F1: Lewis Hamilton explains how Mercedes are 'better prepared' for Turkish GP 2021

The last time when Lewis Hamilton was racing at the Turkish Grand Prix, he was one win away from the 2020 Formula 1 Driver Championship. There was some rain but the track was such that the cars were slipping all over. Hamilton missed out on pole in the 2020 Turkish GP by a full 4.795s, but ahead of the 2021 race, the Mercedes driver claims that they are better prepared for this weekend. He will be hoping to beat Red Bull's Max Verstappen and extend his lead over him.

Hamilton says he is feeling more confident ahead of the 2021 race, which will feature softer Pirelli tyres than in 2020, and take place a month earlier on a track that’s received a water blasting treatment to improve grip.

“I think we've understood some of the issues that we had that weekend and I think we rectified some of that in the race, so I think we're better prepared,” said Hamilton while speaking to formula1.com. “I think the track has potentially shifted a little bit, so we might be faced with slightly different challenges this weekend."

Seventh F1 Driver Championship title

In the 2020 race, despite the gap to pole, he managed to finish first by over half a minute from Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, to claim a record-equalling seventh title. Recalling the previous race he said:

"It was of course an incredible moment and what a difficult race,” said Hamilton. “It was a challenging weekend... a really difficult weekend for us as a team. To then have come out on top, with no real mistakes within the race – it was an emotional time. I was saying to Bono (engineer Pete Bonnington) just now that it's crazy, because this past 18 months, I’ve never celebrated a win,” he added. “Even when I won the World Championship, I didn't celebrate, and it's crazy because before of course you would take a moment to enjoy those things."

An eighth Driver Championship title for Lewis or a maiden for Max?

While Mercedes F1 have had a decent lead in the Constructors' Championship, the Drivers' Championship is closer than ever as Lewis Hamilton (246.5) leads rival Max Verstappen (244.5) by just two points. Just six races remain in the F1 2021 season, beginning this weekend with the Turkish Grand Prix 2021.

Turkish Grand Prix Full Schedule

Friday, October 8

Free Practice 1: 2:00 PM IST to 3:00 PM IST

Free Practice 2: 5:30 PM IST to 6:30 PM IST

Saturday, October 9

Free Practice 3: 2:30 PM IST to 3:30 PM IST

Qualifying: 5:30 PM IST to 6:30 PM IST

Sunday, October 10

Main Race: 5:30 PM IST to 7:30 PM IST

(Image: AP)