OK, that is really it. Enjoy!
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Ah, Hamilton’s back. He says the rain was a blessing, but the most beautiful part of it is being able to inspire kids. He didn’t have someone in the sport who looked like him, but you can be a trailblazer, create your own path – you don’t have to tell people if you don’t want – but don’t let anyone tell you you can’t because if you put the work in you can.
He tries not to cry in front of the cameras, but once he facetimes his family, who knows.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone, and join us for live coverage of Belgium v England and the final round from Augusta. Ta-ra.
Anyhow, that’s about us. What an absolute day that was. Lewis Hamilton is a genius, and in not very long will also be the greatest. A phenomenal race, from an unbelievable driver, to complete a generational achievement ... that is ridiculously far from over. Goodness me.
Lance Stroll says he doesn’t know or understand; I’ll bet. He talks about the graining on the tyres, and losing pace. He was in the lead by 10 seconds, ended up ninth, and needs to look into why that happened. He knows why it happened, it rained, but it shouldn’t have hit him so much harder than it hit everyone else.
Valtteri Bottas bemoans a “long race” and a “long day”. He says Hamilton was “better overall, on average” – yeah mate - “and I’ll try to beat him next year.” Good luck with that.
It’s not at all easy for come up with a greater British sportsperson than Hamilton. Andy Murray’s three majors, given the competition, mean he’s up there, but he never dominated. I guess there’s Steven Redgrave and Daley Thompson, but otherwise I’m struggling.
Hamilton says he says he’s often said “It’s beyond my wildest dreams,” but secretly, he was always after this moment, which is “unimaginable”. He says when you work with amazing people, “there’s no end to what we do together,” and says that them trusting him comes with experience. “It’s a lot to take in”. You reckon?
How far can he go? He says he feels like “he’s only just getting started” and “physically and mentally he’s in great shape”. It’s been a really hard year, he says, but he’d love to keep at it.
“We’ve only just begun the work to hold ourselves accountable as a sport ,” he says, talking about the human rights issues in the countries the sport goes to – how can F1 help them to improve? – before talking about making the sport more sustainable, and how he wants to be part of that. What a message, what a man.
He has no plans for after this weekend as he didn’t want to add pressure, and he talks about applying all the things he’s learnt over the years to bring about the amazing performance in which we’ve just luxuriated.
Here’s our report.
That’s four wins a row for Hamilton. How do you start sixth and win by 30 seconds? It’s really very hard to explain it, because there’s no obvious reason, which is to say that I’m trying to rationalise genius when you can’t. It just is.
Off they go with the fizz. Seven times. Seven times! SEVEN TIMES!
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Hamilton takes the trophy, lifts it, tosses it, and gives it to Toto Wolff. Perez celebrates Racing Point’s first second-place; surely he’ll get a drive for next season.
Not bad.
- 94 race wins.
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 15, 2020
- 97 pole positions.
- 163 podium finishes...
And now alongside the great Michael Schumacher on SEVEN world titles! Lewis Hamilton - the most successful F1 driver of all time. 👏👏
Hamilton, Perez and Vettel ascend the podium for anthem fun.
I wonder how far Hamilton can go. What’s to stop him winning next year, and the year after, and the year after?
Not just doing it, but doing it like that, is an absolutely beautiful thing. A drive of pure, uncut, unadulterated genius. Bow down.
Seven F1 titles. Shut up!
He goes on to say his team do not play the blame game, when things don’t go well, as they didn’t in qualifying, they hash it out and find a way. When Vettel was pulling away from him, he couldn’t work out why that was, so checked his tyres, but when the track dried, he improved his driving lines, and when Vettel pitted he knew it was the wrong choice, and staying out, turning his tyres into slicks made the difference. He recalls the 2007 title he lost in the pit lane, and he chokes. What a man.
“I wanna also say a big big thank you to Team LH for sticking with me all these years, and to my family. We dreamed of this when I was young and we were watching the grand prix and this is way beyond our dreams... for all the kids, dream the impossible and speak it into existence ... never give up, never doubt yourself.”
Hamilton is breathless and speechless. “I have to always start with saying such a huge thanks you to all the guys that are here and all the guys that in the factory...”
