Hamilton fastest in Turkish qualifying, opens in 11th for engine penalty
Lewis Hamilton smashed the track record in Istanbul for the fastest overall time in qualifying Saturday, but he will start at P11 after being assessed a 10-place grid penalty for taking his fourth engine of the year.
However, Mercedes will still feature a driver at the pole position for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas finished qualifying right behind his teammate to earn his second pole of the 2021 season.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton* | Mercedes | 1:22:868 |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +0.130 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.328 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.397 |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | +0.458 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | +0.609 |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.838 |
| 8 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +1.086 |
| 9 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1.437 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +1.500 |
| 11 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | Q2 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | Q2 |
| 13 | George Russell | Williams | Q2 |
| 14 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | Q2 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | Q2 |
| 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | Q1 |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | Q1 |
| 18 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Q1 |
| 19 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | Q1 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | Q1 |
* Hamilton opening in P11 due to 10-place grid penalty.
Due to Hamilton's penalty, chief rival Max Verstappen will move up to second on the grid with Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, and Fernando Alonso rounding out the top five.
Hamilton leads Verstappen in the F1 standings by a mere two points entering Sunday's race.
Hamilton won the 2020 edition of the Turkish GP, which was the first time the race had been held since 2011. Verstappen, who opened in P2, ultimately finished sixth in last year's race.