With a new engine installed in his car ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton led both free practice sessions at the Intercity Istanbul Park Circuit on Friday. The title rival of the British Max Verstappen had a slightly different day in comparison and fought for the pace in both sessions.
In the first free practice, Hamilton’s fastest lap with 1 minute 24.178 seconds was four tenths faster than that of Verstappen, who was second. Behind the two was Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who drove the third fastest lap, only half a tenth slower than the Dutchman.
Charles Leclerc during Friday free practice at Intercity Istanbul Park, Turkey. (Photo by Bryn Lennon / Getty Images)
The other Mercedes and Red Bull drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, set the fourth and tenth fastest times. While Bottas started his day 0.664 seconds behind Hamilton’s pace, Perez was 0.856 seconds slower than Verstappen.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who incurred a starting penalty for replacing his engine and drive components, set the fifth fastest time with his new kit, but was two tenths slower than his team-mate from Monaco.
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon posted the sixth fastest time of the session, while his team-mate Fernando Alonso was ninth. The duo was shared by McLaren driver Lando Norris in seventh and Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly in eighth.
Hamilton in the lead while Verstappen fights
In the morning’s free practice session, there were first runs that didn’t really represent the actual pace, although the drivers were pretty happy with the improved grip on the track. The freshly water-blasted and smoothed asphalt of the track led to an improved grip level compared to the previous year. However, throughout the afternoon’s free practice session, high levels of grip combined with Pirelli’s softer compounds meant that most drivers struggled to get performance out on the track.
In the second free practice session, Hamilton’s fastest lap was slightly faster than Leclerc’s by 0.166 seconds. His team-mate Bottas was third fastest, but four tenths of a second behind his pace.
Red Bull Racing drivers Perez and Verstappen were fourth and fifth fastest, but the latter struggled for balance. To shed some light on their problems, team boss Christian Horner spoke to Sky Sports and said:
“We have a balanced mish-mash at the moment. The track is much more grippy than last year and we are currently out of the window with the setup. It will be a busy night tonight that burns the midnight oil.”
McLaren driver Norris drove the sixth fastest lap, followed by Alonso, who finished seventh. Gasly and Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi drove the ninth and tenth fastest laps and rounded off the top 10 of the second free practice.
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<p>The surprise of both sessions was Leclerc, who was only a tenth behind Hamilton and not far behind in terms of the overall speed of the race.</p>
<p>Ferrari’s performance boost in both a single lap and the long runs of free practice is due to the engine upgrades Leclerc installed at the last race in Sochi. His performance in the afternoon could feed into the front battle between Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, both in qualifying and in the race.</p>
<p>According to the long-term comparisons of the pace in the second free practice session, the lap time averages on the medium tires were as follows:</p>
<p><strong>Hamilton –</strong> 5 laps – 1 minute 27.7 seconds</p>
<p><strong>Leclerc</strong> 5 laps – 1 minute 27.8 seconds</p>
<p><strong>Verstappen –</strong> 5 laps – 1 minute 28.1 seconds</p>
<p><strong>bottas –</strong> 7 laps – 1 minute 28.3 seconds</p>
<p><strong>Perez – </strong>4 laps – 1 minute 28.4 seconds</p>
<p>While Ferrari’s improved unit has resulted in a performance boost even in racing simulations, Red Bull Racing’s efforts to strike the right balance have so far produced unrepresentative results. Ideally, the Milton Keynes outfit can be expected to solve its problems by Saturday.</p>
<p>Explaining Red Bull Racing’s general problem to Sky Sports, Horner said:</p>
<p>“We just have to understand the problem. We have a good car and it’s all about getting into that performance window – I don’t think we achieved that today.”</p>
<p>15 minutes left on the clock in FP2. And this guy shows the way. <br><br><br><img src=)
https://t.co/AQYhNQDb9r
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While Hamilton raced across the track during free practice adding more kilometers to his newly installed engine, his pace was challenged heavily by the Ferraris. The pace of team-mate Bottas was significantly slower than the Briton both in the free training sessions over one lap and in the long runs.
The gap between the Mercedes duo on the short and long haul was around four and six tenths of a second, respectively, and both ran on the same tire compound. Given that Hamilton dropped ten places in the race, his wingman’s lack of performance could set a trap for the race.
Edited by Sandeep Banerjee
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