Valtteri Bottas lead form start to finish in Sunday’s Grand Prix in Istanbul.

It’s the Mercedes driver’s first win of 2021, and it’s well deserved, as he held off Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

In a frantic opening lap, Fernando Alonso was spun round by Pierre Gasly and had Sergio Perez on his inside, dropping the Spaniard to 16th.

Five laps in, the race settled into a rhythm, with Bottas leading Verstappen by two seconds, setting the scene for what lay ahead.

While Carlos Sainz was giving race entertainment by overtaking Yuki Tsunoda in lap 18, Bottas and Verstappen continued to trade fastest laps at the front, with the track not yet dry enough for slick tyres.

Despite qualifying first on Saturday, Hamilton started eleventh due to an engine penalty, and the Englishman was eager to make some risky moves.

Mercedes asked Hamilton to pit on lap 42, but Hamilton refused, believing he could finish the race with the tyres he had and go for fourth place.

On lap 54, though, Hamilton reluctantly pulled into the pits, expressing his dissatisfaction with his team’s decision, which had him stuck behind Charles Leclerc while Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris were closing in on the battle.

Leclerc had been holding off Bottas until lap 47. The Monegasque could no longer hold off the Finn, who flew down the inside into turn one and reclaimed his lead, while Verstappen finally got the better of Leclerc as well.

Bottas delivered an outstanding driving performance to claim his first win of the season and possibly his last for Mercedes.

Verstappen was barely mentioned all day, but second was the best he could do as Sergio Perez completed the podium and Red Bull had a nice day.

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