Hamilton critical of "terrifying" Turkey F1 track surface
Lewis Hamilton says the enjoyment of Istanbul Park has been taken away by the new Formula 1 track surface that is "terrifying the whole way around".

Drivers were left struggling for grip throughout Friday's practice sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix as the newly-resurfaced track experienced its first extended running.
Early in FP1, drivers were struggling to accelerate normally in a straight line on the green track and suffered a number of spins, while the fastest lap of the session was more than 10 seconds slower than the pole position time from 2011.
While grip conditions improved marginally throughout second practice, Max Verstappen's leading time was still over three seconds off the 2011 benchmark.
Reigning F1 world champion Hamilton ended the day fourth quickest for Mercedes, finishing eight tenths of a second slower than Verstappen in FP2, and called his running "a bit of a disaster".
"This track is such a fantastic circuit, and I really don't fully understand when they spend millions to redo a surface of a track," Hamilton said.
"I know it had been around for a long time, but they probably could have just cleaned it maybe instead of wasting all the money. Now the track is worse than Portimao was when we had the brand new surface there.
"The tyres aren't working, and you see it. It's like an ice-rink out there. You don't get quite the enjoyment of the lap as you would normally get of Istanbul, and I don't see that changing.
"It's terrifying the whole way around. It's almost like there's wet patches all over, so as you're on the slicks, you're accelerating, and it goes so fast."
Read Also:
Pirelli opted to bring its hardest selection of tyres to Turkey in order to deal with a number of the medium- and high-speed corners, but it has left drivers struggling to get them in the right temperature window on the smooth surface.
"You're way, way below the temperature window of those tyres there," Hamilton explained.
"They're so hard and they work in a certain window, so if you're 10 or 20 degrees below, then they're not working. If you're 20 degrees over, they're not working.
"This surface is so smooth. The older circuits, it's much more open between all the stones, so it works the tyres more, whereas this one is super closed and flat and shiny, and I guess the oil seeps from the tarmac I guess, or whatever they put down.
"It's shit with a capital S."
Hamilton revealed he had not been able to do any work on the set-up of his Mercedes W11 car as he spent all of practicing focusing on his tyres.
"I've not changed a single thing with the car today, because if the tyres aren't working, then you don't really know what the balance issue is, and it's literally just tyres," Hamilton said.
"But you see other people are getting them to work, you can go from one lap to the other, and all of a sudden, you find a second because the tyres worked in a couple of corners.
"Obviously the Red Bulls are doing really well with it, and we've definitely got some work to do tonight to try and figure out what we can change. It will be difficult for the fans to understand, because there are fundamental things you can't change on the car.
"We'll just have to do the best job we can."
Related video

Previous article
2020 F1 Turkish GP Friday practice results: Verstappen dominates
Next article
Wolff not in favour of F1 racing in 'oversized car parks'

About this article
Series | Formula 1 |
Event | Turkish GP |
Drivers | Lewis Hamilton |
Author | Luke Smith |
Hamilton critical of "terrifying" Turkey F1 track surface
Trending
Is Red Bull Hiding the Real RB16B? | F1 2021
Sergio Perez's First Drive With Red Bull Racing
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.
Eight things Red Bull must do to beat Mercedes in 2021
After seven years of defeat at the hands of Mercedes, Red Bull is as hungry as ever to secure a fifth world championship. But there are key challenges it must overcome in 2021 to switch from challenger to conqueror
How AlphaTauri has adapted to F1's new rules
AlphaTauri launched its AT02, complete with a new livery, as it bids to home in on an already-tight midfield battle. Although there were few outright new parts displayed on the launch render, there might be a few clues into further changes down the line…