We’re waiting for the man....
Sergio Perez laughs at having done 47 laps on the same tyres, saying one more and they’d have exploded. It was a chaotic race,” he chortles, and enjoyed it as Vettel did. He’s glad to finish on a high with Racing Point and says what happens next is out of his hands.
Vettel says the race was “Quite intense, quite long”. You think? He says it was enjoyable and he knew Perez was struggling with his tyres at the end, so when he saw Leclerc attacking, he fancied a go at the podium.
LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE TURKISH GRAND PRIX, WINS THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, AND EQUALS MICHAEL SCHUMACHER'S RECORD OF SEVEN WORLD TITLES!
Hamilton gets out of his car and bounces about with his crew. What a moment! What a feeling that must be!
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Ok, let’s quickly run down the formalities, so we can get but to the priorities.
1 Hamilton
2 Perez
3 Vettel
4 Leclerc
5 Sainz Jr
6 Verstappen
7 Albon
8 Norris
9 Stroll
10 Ricciardo
11 Ocon
12 Kvyat
13 Gasly
14 Bottas
15 Raikkonen
16 Russell
DNF: Magnussen, Grosjean, Latifi, Giovinazzi.
Hamilton laughs as his team congratulate him, then lets out a whoops. “For all the kids out there who dream the impossible,” he says, “you can do it too, man – I believe in you!”
Amazing, amazing stuff. We are privileged to be living in his time.
Gosh! Behind him, Leclerc has one last go at Perez and Vettel passes him! Perez takes second, with Vettel third!
Lap 58/58 This is up there; this is really, really up there, a perfect performance from Hamilton, and how beautiful that he’s doing it in such amazing context. Stand up Lewis Hamilton!
Lap 58/58 HERE WE GO!
Lap 57/58 Behind Hamilton, we’ve got Perez, Leclerc, Vettel, Sainz, Verstappen, Albon, Norris, Stroll, Ricciardos.
Lap 57/58 Hamilton overrules his team; they’ll probably let him off. Seriously, one pit, and on these tyres.
Lap 56/58 “If it is indeed gonna rain, these tyres will not work,” Hamilton tells his team. They’re preparing his tyres.
Lap 55/58 Hamilton leads by 23.456s, as we learn that the new intermediates are doing nothing for Bottas. Hamilton is cruising, 23.339s in front.
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Lap 54/58 Hamilton is a pit-stop clear of Perez; in commentary, they reckon he should come in and change to inters. My guess is he’ll stick out there and back himself to stay on the track.
Lap 53/58 Heavy rain is expected for the final lap ... and it’s going to make no difference whatsoever.
Lap 52/58 “All I wanna know is, there’s no chance of these tyres blowing up?” Hamilton asks his team. He’s told not, and what a statement this is: it doesn’t matter what anyone does, it doesn’t matter what the weather does, I AM IT.
Lap 51/58 It seems like Hamilton and Perez have turned their inters into slicks, which is why they’re still out there in front. Meanwhile, Raikkonen spins, Verstappen goes around him, and Albon spins.
Lap 50/58 Hamilton and Perez, the two at the top, have only pitted once. That’s not quite a pit in hand, but it seems extremely unlikely that Perez could hold it down even if Hamilton came out in second.
Lap 49/58 Ricciardo tries to keep ahead of Norris, his breaks lock up, and Norris goes by. See ya! Meanwhile, Verstappen looks to attack Albon – will Red Bull wave him by, on the basis that he’s their faster car?
Lap 48/58 This is very, very close now. In the interests of impartiality, come on Lewis!
Lap 47/58 Hamilton laps Bottas – a lovely touch – as Verstappen says he’s ready for slicks and attacks Albon. The gap, though, is still 1.477s and I doubt he forces it this time. Hamilton leads Perez by 18.619s, with Leclerc third, Vettel fourth, Sainz fifth, Albon sixth and Verstappen seventh.
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Lap 46/58 “Hamilton is driving like Senna and Prost,” tweets Gary Naylor and he’s right, this is absolutely phenomenal behaviour. Only he has coped with these conditions; he doesn’t have the fastest car, but he’s got the fastest brain and the coolest demeanour. We might just call it genius.
