2020 F1 Turkish GP Friday practice results: Verstappen dominates
Max Verstappen topped a bizarre opening day of Turkish Grand Prix practice at Istanbul Park for Red Bull on Friday, with drivers suffering a huge lack of grip as F1 returned to Turkey for the first time since 2011.
In the first practice session, Verstappen led Albon by a quarter of a second in a Red Bull 1-2 as teams immediately struggled to find grip on the new track surface, with drivers reporting it was like “driving on ice”. There was also a brief red flag early on as Charles Leclerc dislodged the pit lane entry bollard.
Leclerc ended the session third-quickest for Ferrari, just clear of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
Daniil Kvyat made it two AlphaTauris in the top six, with Lando Norris the fastest of the McLarens in seventh, ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo). Bottas was the fastest Mercedes in ninth, with world championship leader Lewis Hamilton down in 15th, over 5 seconds off the pace.
In FP2 the laptimes tumbled, with Verstappen lapping almost 7s faster than FP1. He again led the way, four tenths ahead of Leclerc.
The Mercedes duo were back near the top, albeit over half a second off Verstappen, with Bottas leading Hamilton in third and fourth, with Albon fifth, ahead of Kvyat and Gasly. Vettel slipped to eighth, ahead of Lance Stroll (Racing Point) and Norris.
The conditions remained treacherous, with too many spins to mention, and drivers reporting that the tyres were graining badly on the recently-resurfaced track.
F1 Turkish Grand Prix Free Practice 1 results
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | Honda | 29 | 1'35.077 | 202.118 | ||
| 2 |  Alex Albon |  | Red Bull | Honda | 27 | 1'35.318 | 0.241 | 0.241 | 201.607 |
| 3 |  Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | Ferrari | 26 | 1'35.507 | 0.430 | 0.189 | 201.208 |
| 4 |  Pierre Gasly |  | AlphaTauri | Honda | 26 | 1'35.543 | 0.466 | 0.036 | 201.132 |
| 5 |  Sebastian Vettel |  | Ferrari | Ferrari | 29 | 1'35.620 | 0.543 | 0.077 | 200.970 |
| 6 |  Daniil Kvyat |  | AlphaTauri | Honda | 27 | 1'36.738 | 1.661 | 1.118 | 198.647 |
| 7 |  Lando Norris |  | McLaren | Renault | 21 | 1'37.216 | 2.139 | 0.478 | 197.671 |
| 8 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 21 | 1'37.503 | 2.426 | 0.287 | 197.089 |
| 9 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 23 | 1'37.629 | 2.552 | 0.126 | 196.834 |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon |  | Renault | Renault | 23 | 1'38.428 | 3.351 | 0.799 | 195.237 |
| 11 |  Nicholas Latifi |  | Williams | Mercedes | 18 | 1'38.508 | 3.431 | 0.080 | 195.078 |
| 12 |  Sergio Perez |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 22 | 1'38.612 | 3.535 | 0.104 | 194.872 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 21 | 1'39.484 | 4.407 | 0.872 | 193.164 |
| 14 | Romain Grosjean |  | Haas | Ferrari | 25 | 1'40.025 | 4.948 | 0.541 | 192.119 |
| 15 | Lewis Hamilton |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 12 | 1'40.225 | 5.148 | 0.200 | 191.736 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 23 | 1'41.035 | 5.958 | 0.810 | 190.199 |
| 17 |  Kevin Magnussen |  | Haas | Ferrari | 21 | 1'41.854 | 6.777 | 0.819 | 188.670 |
| 18 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | Renault | Renault | 20 | 1'45.156 | 10.079 | 3.302 | 182.745 |
| 19 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. | | McLaren | Renault | 12 | 1'46.462 | 11.385 | 1.306 | 180.503 |
| 20 | George Russell | | Williams | Mercedes | 17 | 1'49.256 | 14.179 | 2.794 | 175.887 |
| View full results | |||||||||
F1 Turkish Grand Prix Free Practice 2 results
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | Honda | 37 | 1'28.330 | 217.556 | ||
| 2 | Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | Ferrari | 45 | 1'28.731 | 0.401 | 0.401 | 216.573 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | | Mercedes | Mercedes | 43 | 1'28.905 | 0.575 | 0.174 | 216.149 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 39 | 1'29.180 | 0.850 | 0.275 | 215.483 |
| 5 | Alex Albon |  | Red Bull | Honda | 42 | 1'29.363 | 1.033 | 0.183 | 215.042 |
| 6 | Daniil Kvyat |  | AlphaTauri | Honda | 43 | 1'29.689 | 1.359 | 0.326 | 214.260 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly |  | AlphaTauri | Honda | 43 | 1'29.944 | 1.614 | 0.255 | 213.652 |
| 8 | Sebastian Vettel |  | Ferrari | Ferrari | 41 | 1'30.022 | 1.692 | 0.078 | 213.467 |
