Chaos in Istanbul puts Lance Stroll on pole! Racing Point stun big boys to take top-spot in a soaking Turkish GP qualifying session while Hamilton’s worst performance of the season puts him SIXTH
- Lance Stroll stunned Max Verstappen during crazy Turkish Grand Prix qualifying
- Canadian pipped the otherwise dominant Red Bull star to pole position
- Session had been delayed nearly an hour following heavy rain during Q1
- Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes struggled and team fail to take pole for first time
- But Hamilton is on the cusp of matching Michael Schumacher’s seven titles
- Brit only has to finish in front of Valtteri Bottas on Sunday to claim championship
- Latest Formula One news, live action and results can be found her
Lance Stroll took an astonishing pole position after one of grand prix racing’s most extraordinary qualifying sessions at the Turkish Grand Prix.
The 22-year-old Canadian was told ‘P1’ – confirmation of this great one-lap upset at the wet Istanbul track.
The Racing Point driver will share the front row with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Stroll’s team-mate Sergio Perez third. Lewis Hamilton will line up only sixth, 4.7sec back, on a long, fraught afternoon for the world champion-elect.
Lance Stroll took an incredible pole position for Racing Point for the Turkish Grand Prix
The Canadian was left thrilled with his first ever pole position in Formula One
Stroll battled the severely wet conditions in Istanbul to ensure he starts from the front
However, Hamilton only needs to finish ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas to be assured of title No 7 and he should manage that given the Finn lines up ninth.
Hamilton never looked likely to take pole through two hours of drama, struggling for rhythm and grip.
It promises to be an entertaining race with the possibility of more rain falling before the weekend is out.
Qualifying started in tricky wet conditions after rain pounded down intermittently in the build-up. The first qualifying session was soon red-flagged for 45 minutes, the conditions deemed too perilous to continue.
Lewis Hamilton endured his worst session of the year to line up only sixth on the grid
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was dominant all weekend before being pipped to pole by Stroll
After a long time with the safety car trying out the track, and the deployment of a strange mopping truck, the action finally resumed in a pall of cloud. Hamilton only scraped into Q2 in 14th place – 10 seconds behind the then-perennial front-runner Verstappen.
There was another delay as Romain Grosjean’s Haas fell into the sand trap at Turn One.
Would there be time for the whole thing to fit in before dusk drew its curtain across?
The first session of qualifying was hit by heavy rain, causing nearly an hour delay
The delay came following a red flag as drivers struggled to stay on the low-grip circuit
Daniil Kvyat was one of many drivers who spun off during a chaos filled qualifying session
There was, just.
Stroll crucially moved on to intermediates tyres to grab the fantastical pole – some validation for the much-maligned son of team owner Lawrence Stroll.
Verstappen had been brilliant on full tyres, and ahead of everyone until right at the end, but could not match Stroll when he switched rubber and blitzed away at the peak moment in a Racing Point that was suddenly looked amphibious.
It was the first pole by a Canadian for 23 years, since Jacques Villeneuve.
Ferrari were appalling, with Sebastian Vettel 12th and Charles Leclerc 14th
Road-sweepers were deployed to try and clear the track of excess water during the red flag
Romain Grosjean saw his qualifying session end in Q1 after spinning off into the gravel
RE-LIVE ALL THE DRAMA FROM QUALIFYING….
The battle for pole position is set to be one of the most unpredictable of the season at the Turkish Grand Prix on a weekend Lewis Hamilton hopes to match Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles.
Hamilton only needs to finish in front of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas to land the championship with three races left but is prepared for a very tough qualifying session.
But with many drivers including the Brit struggling on the wet and newly resurfaced circuit, it is set to produce one of the most jumbled grids of the season.
Follow Sportsmail’s DAN RIPLEY who will provide live F1 coverage of qualifying from Istanbul Park.