Lap 45/58 This is such a race; I can’t remember a better one in the last few years. There’ve been crashes and safety cars, all of that, but I can’t think of many which have tested the drivers like this; where they’ve been racing with the same degree of intensity. And that’s why the best of all of them is in the lead.
Lap 44/58 Hamilton is now a pit clear of Verstappen ... and Leclerc goes by him! So Verstappen pits, and how he comes out will likely decide this race. If he’s quicker than Hamilton, he’s got a chance, but if not, it’s over.
1 Hamilton
2 Perez
3 Leclerc
4 Vettel
5 Albon
6 Sainz
7 Verstappen
8 Stroll
Lap 43/58 Verstappen is in third, 27s or so behind. I’m not sure there’s anything he can do with that. We are in the presence of greatness.
Lap 42/58 Hamilton leads Perez by about 12s, but Perez has nae pace and it’s becoming increasingly hard to see how anyone but Hamilton takes this, provided there’s no safety-car situation.
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Lap 41/58 Hamilton is still enjoying his tyres, and notices that it’s getting darker. Stroll, meanwhile, is having an absolute shocker – Sainz takes him out, and this is a classic #headsgone situation.
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Lap 40/58 There might be rain in 10 laps’ time. Oh yes! There’s a big black cloud we can see, and that might just play into Hamilton’s hands, given he’s yet to stop. Leclerc has taken Vettel though, and is absolutely bousting!
1 Hamilton
2 Perez
3 Verstappen
4 Leclerc
5 Vettel
6 Albon
7 Stroll
8 Sainz
Lap 40/58 Hamilton has lashed a lead of 4.976s now. If he can do a little more work on that, come in and come out still ahead, he is actually going to do this. I’m not entirely sure how he’s done it, but that’s genius isn’t it. Meanwhile, Stroll lunges by Vettel, loses it, and Leclerc passes him too!
Lap 39/58 It’s looking extremely Lewisalicious out there now. Of course it is!
Lap 38/58 Hamilton leads Perez by 2.075s, with Verstappen a further 15.298 behind and Stroll 4.424s away from that.
Lap 37/58 When will Stroll come in? He’s losing pace this way and that ... and here it comes. On go the inters, and he comes out in fourth, but of those in front, Perez and Hamilton have only pitted once and not a chance Verstappen says out there until the end. Stroll’s team might’ve overruled him and hauled him in sooner, because he was losing time for a while. AND WHAT’S THIS?! Hamilton takes out Perez like it’s nothing, which for him it is not, and already he’s extending that lead.
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Lap 36/58 Hamilton ponders just staying out there, while Perez closes on Stroll, the gap down to 0.890s. Hamilton will be absolutely stenching blood here; can he join the immortals in the grand style?
Lap 35/58 That is absolutely dreadful news for Albon, whose chance to make a seat-saving statement is getting away from him; he pits. I should have noted, by the way, that Vettel stopped on the previous lap, so:
1 Stroll
2 Perez
3 Hamilton
4 Verstappen
5 Vettel
6 Albon
7 Leclerc
8 Sainz
Lap 34/58 Verstappen gets by Ricciardo, and we learn that Leclerc is way faster than everyone on his new intermediates. Meanwhile, Albon spins coming round the corner, losing grip, and Hamilton is into third! HAVE A LOOK!
Lap 33/58 ...and instead, Sainz nails Ricciardo, who now has Verstappen on his tail! At the front, meanwhile, Perez is eating into Stroll, the lead now 2.946s. I’ve not a clue who’s going to win this.
Lap 32/58 Verstappen attacks Sainz, but can’t find a way by...
Lap 31/58 Who’s going to move first? We’re at that point where someone will gamble, pit, and change tyres ... and it’s Leclerc. He goes for inters....
Lap 30/58 Norris has just taken Magnussen, moving into tenth. And the conditions mean that DRS is now enabled, which will please everyone but Stroll, I shouldn’t wonder. His lead is now 3.789s, more or less where it’s been for the last 20 minutes.
Lap 29/58 The top five are covered by 10.5s, and Hamilton is now the favourite to win. In the interests of objectivity, COME ON LEWIS!
