Valtteri Bottas wins Turkish Grand Prix

ISTANBUL: Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas won an engrossing Turkish Grand Prix that was run in damp conditions, with the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez completing the podium.

Light rain peppered the track well before the race and while the rain stopped, conditions called for intermediate tyres throughout.

With his second-place finish, Verstappen maintained his position atop the table with 262.5 points as Hamilton keeps up the chase with 256.5 points. Bottas is in third place with 177 points.

On Sunday, Bottas led the race away from the pole, his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton having started 11th thanks to his 10-place engine-related penalty, while Verstappen followed the Finn.

By the 11th lap, Hamilton was up into the top-five having passed Pierre Gasly. The defending champion was promoted to fourth when Sergio Perez pitted on lap 38. The pit stops came thick and fast from lap 35 onwards as Lando Norris was first to choose new inters, Verstappen in next on lap 37 from P2, and Bottas pitting from the lead one lap later. Charles Leclerc was released into the lead but on lap 48 of 58, he decided the gamble to forgo a pit'stop wasn't going to pay off and came in for new intermediary tyres, according to a report on the official website. Bottas delivered his first win since Russia 2020 with a flawless performance from then on, a bonus point bagged as he also took the fastest lap. Agencies

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