Red Bull driver Max Verstappen completed a sweep of Friday practice sessions as he stayed on top of the timesheets at a low-grip Istanbul Park.
Formula 1 has returned to Turkey after a nine-year absence but throughout Friday’s action drivers have struggled for grip at the venue.
Istanbul Park was recently resurfaced while typically autumnal weather has accentuated matters further, with cool air temperature and limited sunlight, leaving the drivers scrambling for grip.
The lack of support categories, with the likes of Formula 2 and Formula 3 not in Turkey, also means the track has taken longer to rubber in.
Drivers have lacked overall grip on all sets of compounds with graining on the Soft tyre an issue during the second session.
Verstappen’s best time, a 1:28.330, was three seconds slower than the pole position time from 2011, and substantially off the pace of pre-event predictions, though was some seven seconds quicker than his FP1 best.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished second, set his best time towards the end of a lengthy stint on Soft tyres.
Hamilton on the quest for seven
Lewis Hamilton will clinch a seventh world title at this weekend’s round if he avoids being out-scored by Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by eight points.
Hamilton finished behind Bottas in the session, but only by one position, with the Mercedes drivers third and fourth respectively.
Alexander Albon was an encouraging fifth, ahead of Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly, who built on AlphaTauri’s recent performances by classifying sixth and seventh respectively.
Sebastian Vettel was eighth for Ferrari, in front of Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, with Lando Norris – celebrating his 21st birthday – at the foot of the top 10.
A large field spread once more
There was a larger field spread than usual and while there was no repeat of the 14 seconds that covered the pack in FP1 there was still a big gap between the front and back in FP2.
Renault finished more than three seconds off the pace, Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo only 12th and 15th respectively, as the R.S.20 lacked overall speed.
Williams driver George Russell labelled the lack of grip through Turn 8 as a “joke” and he was one of several to spin, rotating his car at Turn 1, at the exact time as team-mate Nicholas Latifi had a spin at Turn 7.
Latifi finished at the rear of the 20-car field, 5.1s off the pace, with Haas duo Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen four seconds adrift of Verstappen in the VF-20s.
Final practice for Formula 1’s Turkish Grand Prix will begin on Saturday at 12:00 local time.
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. VERSTAPPEN | Red Bull | 1:28.330 | 37 | |
| 2 | C. LECLERC | Ferrari | 1:28.731 | +0.401 | 45 |
| 3 | V. BOTTAS | Mercedes | 1:28.905 | +0.575 | 43 |
| 4 | L. HAMILTON | Mercedes | 1:29.180 | +0.850 | 39 |
| 5 | A. ALBON | Red Bull | 1:29.363 | +1.033 | 42 |
| 6 | D. KVYAT | AlphaTauri | 1:29.689 | +1.359 | 43 |
| 7 | P. GASLY | AlphaTauri | 1:29.944 | +1.614 | 43 |
| 8 | S. VETTEL | Ferrari | 1:30.022 | +1.692 | 41 |
| 9 | L. STROLL | Racing Point | 1:30.297 | +1.967 | 38 |
| 10 | L. NORRIS | McLaren | 1:30.907 | +2.577 | 39 |
| 11 | S. PEREZ | Racing Point | 1:31.104 | +2.774 | 38 |
| 12 | E. OCON | Renault | 1:31.380 | +3.050 | 36 |
| 13 | A. GIOVINAZZI | Alfa Romeo | 1:31.493 | +3.163 | 39 |
| 14 | C. SAINZ | McLaren | 1:31.498 | +3.168 | 40 |
| 15 | D. RICCIARDO | Renault | 1:31.660 | +3.330 | 35 |
| 16 | K. RAIKKONEN | Alfa Romeo | 1:31.932 | +3.602 | 43 |
| 17 | G. RUSSELL | Williams | 1:32.302 | +3.972 | 39 |
| 18 | R. GROSJEAN | Haas | 1:32.570 | +4.240 | 33 |
| 19 | K. MAGNUSSEN | Haas | 1:32.807 | +4.477 | 37 |
| 20 | N. LATIFI | Williams | 1:33.488 | +5.158 | 40 |
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