| 9 | Lance Stroll | | Racing Point | Mercedes | 38 | 1'30.297 | 1.967 | 0.275 | 212.817 |
| 10 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | Renault | 39 | 1'30.907 | 2.577 | 0.610 | 211.389 |
| 11 | Sergio Perez |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 38 | 1'31.104 | 2.774 | 0.197 | 210.932 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon |  | Renault | Renault | 36 | 1'31.380 | 3.050 | 0.276 | 210.295 |
| 13 | Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 39 | 1'31.493 | 3.163 | 0.113 | 210.035 |
| 14 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | | McLaren | Renault | 40 | 1'31.498 | 3.168 | 0.005 | 210.024 |
| 15 | Daniel Ricciardo | | Renault | Renault | 35 | 1'31.660 | 3.330 | 0.162 | 209.653 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 43 | 1'31.932 | 3.602 | 0.272 | 209.032 |
| 17 | George Russell |  | Williams | Mercedes | 39 | 1'32.302 | 3.972 | 0.370 | 208.194 |
| 18 | Romain Grosjean |  | Haas | Ferrari | 33 | 1'32.570 | 4.240 | 0.268 | 207.592 |
| 19 | Kevin Magnussen |  | Haas | Ferrari | 37 | 1'32.807 | 4.477 | 0.237 | 207.061 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi |  | Williams | Mercedes | 40 | 1'33.488 | 5.158 | 0.681 | 205.553 |
| View full results | |||||||||
F1 Turkish Grand Prix practice as it happened
Related video
Turkish GP: Verstappen leads Leclerc in second practice
Hamilton critical of "terrifying" Turkey F1 track surface
Spanish Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2022
In an unusually hectic Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was denied a dominant performance by his Ferrari engine letting go which allowed Max Verstappen to pick up the pieces. But numerous flashpoints kept the race twisting and turning throughout, with one perfect score from an emerging contender
How Verstappen overcame his and Red Bull’s errors to win in Spain
Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari engine disaster offered an open goal for Max Verstappen and Red Bull to strike, but the reigning Formula 1 world champion still had to solve multiple errors and profit from a begrudged assist from team-mate Sergio Perez, which created an unexpectedly eventful Spanish Grand Prix
Why Red Bull can win a Spanish GP that looked perfect for Ferrari
Formula 1's return to Spain on Friday ended with Ferrari leading the way from Mercedes, while Red Bull could only manage third fastest overall courtesy of Max Verstappen. But its chances of victory are far from remote with a deeper dig into the times despite Ferrari's strong start...
The key aspects of Porsche and Audi's planned F1 entries
The VW Group’s German superpowers of sportscar racing have all but confirmed they are coming to F1 when the next set of engine rules come into force in 2026. Here's why both manufacturers are all set to take the plunge, and crucially how it might work
How Vegas went from byword for F1 indifference to grand Liberty coup
Holding a race in Las Vegas – party central, a city of dreams and decadence and, yes, more than a smattering of tackiness – has been on Liberty Media’s most-wanted list since it acquired Formula 1’s commercial rights. But, as LUKE SMITH explains, F1 has been here before and the relationship didn’t work out
Why de Vries' FP1 outing could add a new path to his current crossroads
A Formula 2 and Formula E champion, Nyck de Vries is currently considering where his future in motorsport lies. Continuing in WEC and Formula E is possible and he's also courted glances Stateside after impressing in an IndyCar test. But ahead of his Formula 1 FP1 debut with Williams, he could have another option if he impresses...
Why Leclerc's crash shouldn't put off F1 drivers tasting history
OPINION: For a demo run ahead of Monaco's Historique Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was blessed with the opportunity to drive Niki Lauda's former Ferrari 312B3 - but a brake failure at Rascasse suggested Leclerc's Monaco hoodoo transcended contemporary F1. Although an awkward incident, Leclerc deserves credit for embracing F1's history.
Why the lack of "needle" between Red Bull and Ferrari is a mirage
OPINION: The fight for the 2022 Formula 1 world titles between Red Bull and Ferrari so far features little of the public animosity that developed between the former and Mercedes last year. But that isn’t to say things are full on friendly or won’t get much worse very quickly…