Formula 1: Istanbul training: Hamilton dominates, but has to go back

However, Hamilton will not start the race from pole, because Mercedes has installed a new internal combustion engine in the world champion and has to move back ten places on the starting grid. “There is a lot of work ahead of me on Sunday, so we have to make sure that we get the best out of the car. Our long run has been very constant,” says Hamilton. Nevertheless, he doesn’t want to concentrate solely on the race set-up. “I have to go to pole tomorrow to minimize the damage,” explains the Briton. After all, he is happy with the balance of his W12: “The car is almost the way I want it to be.”

It looks completely different on Friday with World Cup opponent Verstappen. The Dutchman complained of extreme understeer in training several times, then reported: “Today was not the best day. Now we have a long evening ahead of us and we have to see what we can do overnight. I hope we improve, otherwise it won’t look that way good.” The relocation for Hamilton is not of interest to Verstappen at first. “We focus on ourselves,” he comments.

Not a good balance: Verstappen still has problems

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is looking at the competition: “We expected Mercedes to be very strong on this track. Now we have to try to benefit from the penalty.” Horner does not believe that the Silver Arrows for the motor penalty, like Verstappen last time in Sochi, voluntarily chose Istanbul Park: “As far as we know, the change is more necessary than chosen. Lewis only swapped the combustion engine. This means that his penalty is smaller , but the load on the other components is higher. “

Regarding Verstappen’s problems, Horner says: “We had a bit of a mess with the balance today. The course has a lot more grip than last year. With Max we didn’t manage to get into the right window with the setup today. But we know that we have a good car. ” According to Horner, team-mate Perez is also an important indicator: “Checo had a good day, that helps us as a team too.”

Although the official extrapolations of Formula 1 see Verstappen half a second behind Hamilton on the long runs and even a full second over a fast qualifying lap, ex-F1 driver and Sky expert Anthony Davidson warns against writing off Red Bull. “We don’t know the amount of fuel. Red Bull also knows that Mercedes will get the penalty. They must have focused more on the race set-up today, so Max’s times don’t have to reflect their real pace,” said Davidson.

Ferrari can also tip the scales in the race. The Scuderia shows strong pace on Friday. After finishing third in the first session, Charles Leclerc is one and a half tenths off Hamilton in the second training session. The Mercedes star warns with a view to his targeted race to catch up on Sunday: “It should be tough to overtake them.” After all, the world championship leader only has to drive on Leclerc’s red racer: his team-mate Carlos Sainz, like Hamilton, also changes the engine, but all components have to be the last to leave.

Result - Turkey GP 2021, 2nd Free Practice:

Formula 1 on TV