Start, Istanbul Park, 2020

Rate the race: 2020 Turkish Grand Prix

2020 Turkish Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Turkish Grand Prix.

RaceFans has held polls on every F1 race since 2008 to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.

Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix out of 10

  • 10 (45%)
  • 9 (32%)
  • 8 (14%)
  • 7 (4%)
  • 6 (1%)
  • 5 (1%)
  • 4 (0%)
  • 3 (0%)
  • 2 (0%)
  • 1 (2%)

Total Voters: 305

Loading ... Loading ...

1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

A RaceFans account is required to vote. You can register an account here or read more about registering here. When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form.

View more Rate the Race results:

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

72 comments on “Rate the race: 2020 Turkish Grand Prix”

  1. 9/10
    A race that separated men from boys

    1. Rookie Of The Race : Valtteri Bottas

      1. Like he said, but was not repeated – his car was broken after the first lap.

        1. HE the one who broked it.

    2. I don’t like when races get rated on drama.
      Once again the track proved just how hard it is to follow another car, apart from the beginning, almost all overtakes were DRS or DRS related.

  2. The best race I’ve seen in years. Because there was NO SAFETY CAR.

    1. True, that was quite surprising.

    2. Just so that no one crashes under the Safety Car.

    3. Also race of two halves….
      Before DRS = stoic defending
      After DRS = good luck with that…
      Luckily for once didn’t ruin it, great race.

      1. @eurobrun I beg to disagree, DRS ended an otherwise godsend wet Turkey GP.

    4. Apart from the virtual safety car.

    5. @carbon_fibre Agree. No safety car heightens the value of the race by some margin.

  3. An exciting race. Unpredictable. Perhaps even the best of the season to date.

  4. Pretty, pretty good.

  5. I gave this a high rating, in that weather – Drivers drive, Racers Race

  6. Better than Turkey 2010?

  7. Great race. Things were happening all through the race. Never a dull moment really.

  8. Hamilton proves beyond any doubt he is the GOAT of F1 racing
    Perez proves he deserves that RBR seat over Albon
    Vettel proves he is still someone to reckon with
    Leclerc drove a fantastic race but made a mistake at the end
    Verstappen completely blows it under pressure
    Albon… well, enough said.

    FANTASTIC race!

  9. Experience sure counts for something! Not much more Sergio can do to make his case for red bull next year. They’d be insane not to pick him up. What more can you say about Lewis that hasn’t already been said. What a legend. Probably his best drive.

  10. 10/10
    Kills the “Hamilton’s sandbagging” claims stone dead

  11. Yep, that’s a 10.

    1. I agree @skipgamer. We really got to see the best drivers rising to the top through difficult circumstances. They were tested, they had to overtake. And most of them had to defend as well.

      Really great race. Extra special to see Hamilton evening in Championships with Schumacher. And great message from Lewis after the race. I even liked the way they projected images on his visor (Liberty doing CGI right!).

      Lovely extra to see Perez bringing 2nd home and Vettel to show that he really still can drive.

  12. I gave it a 10, great racing all the way through. 3 drivers on the podium who earned their places and no cheap places gained on safety cars or red flags. There was different phases of pace too where the balance shifted too. Far superior to some of the silly lottery races earlier this year where they threw out some unneeded safety cars.

  13. No safety car, no aero-grip, limited mechanical grip, limited DRS, one tyre compound (slick-inters); 10/10

  14. weird race, congrats to all the drivers who made it to the end, looked very tricky out there. well done to lewis & sergio for those monster stints on the intermediates. some fun last lap shenanigans for the podium places too. and yes no safety car, that’s always a plus, usually ruins interesting developing battles when it comes out.

  15. I was really afraid that with the track surface, we could have seen a mess-crash fest, but thankfully we saw a great race where strategy played a big role.
    A 9/10 for me

  16. 10. Fantastic race from start to finish.

  17. An excellent race! Perez shows that he deserves a ride. Hamilton pushed the tires to the end.

  18. Gone for a 9 but that’s only because I think things can always get better.
    Getting better than this one would be tough though ;)

      1. Tommytintop (@)
        15th November 2020, 20:45

        +1

  19. How are people giving this nines and tens? It was exciting to watch drivers drifting around a fairly decent race track, so a solid 7, but nothing more than that

    1. What would make a race a 10 for you? Genuine question.

      1. aezy_doc, it probably would require rigging a race so Kimi won it.

      2. Not quite what it promised to be and not a classic by any means. Still, better than the average race. Solid 6.5/10 for me.