Lap 28/58 Verstappen wants to come in, but his team tell him that they’re not expecting any more rain, so he needs to stay out just a little longer before coming in for dries. We still don’t know if he’s going to be penalised; David Croft speculates that they can’t find a camera which gives a definitive angle.
Updated
Lap 27/58 Perez leads Albon by 0.972s now, while Vettel is 5.923s behind and Hamilton a further 2.282s back. Any of these five could win.
Lap 26/58 Vettel is currently quicker than Hamilton; he’s quicker than everyone! Meanwhile, Aldon and Perez continue dueling for second, the gap between them under a second. Stroll leads by 3.526s.
Lap 25/58 Albon won’t want to cede his podium, but he’ll be desperate to make a point, and bring it home.
1 Stroll
2 Perez
3 Albon
4 Vettel
5 Hamilton
6 Ricciardo
7 Sainz
8 Verstappen
Lap 24/58 The problem the drivers are now finding is that some of the track is wet and some of it is not, so they’ve no idea which tyres to move to and which lines to pick. Albon is currently the quickest on the track, but going off line to overtake is such a risk. Just ask Verstappen.
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Lap 23/58 Hamilton wants to pit, naused that he’s stuck behind Vettel – who’s rowing with Albon over third.
Lap 22/58 Stroll is really holding it down here. Perez is quicker than him, but he’s looking strong.
Updated
Lap 21/58 Albon, who’s fighting for his career, is absolutely flying, setting a fastest lap. He’s about 8.5s off the lead, as we learn that Verstappen is under investigation for crossing the line at the pit exit. He’s had better lunchtimes.
Lap 20/58 Stroll leads, from Perez, from Albon, from Vettel, from Hamilton, from Ricciardo, from Sainz, from Verstappen.
Lap 19/58 Verstappen will be vex with himself for that – taking Perez was a matter of patience and time, as George Harrison once said, but he forced it and pits, coming out in eighth.
VERSTAPPEN ATTACKS PEREZ DOWN THE INSIDE AND SPINS!
Lap 18/58 Perez was slow coming out of the chicane and Verstappen couldn’t take it any longer, going outside then in seeking a gap that wasn’t there, spinning and losing places to Vettel and Hamilton! Has his chance gone?
Lap 18/58 Bottas is 15th, incidentally, as Verstappen looks to attack Perez again, unable to find a way through; in front of him, Stroll leads by 8.582s. Meanwhile, in ninth, Leclerc is having it, going faster than anyone else.
Lap 17/58 Albon is on a roll here, taking Vettel, but Hamilton has yet to find a way through. Meanwhile, Verstappen is right up on Perez, who sets a fastest lap, but it’s not going to be long. Red Bull have the fastest car, and the real question is whether it’ll be enough to get them first place.
Lap 16/58 Vettel is finding this harder than Hamilton, who can’t quite force his way into fourth. To get onto the podium from here is a big ask, but he attacks Vettel on the inside then on the outside ... and Albon takes the chance to overtake him instead! Hamilton falls from fifth to sixth! We had four different leaders in the first 12 laps here; no other race this season has had four leaders full stop!
Lap 15/58 The virtual safety car is done, and racing resumes.
Lap 15/58 This is absolutely fascinating stuff, but let’s not forget the humungous picture: barring accident, Lewis Hamilton is going to clinch his SEVENTH world championship!
Lap 14/58 The virtual safety car is out as we check out Verstappen’s slow (four second!) stop. His team did a great job there.
Lap 13/58 Giovinazzi is out! We don’t see why, but we see him trundling off the track. He’s the first to go – you’d not have expected it to take this long at the start, even before Bottas spun off.
Lap 13/58 Albon now leads, but he’s not pitted yet – he’ll be in next time round – and Stroll will take over. Behind him, Perez is 10.856s back, Verstappen 11.851 away, Vettel 15.028s and 15.717s.
Lap 12/58 Verstappen’s told he’s coming in, and though it’s not hard to understand why he insisted on staying out, it might just cost him! His pit takes a touch longer than you’d expect too – are they removing some tape from the brake duct? – but he gets out ahead of Vettel and Hamilton, just, and Verstappen will be fancying this!
