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Max Verstappen fastest in both Friday free practice sessions on the icy Istanbul Park circuit; Charles Leclerc second in free practice two, ahead of Mercedes; Lewis Hamilton, who can claim his seventh title at the Turkish GP, is fourth at 0.8 seconds
By Matt Morlidge
Last updated: 11/13/20 13:41 pm
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen holds the lead ahead of the Turkish GP weekend after scoring a double on Friday by passing test two, as an unpredictable – and slippery – opening day of F1’s return to Istanbul produced several surprising results.
Verstappen set the pace with a 1: 28.330, which was around seven seconds faster than he led the opening practice with, but still a bit below his expected time on a usually fast and fierce Istanbul Park track. – compared to a skating rink for much of the day while the riders struggled for grip.
Charles Leclerc was the Dutchman’s unexpected closest challenger in the Ferrari, 0.4 seconds behind, while the heavy favorite – albeit much more competitive than the morning – finished just third and fourth.
Valtteri Bottas was half a second slower than Verstappen while Lewis Hamilton, aiming to clinch a record seventh Formula 1 championship this weekend, was over eight tenths off the pace.
Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Alex Albon had led the session in the early stages before slipping back to fifth as times, unusually, increased, longer riders were left out on the fastest soft tires.
The Istanbul circuit, which is hosting its first F1 race since 2011, was resurfaced just two weeks ago and that lack of grip, coupled with sweeping, fast corners, means a weekend that’s hard to predict is in store.
More to follow ..
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