    2. Mid to 2/3rds of the race, there were 5 drivers in contention for the win. We heard that there could be heavy rain in the last 2 laps that could have turned the top team on its head

    3. @huhhii
      I went for a 9 because I was entertained from start to finish with no boring sections.
      Lots to think about strategy wise, and due to the conditions I knew that every single driver on that track was having to work hard today.
      I admit there was also quite a bit of (I believe genuine) emotion at the end which iced the cake.

      Someone who hates F1 would probably score it a 0. I enjoy the entire show so have rated it a 9.

      It is subjective ;)

    4. @huhhii I get you, lots of drama at least until drs, then little to no racing. The guy with a master’s degree on tyres expertly won after a gift from the B-team. Rain 10/10, Turkey 1/10, I gave it a 5.

  20. I don’t know what you lot were watching, but it was a 5 or a 6 for me.

    1. Verstappen fan by any chance?

      1. Not in the slightest.
        If I did have a list of favourite current F1 drivers, he’d probably be somewhere around the middle.

  21. It did sort of fizzle out when hamilton got the lead as the track dried but there were some nice moves in the challenging conditions. Too bad drs when enabled made it too easy and boring. At times it was 10/10 and the rarest thing nowadays in f1 happened: excitement whether a car can pass or not. It could happen every lap or it could never happen. I loved it. No overtaking is more exciting than drs overtake.

    It was a nice race overall but the finish was 5/10. It feels like verstappen should have won this but just was not able to put it together. But even with his spins and generally a poor race finished ahead of albon.

    Gave it an 8.

    1. Very similar thinking to you, @socksolid.

      And I think that is the issue for me with Mercedes dominance. Yes, good on them for being the best, I don’t begrudge them that. But usually, for these past nearly 7 years, once they get the lead, that’s about it. Would just like to see more challenges.

  22. Great start, it progressively became worse. 8/10

  23. I never vote on these, but I gave it a 10. The best race i’ve seen in ages (I have literally fallen asleep during a couple in the last five years). Ultimately it was the drivers who decided how it played out, and the best one won (which is also what usually happens when the car is the massively deciding factor).

    I do feel for Stroll, after ten laps he must have had at least a quick moment to think of ‘what could be’, and then to cross the line miles away from the glory must have been frustrating to say the least. I did wonder why people were coming in for the inter-to-inter change, yes there was some data to suggest it was quicker for a few laps, but how often over the years have we seen that running grooved tyres into the ground works pretty well in drying conditions. Lewis went from full wets to slicks in Monaco and kept track position and won.

    Other than to replace a front wing or something, I can’t remember the last time someone came in to replace intermediates for simply wear purposes.

  24. One point for the drives of Sergio, Charles, Sebastian and Carlos (yeah yeah, Lewis winning is a given anyway).

    And one point for each spin of Valteri.

    9/10.

    1. That is a bit cruel. Turns out Bottas had a crooked steering wheel the whole race, after his contact on the first lap.

  25. Just another one stop race with a straight forward, dominant Mercedes victory…
    Nah just kidding, even I’m not that cynical. Was 9/10, looked like any of 5 drivers could win at half distance and there was a lot of variation in strategy and pace of the different drivers and teams throughout the race. Only lacked 1 point because after an easy DRS pass it was clear Hamilton had in the bag from quite far out.

  26. Top race, even though the result (ie Ham winning again) was disappointing. Very good from Vettel,
    Leclerc, Perez and Sainz but strange from RBR. Ham’s best drive of the year nevertheless.

    Feel for stroll

  27. That was one of the best races I’ve ever seen. Easy 10.

  28. Very enjoyable race, conditions ensured that you couldn’t predict anything beyond a couple of laps and also meant that none of the drivers wereanything than at their most focused.

    Lot of drivers made some mistakes,though hardly surrprising considering the lack of grip and the fact that even a simple tiny lockup was enough to put one in a spin. Almost embarassing for some drivers though, Bottas especially, but Verstappen also struggled to keep it on the track, though he only had the one spin compared to all the running wide he did.

    Well driven from Vettel, though why has it taken so long for him to find himself again? Good drive from Leclerc too, just let down at the end.

    Hamilton and Perez though, incredible drives and the first time I remember seeing a driver -let alone two- change their intermediates for slicks without actually going into the pits.

  29. A perfect race for Lewis to have clinched his 7th WDC!

  30. Great race! I gave it a 9/10. Would’ve been a 10, if DRS hadn’t killed all the racing in the 2nd half of the race.

  31. Easy 10 for me. Always some action on track. And not spoiled by a sc.

  32. Very good race, one of the best of the season.
    Hamilton continues to prove that he is Schumacher’s worthy successor. A true teacher.
    Remarkable performances by Perez, Vettel and Leclerc although the latter made a very costly mistake in the end, but that’s life.
    Another shameful race for the overrated Verstappen, he proved that this is his true place, he can only be further ahead pushing rival cars off the track, he couldn’t do it today.
    Bottas should either retire or run for Williams. He is too incompetent to have a seat in the current best team.
    Sorry for Stroll.

