Istanbul Park free practice summary: Max Verstappen fastest on Friday
F1 News
- GPblog.com
After a nine-year absence, Formula 1 has returned to Istanbul Park. A beloved track among the drivers, but not so much today: The newly laid track was so slippery, especially in the first free practice session, that it could not be driven optimally.
In the early stages of the first free practice session, several drivers went off track, and the session even had to be stopped when Charles Leclerc hit a pole.
Positive day for Red Bull Racing
It was a Red Bull's day at Istanbul Park, as Max Verstappen topped both sessions, with Alex Albon P2 in FP1. In the first session, the times were not representative due to the lack of grip and the fact that the drivers drove mainly on the hard compound.
In the final stages of FP1, Alexander Albon managed to set the second-fastest time behind Verstappen. Charles Leclerc completed the top three.
During the second free practice the conditions had improved a bit. The more laps that were driven, the better the grip became.
In the second free practice it was again Max Verstappen who was fastest, with a time of 1:28.330. He was followed by Charles Leclerc who was 0.4 seconds down on the Dutchman. Valtteri Bottas finished 2 tenths behind Leclerc in third place.
For Lewis Hamilton it wasn't such a good day. He indicated that he was very annoyed by the slippery conditions and called the new surface "a waste of money". In the first free practice, he didn't get onto the track until the last 20 minutes and could only manage P15. In the second practice session, he was slightly better off in fourth place.