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
Previous article
Turkish GP: Verstappen leads Leclerc in second practice
Next article
Hamilton critical of "terrifying" Turkey F1 track surface
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Event | Turkish GP |
| Sub-event | FP2 |
| Author | Charles Bradley |
Sebastian Vettel explains why Aston Martin
Aston Martin AMR21 Unveiling
How Ferrari plans to recover from its 2020 F1 nightmare
The 2020 Formula 1 season was Ferrari's worst for 40 years as it slumped to sixth in the standings. A repeat performance will not be acceptable for the proud Italian team, which has adopted a notably pragmatic approach to forging its path back to the top
Why Aston Martin’s arrival is more than just new green livery
In the most eagerly anticipated Formula 1 team launch of the season, the rebranded Aston Martin squad’s changes go much further than the striking paint job. But rather than a restart, the team hopes to build on top of solid foundations.
The car Aston Martin begins its new F1 journey with
The team formerly known as Racing Point gambled successfully on a Mercedes look-alike in 2020 as it mounted a strong challenge for third in the constructors' race and won the Sakhir GP. Now clothed in British racing green, Aston Martin's first Formula 1 challenger since 1960 provides the clearest indicator yet of what to expect from the new-for-2021 regulations
The tricky driver conundrums facing Mercedes in F1 2021
Ahead of the new Formula 1 season, reigning world champions Mercedes will take on challenges both old and new. This also can be said for its driver conundrum which could become key to sustaining its ongoing success...
How Alpine's cure to 2021 F1 rules starts at the front
A new name, new faces and new colours pulls the rebranded Alpine Formula 1 team into a new era while carrying over core elements of its 2020 car. But under the surface there's more than meets the eye with the A521 which hints at how the team will tackle 2021...
Can Mercedes' W12 retain the team's crown?
Replacing Formula 1's fastest car was never going to be an easy feat for Mercedes. Amid the technical rule tweaks to peg back the W12 and its 2021 rivals, the new Mercedes challenger will remain the target to beat
The pointed note that starts Ferrari's Leclerc vs Sainz era
Ferrari is starting its post-Sebastian Vettel age by welcoming Carlos Sainz in alongside Charles Leclerc. But while Sainz has a tough challenge to match his new teammate, Ferrari is also sending a message that previous intra-team spats must end
The mantra Ocon must follow to challenge Alonso at Alpine
OPINION: It's been an uneasy ride for Esteban Ocon since his F1 comeback - and fresh challenges lie in wait as he's joined by double world champion Fernando Alonso in the newly rebranded Alpine team. STUART CODLING sets out a roadmap to success…