Lap 11/58 The track is drying and Verstappen is on one, setting a fastest lap as Perez comes in! Verstappen now leads and Perez’s stop takes double what it should! So we’ve now got:
1 Verstappen
2 Albon
3 Stroll
4 Perez
5 Vettel
6 Hamilton
7 Ricciardo
8 Sainz
14 Bottas
Lap 10/58 Verstappen is having it now, enjoying the clear track in front of him while behind him, Albon sets a fastest lap. Stroll decides to take his chances, zooming into the pits and coming out in fourth, while Verstappen looks to close the gap on Perez, 5.7s at the moment. Hamilton meanwhile, is now in eighth.
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Lap 9/58 No! It’s Vettel who tries it, his team presumably seeing Leclerc’s stats. I guess that’ll make up Verstappen’s mind for him, because he needs to do whatever Vettel doesn’t.
Lap 8/58 Leclerc and Ocon have both pitted already – Leclerc is now on intermediates – as we settle in with Verstappen, still unable to pass Vettel. Meanwhile, Hamilton sets the fastest lap, reducing the gap between him and Stroill to 18.583s. Meanwhile, Bottas pits and changes to intermediates; perhaps Verstappen will do likewise, because Leclerc is absolutely bousting on them. Hamilton comes in too.
Updated
Lap 7/58 Stroll leads by 4.999s, from Perez, from Vettel from Verstappen, from Albon, from Hamilton. Stroll is more than a pit-stop ahead of Hamilton, the difference between them roundabout 30 seconds. Bottas, meanwhile, is stuck in 15th, behind Norris.
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Lap 6/58 We see some tape of Sainz nipping past Raikkonen on the inside. “Big fan of your work,” he’s told by his team.
Lap 6/58 Vettel and Verstappen duel for third, the gap 0.487 and closing. If Verstappen can get by, he should have the most pace, but given the conditions, he might need a safety car to deploy it properly.
Lap 5/58 It’s drying out a little bit, and Stroll sets the fastest lap. That 16/1 is looking nice! Except it’s going to rain again soon, at which point, who on earth knows?
Lap 4/58 Hamilton is really almost there! Does he try to win the race – he’s 19.866 behind Stroll now – or at least make the podium? Or does he take is nice and easy, spending the next hour or so party-planning?
Lap 4/58 We see the start again, this time from above, and there really was all sorts going on. I thought Verstappen got a bad one, but actually he got a good one then a dreadful one, losing all of his tord grip.
Lap 3/58 Verstappen skids onto the kerb and slinks even further back! Albon is really close to him now! Stroll leads by 5.187s, Vettel is 12.142 behind.
Lap 2/58 It is nasty out there!
1 Stroll
2 Perez
3 Vettel
4 Verstappen
5 Albon
6 Hamilton
7 Ricciardo
8 Raikkonen
17 Bottas!
Lap 1/58 Have a look! Stroll leads Perez leads Vettel, and Verstappen comes back to take Hamilton, then Hamilton’s brakes lock! He’s skating like you can’t believe, and Albon takes him out!
Lap 1/58 Verstappen crawls off the track, but Hamilton gets a decent one, Vettel too, while Stroll and Perez power away!
Bottas spins out! He'll be back, but if Hamilton stays on the track, this is done!
Lap 1/58 They inch off the line and Bottas spins out!
Updated
This is going to be a trip .... HERE WE GO!
The formation lap is underway. It’s pretty clear now, but probably not for long – and there’s still plenty of shpritz.
The cars are gridded! We’re nearly there!
We see some lovely drone shots of Istanbul. The sun is shining and it’s really nice.
Hamilton looked very chilled – or “chill” as we now have to say – says Johnny Herbert. The ability of sportsfolk to handle the maelstrom is absolutely insane. I get excited after completing a tricky parallel park.
I’ve covered a lot of sports over a lot of years, but I’ve not covered many as potentially momentous as this, with a competitor set to become the (joint-) greatest ever. I know Hamilton has talked about calling it quits, but I can’t help but wonder what kind of mark he can set. It’s almost unfathomable.