    1. VER is great when he can throw caution to the wind. When he has to use his head… forget it. Maybe that will come with age?

    2. A bit much to call it shameful.
      He certainly saw this race as his best chance for a win this season, and decided to take some risks that didn’t pay off.

  33. Fascinating that the teams that did well in qualifying due to being able to heat the tyres up quicker dropped back in the race due to the tyres not lasting. Reminded me of when Toyota used to low fuel to try get pole position and then fall back in the race.

  34. A great race provided you’re not offended by the result

    Only way it could have been improved is if the other title ‘contender’ had actually been in the mix fighting rather than getting himself lapped

  35. Don’t give many 10s but that race deserves one. Been a long time since I’ve seen the cars looking so detached from their rails.

  36. Stunning drive from Hamilton, what a way to take your 7th title.
    Brundle was right before the race to say it would favour whoever could get the tyres working.
    Also have to give congratulations that no one ended up stuck in the gravel, I guessed before the race we would see at least three safety cars!

  37. Great race? You call this race? Yeah, surely interesting but is this F1? Let’s throw them darts and spikes in the next race and see another epic drama. This is not the way.
    F1 should have drama, but not ruining the technical aspect of the sport. Grip was ridiculous, track conditions unacceptable for racing. Let’s give it a go on the North Pole and see what happens. I am sure it will be great

    1. Look, I dont disagree with the technical aspect of the sport. We have seen races where Mercedes have run away at the start and congratulations to them for building a car that can do so. But there were external factors such as rain and resurfacing that contributed to how this race shaped up. On days like these conditions are equal for every one and it is upto drivers to showcase their talent and that is exactly what was on display.

  38. A very good race 9/10. There is always room for improvement.

    As others have said it started great but probably became a bit less exciting as it went in. But things kept changing though and you never knew what was going to happen next.

    I thought nearly all drivers coped very well with the conditions. I don’t think they really needed DRS at all in this race. It was quite entertaining seeing the drivers trying to create overtaking opportunities. No artificial safety cars either.

    Lewis had a great day. He really adapted to the conditions. Bottas on the other hand had a nightmare. Good drives as well by Perez, Vettel and Leclerc.

  39. We’ll be talking about this one for years

  40. Great race. No one is giving props to the track. It allows spins and excursions off the track without destroying cars. Similar conditions at other tracks would have resulted in many retirements, safety cars, and possibly restarts.

  41. Cant remember having seen such a bad ‘race’. Not really a race though, that level was never achieved. This is like watching a champions league game where there is 5 feet of snow on the field: utterly useless unless you like those bumper cars on the fair. Had nothing to do with the pinnacle of motorsport but more an arcade race. No wonder Liberty is going to clownesk racing if the audience keeps reacting enthusiastic to these kind of events

  42. Great race, because the driver’s really had to work for their money, and the result was so so unpredictable all the way through. It would have been better if drs was not enabled, would have made for some interesting late race dive bombs.

  43. I gave this race 9, I considered the possibility to give it 10 like I did with germany 2018 but I was a bit disappointed that despite the very unusual qualifying mercedes came out ahead again, even though this time it was hamilton’s doing, and despite the fact I consider him overrated in virtue of the car he drove on average, he’s always been a good wet weather driver and a result like this is not unexpected from him.

    Race was very interesting with changing levels of performance over time, with mercedes, ferrari, red bull, force india being faster and slower on various phases, example verstappen was generally quicker but late in the race his tyres were so done leclerc recovered 5 sec in a lap and passed him, or also norris, with mclaren, that was lapping 2 seconds faster than drivers several places ahead of him in the later stages of the race.

    There were plenty of overtakes, intermediate and wet tyres for every single lap, I love wet races, and unusually I think no safety cars, which are almost like a given in wet races.

    I would’ve preferred a race that forced the use of full wet, think they’re even more spectacular, but I just like the spray, which happens even with intermediate conditions, even at the end.

    And obviously with nowadays’ safety measures it’s really unlikely to get a race like interlagos 2016 without them using constant red flags and safety cars, so this is still one of the best races of the last years.

    1. Oh, and also mercedes wasn’t that dominant in these conditions, that’s definitely something I liked even if they got a win anyway, the conditions helped balance performance.

Comments are closed.