Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was fastest in both practice sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix, on a slippery track compared to “an ice rink” by Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.
Key points:
- Lewis Hamilton says the resurfaced track at the Turkish GP is “terrifying the whole way around”
- Hamilton is sitting in fourth after the practice runs, with Max Verstappen fastest in both
- Verstappen joked that if it rained during the race, “we may need spikes [on the tires]”
Verstappen was 0.4 seconds quicker than Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and 0.58s ahead of Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in the second practice.
Hamilton was 0.85s back in fourth place on a resurfaced circuit low on grip and which last hosted a Formula One race in 2011.
“It was a little bit of a disaster today, to be honest … it’s like an ice rink out there,” Hamilton, who felt organisers wasted “millions” needlessly resurfacing it, said.
“It’s terrifying the whole way around.
“It’s almost like there are wet patches all over. So [when] you’re accelerating, it goes so fast. That’s because you’re way, way below the [tire] temperature window.
But Bottas, who did offseason rally driving last winter back in Finland, appreciated the challenge.
“For sure it [rally driving] helped. It was quite far from the normal driving style we’re used to in Formula One. I had fun, actually,” he said.
“It was pretty extreme the way the tarmac was.”
Daniel Ricciardo of Renault finished in 15th after the practice rounds and also pointed out the tricky track conditions.
“Overall, I would say it was a challenging day for us,” the Australian said.
“There was just no grip in the session this morning and even as the track rubbered in slightly towards the afternoon, we weren’t as quick as we’d hoped. I was not able to feel the grip on such a good circuit, which is a bit frustrating.
“We found something towards the end of FP2, so we did end today on a positive note and hopefully that sets things up for better pace tomorrow.”
Hamilton is looking to secure his seventh F1 title and equal Michael Schumacher’s record. He is the runaway championship leader and needs to finish ahead of only Bottas in Turkey to win the title.
Verstappen’s best lap was 1 minute, 28.33 seconds — about seven seconds better than his fastest time in the first session.
But although times improved as tires got warmer in the afternoon, Verstappen’s leading mark was still three seconds slower than Sebastian Vettel’s pole position for Red Bull at the same track nine years ago.
“We are all still about five seconds off where we should be on this track,” Verstappen said.
Several drivers had difficulties controlling their car during the second practice.
Williams driver George Russell slid sideways across the track and teammate Nicholas Latifi lost the rear of the car, as did AlphaTauri driver Daniil Kvyat and Alfa Romeo veteran Kimi Raikkonen, who won the inaugural race when he was 25.
Driving under a cloudy sky and cool temperatures in the first session, Verstappen finished ahead of teammate Alexander Albon and Leclerc, who skidded into a bollard at the pit lane entrance early on.
Hamilton took no risks and ended that practice run down in 15th place, while Bottas briefly lost control moments from the end but finished it without any trouble in ninth.
“The track will evolve a lot over the weekend,” Bottas said.
“It’s really difficult now to make the right decision over strategy for the race.”
ABC/AP
