Verstappen on Friday: "This is ridiculous of course"

F1 News

13 November 2020 at 22:57
  • GPblog.com

Today the first and second free practice sessions were held at the Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey. The first practice session was stopped for a long time because the newly asphalted track was too slippery to ride on. Also during the second practice session the track was still slippery.

Fun to look at, but the drivers were less enthusiastic about it. So was Max Verstappen, despite a fastest time in both free practice sessions. In conversation with Formula 1 Café at Ziggo Sport he had the following to report after the Friday practice sessions:

"There was zero grip. I don't know what they did with the asphalt, but this is ridiculous of course". Were the conditions even worse than in Portimão? "Much worse. Portimão was a lot better than this."

"There's something wrong with the asphalt"

"You have a lot of wheelspin, the tires are cold and it just takes a very long time to get the right balance to get going. You're still 7-8 seconds away from the time you normally need to drive. There is really something wrong with the asphalt".

The Dutchman is positive about the chances for Saturday and Sunday, but as always he takes Mercedes into account.

"It was a good day in terms of speed. But Mercedes will be there tomorrow, you could tell by the long runs. But it's just a shame that you have so little grip. I was really looking forward to driving on this track, but if you're on ice and can't go full speed it's just a shame", Verstappen said.