Lewis Hamilton set a new track record at Istanbul Park to finish fastest during qualifying for Formula 1’s Turkish Grand Prix.
Hamilton set a time of 1:22.868s on his second push lap in Q3 to qualify on top spot as predicted showers stayed away from Istanbul Park.
Having taken a 10-place grid penalty, due to a new Internal Combustion Engine in his Mercedes W12, Hamilton will drop to 11th place on the grid.
That promotes Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas onto pole position.
Bottas eclipsed Hamilton during the first Q3 runs but was overhauled by the Briton and was unable to beat his team-mate through the remainder of the session.
Max Verstappen will start alongside Bottas from the front row of the grid after qualifying third.
Leclerc heads midfield challengers
Charles Leclerc displayed strong speed during Friday’s dry practice sessions and maintained that performance in qualifying.
Leclerc finished fourth, which will become third, as he placed within a tenth of title challenger Verstappen.
Pierre Gasly maintained his excellent one-lap speed this year by qualifying fifth, while AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda returned to Q3 for the first time in several months, rounding out the top 10.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was sixth, ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who again drifted away from contention once the pace improved on Soft tyres.
Lando Norris and Lance Stroll placed eighth and ninth for McLaren and Aston Martin respectively as the polesitter last time out beat last year’s Turkish GP pole winner.
Sebastian Vettel was 11th for Aston Martin, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Williams’ George Russell, who scuppered his prospects of a Q3 spot when he went wide at the final turn on his last push effort.
Schumacher makes Q2 on merit
Haas rookie Mick Schumacher made it through to Q2 for the first time on merit in his career after a starring display in Q1.
Schumacher previously secured a top 15 spot in France but owed that position to a self-inflicted crash that denied rivals the chance to improve.
In Turkey Schumacher was competitive throughout Q1 to put Haas into Q2, where he finished 14th, ahead of Carlos Sainz, who did not clock a time due to his engine penalty.
Ricciardo dumped out in Q1
Daniel Ricciardo was the high-profile victim of Q1 as he classified only 16th for McLaren.
Ricciardo was one of the first drivers to complete his final push lap and was demoted into the drop zone as rivals found time.
Nicholas Latifi was in a similar predicament, as he was shuffled down to 17th, ahead of Alfa Romeo duo Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Räikkönen.
While Schumacher starred in qualifying his Haas team-mate Nikita Mazepin had a dismal session.
Mazepin spun at Turn 1, went wide at the same corner on his next push lap, and wound up off the pace at the foot of the timesheets.
Sunday’s 57-lap Turkish Grand Prix is scheduled for 15:00 local time
[motorsport_result id=’74300′]