Suddenly everyone dives for cover, fingers in ears – there’s a fly-by. Eesh.
Stroll plans to be aggressive and attack from the start. It’s obviously a huge advantage to have no one in front – always, but especially in these conditions – but does he have the pace to get away from Verstappen?
Anthem time.
Stroll, apparently, noted that as a child of “the north” – this sounds like Westeros – he’s used to driving in the rain, especially on the circuit his dad owned. Same here, old mate. Same here.
Hamilton, in BLM t-shirt, takes a knee along with some of his colleagues.
It’s stopped raining, but the radar shows another heavy shower arriving in about half an hour. I guess we’ll probably see a regular start, in that case.
George Russell has a problem that I guess developed when my computer had its moment. It should be fixed in time for the start.
Hamilton has won a third of all the grands prix he’s started. That is absolutely rrrrrridiculous.
Hamilton says he’s not been thinking about his seventh title – course you haven’t sweetheart - but he says that when he’s racing he just tries to focus on the now. He wants to know everything about the car, focus on his strategy and make sure he enjoys himself. He then says he’s got to find a way to win the trickiest conditions – “That’s what I live for”. Me too, old mate. Me too.
Apologies, my computer crashed, but we’re back now. It’s absolutely nasty out there, and I wonder if we’re going to see a safety-car start.
As you might expect, everyone is on wets. I daresay the aforementioned Schumacher would’ve fancied this one.
The front side of his left wing could well be damaged, and he might be out of the race before it’s even started! I daresay we’ll see some safety car situations today.
Daniil Kvyat spins off in the practice lap! He's stuck in some gravel!
It’s really wet out there. The rain is stopping and there’s some blue sky, but it’s expected to start again and EXCUSE ME WHILE I INTERRUPT MYSELF!
The last time there was no Williams, McLaren or Ferrari in the top 10 was in 1963.
The starting grid
- Stroll (Racing Point)
- Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Pérez (Racing Point)
- Albon (Red Bull)
- Ricciardo (Renault)
- Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Ocon (Renualt)
- Raikkonen (Alfa romeo)
- Bottas (Mercedes)
- Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
- Norris (McLaren)
- Vettel (Ferrari)
- Sainz Jr (McLaren)
- Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Gasly (AlphaTauri)
- Magnussen (Haas)
- Kvyat (AlphaTauri)
- Grosjean (Haas)
- Latifi (Williams)
- Russell (Williams)
Updated
So it’s not good for Hamilton but pretty good for Hamilton – Bottas will have to go some to get by him, never mind in the rain. All Hamilton has to focus on is shutting the door, except some people aren’t built like that. At the front, Verstappen is a 4/6 favourite – not gonna lie, I had a tickle on him at 4/1 after the first practice – while Lance Stroll, at the top of the grid, is still 16s. I don’t know, is what I’m trying to say.
Shall we talk about yesterday then?
Preamble
There are lots of incredible sportsfolk out there, and Lewis Hamilton is already enshrined among them. But today, given a fair wind – or rain – he’ll elevate himself one step further, by joining Michael Schumacher as F1’s, er ... most winningest driver.
As the great man has noted, though, it’s not just about that. Of the aforementioned incredible sportsfolk, some stand for simply being incredible at sport – Roger Federer, Lionel Messi, Michael van Gerwen – others for being incredible at sport but also for a way of being – Diego Maradona, Ronda Rousey, John McEnroe – and others still who stand for being incredible at sport and for a way of being, but ultimately for making the world a better place – Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Marcus Rashford – and Hamilton.
Those of us who are not champions cannot imagine what it takes to be a champion, and what it has taken for Hamilton to become a champion, in the sport of F1, is a whole nother thing. But what he’s doing now, so that there will never have to be another him, is very very special. He is an absolute hero, we are in absolute awe.
Back to today, if Hamilton wins, he’s champion; if he finishes above Valtteri Bottas, he’s champion; if he comes second to Bottas and Bottas doesn’t take the fastest lap bonus point, he’s champion; if Bottas doesn’t finish eight points ahead of him, he’s champion.
This is going to be epochal (probably).
Lights out: 1.10pm local, 10.10am GMT
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