Now comes the now-regular video with the drivers united against racism, with all the drivers wearing anti-racism shirts.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton on Sky Sports: "I have not really been thinking about it [winning the world title]. Most times I race I try not to add unnecessary pressure. I have got to try and focus on the now and doing my job the best I can. I want to win today and have to try and find a way to do that."

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, EPA

Strategically, this is an unusually open and unpredictable race, because of the unusual way the new track surface at Istanbul Park is influencing performance. For the first time in absolutely ages, teams are expecting a two-stop race, because the soft tyre has a significant enough pace advantage to make running it twice with one stint on the medium attractive.

The relatively low pit-lane time loss of 20 seconds adds to this, as does the fact that the hard tyre was painfully slow when tried on Friday. But it is a cloudy day and there has been more rain overnight, so the track may yet still be wet enough for the start of the race to be on wet-weather tyres. Complicating matters for the teams, the soft tyre has graining problems.

On Friday, these were not enough to stop it getting faster and faster as temperature built up, but it remains to be seen how that aspect will behave in the race. The slippery track surface - it seems an asphalt of too fine a grade was laid, meaning it does not have the necessary roughness to engage the tyres - also makes it likely that there will be a significant deficit for those starting off the racing line in the even-numbered grid slots.

This includes Lewis Hamilton in sixth place. And the tricky conditions mean the teams are expecting there to be incidents and therefore at least one safety car.

Issac: Kimi Raikkonen will win, bookmark this...

Francesca Gunn: I see a bad crash coming!! I just feel it.

Matthew Murnaghan: I'm expecting a race of high attrition and a very unlikely winner. I mean we already had Gasly win a race, so who would we see win this time?

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Both Williams cars will start from the pit lane.

Charles Leclerc has been in good form all throughout the weekend but was one of those badly hit by the weather in qualifying. But he's creeping back up the grid. He qualified 14th, then there were penalties for Sainz and Norris and Giovinazzi's car is being worked on.

Antonio Giovinazzi's Alfa Romeo is on the grid, surrounded by frantic mechanics working hard. They've got 20 minutes to fix the damage when he went into the barrier. No pressure

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

"I can turn on again?" Giovinazzi asks. "Try, Antonio, try," his engineer replies. "Try to get out and get back to the grid."

"Someone can help me?" "Yes, someone will help. Stay in the car and we bring you back to the grid."

Pierre Gasly to the back...

PhilSlocombe: Lewis will do enough to lift the championship and a 7th WDC, even if he fails to make it to the podium (unlikely).

Mark: I’m predicting Stroll, Max and Perez to come together in the first lap. Albon to win and Hamilton Second. What odds would I get?

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Sergio Perez now goes straight on entering the last chicane, but rejoins without any issue.

He's limped back to the pits, missing a front wing. Williams may still have time to get his car fixed though.

Lewis Hamilton didn't sound surprised by Mercedes' form when speaking to Sky Sports: "Have you not been watching all weekend? I was 20th before this, so this is an improvement!

"There isn't any grip at all. I don't really know what to say. We did the best we could and that was the fastest we could go. The track feels terrible, it feels like driving on ice.

"For whatever reason, some people can get the tyres going but ultimately, we're all struggling out there.

"I did the best I could and I didn't really make any mistakes, so I'm generally happy. I did everything I could with what I had."

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Reuters

Mercedes failed to get pole position on Saturday for the first time this season. The reason was tyre temperature - they didn’t have enough. But there are enough concerning aspects to their performance this weekend to suggest they may not necessarily find it easy to carve their way through to the front, even if their race pace on Friday afternoon was strong.

Chief engineer Andrew Shovlin admitted the team have been “on the back foot from the start of the weekend” - the car has not been working well at all on this newly relaid track, the surface of which is providing little friction, and therefore putting little energy through the tyres.Wet or dry, Shovlin says, Mercedes’ problem will be the same as in qualifying - generating sufficient tyre temperature.

Fortunately for them, they can make changes to the car to help the tyres, as parc ferme rules don’t apply because the climatic conditions will change. Like many others, Mercedes now see Max Verstappen, starting on the front row alongside Lance Stroll, as the man to beat. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have to make progress fast if the race is not to get away from them.

“The key thing starting further back is you have to get through those cars quickly within the first three or four laps,” Shovlin says, “because if you don’t then we’re not going to be close enough to put Red Bull under some pressure.”

Antonio Giovinazzi's situation is like what happened to Max Verstappen in Hungary when he crashed on the way to the grid and damaged his suspension. His Red Bull team worked miracles to fix it in 20 minutes on the grid, with the Dutchman going on to finish second.

Before we talk about Mercedes, breaking news, Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi, on his first lap out of the garage has lost it, spun and gone into the barrier.

His car is still there, with the nose in the wall and the rear in the gravel. That could be his race done before it even starts.

Mercedes have had a man on pole in all of the previous 13 races this season. Not today though. Lewis Hamilton is sixth, with Valtteri Bottas three spots further back.

Daniel Ricciardo has been on the podium in two of the past three races and is on the third row today.

Here's an image from last time out in Imola as Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton both do shoeys - drinking champagne from the boots that the Australian has worn throughout the race. Tasty.