F1 News: Lance Stroll takes maiden pole position after thrilling Turkish GP qualifying

The BWT Racing Point Formula One Team will be mighty proud after a massively successful qualifying session at the Turkish Grand Prix. Lance Stroll took his maiden pole position while second driver Sergio Perez claimed provisional pole before eventually landing in third behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen. The team narrowly missed out on a front row lockout but it was nevertheless a sensational achievement.

The Racing Point cars and the Red Bulls dominated the top of the field, with Alex Albon slotting in just behind Perez. It is important to note that the Mercedes drivers struggled to find pace throughout the rain-drenched session. Lewis Hamilton could only manage to get up to sixth place, while his teammate Valtteri Bottas will be starting from 9th.

The Mercedes team will be extremely disappointed with the qualifying results, but it's a small setback considering that only their two drivers still have a mathematical chance of winning this season's Drivers' World Championship title.

Hamilton will likely secure his record-equalling seventh world title this weekend as long as Bottas does not outscore him by more than seven points. That will put him on equal footing with Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher, who incidentally ended his career helping build the current Mercedes team.

Meanwhile, F1 fans are thrilled with Stroll's surprise pole position, after Racing Point gambled on intermediate tyres late into Q3. Perez switched tyres from full wets and immediately blazed through the progressively drying track. Stroll then took the same strategy and did better than his teammate.

When everyone else realised that the Racing Point team did a brilliant strategy, it was too late for them to make the necessary adjustments.

The newly resurfaced Istanbul Park track proved to be extremely difficult to manage, with drivers having to use every ounce of skill to stay out of the barriers. The rain did not help, making the surface act like ice in many sections.

"I can't really put it into words right now," Stroll said, in an interview following the session. "I'm shocked. I didn't expect us to be up here. In final practice there were a lot things we were weren't sure of coming into qualifying - we didn't look too competitive."

Stroll tested positive for COVID-19 a few weeks ago, just after Perez also recovered from the disease. Both drivers bounced back quickly, and they will be looking forward to a great result on Sunday.

"It's such a great way to bounce back after a tough few weeks. Since Mugello it has been a tough ride but it feels really good right now," said Stroll.