. Dream the impossible and speak it into insistence. You have to work for it, you have to chase it and never give up, and never doubt yourself,” said an emotional Hamilton after the race.

Perez and Vettel secure first podium finishes of F1 2020

There was plenty of drama on the very last lap as Leclerc briefly overtook Perez to move up to 2^nd. But the Ferrari driver locked up into Turn 12, giving both Perez and Vettel the chance to pass him and secure a spot on the podium.

With a 2^nd place finish, Perez – who yet doesn’t have an F1 seat confirmed for next year – has matched his best career result. On the back of what has been a troublesome season for him with Ferrari, Vettel will be fairly satisfied with his first podium result since the 2019 Mexican GP.      

Leclerc had to settle for 4^th place in the second Ferrari car, followed by McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and the Red Bull Racing duo of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon. Despite leading for a while, polesitter Lance Stroll’s victory challenge faded as the race progressed and he dropped to 9^th after being overtaken by Lando Norris with two laps to go. Ricciardo rounded out the top 10.

F1 2020 drivers’ championship

Hamilton may have sealed the F1 2020 drivers’ championship, but the battle for second place is very much yet on. With three races to go, Bottas’s lead over Verstappen has been slashed to 27 points.

F1 will now kick off its Middle Eastern triple header, with the first of two races at Bahrain scheduled for November 26-29.

2020 Turkish GP results

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F1 2020: Hamilton scored record-breaking win at Portuguese GP