Formula 1 returned to Istanbul after nine years. The air temperature was 15 ° C, the track was 6 more.
There were wet spots on the track at the beginning, but overall the track was dry. Nevertheless, the riders had great difficulty staying on the track. The new surface and also the hard tires probably didn’t help either – not only the choice as such, but also the fact that almost all riders rode on hard compounds. Everyone was very careful, so the “sliding start” of training went without accidents. The biggest incident was taken care of by Leclerc, who shot down a cone. Due to the bolts in the track, red flags had to be hoisted for a short time.
The times were very slow at the beginning, tens of seconds after the times from 2011. The intervals were also large – in the order of larger seconds. Gradually, however, the riders pushed the times down and it seemed that the pressure level also improved.
Carlos Sainz had to return to the pits after 11 laps due to an engine problem. He later returned to the track, but had to park his car. A virtual safety car was announced on the track.
At the end of the training, the Ferrari drivers were in the lead, but in the end they were surpassed by their colleagues from the Red Bull.
Results
| P. | Rider | The team | Time | Difference | Col. | Tire |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:35.077 | 29 | hard | |
| 2 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull | 1:35.318 | 0.241 | 27 | hard |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:35.507 | 0.430 | 26 | hard |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1:35.543 | 0.466 | 26 | soft |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:35.620 | 0.543 | 29 | hard |
| 6 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri | 1:36.738 | 1.661 | 27 | soft |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:37.216 | 2.139 | 21 | soft |
| 8 | AntonioGiovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1:37.503 | 2.426 | 21 | soft |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:37.629 | 2.552 | 23 | hard |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1:38.428 | 3.351 | 23 | soft |
| 11 | Nicholas latifi | Williams | 1:38.508 | 3.431 | 18 | soft |
| 12 | Sergio perez | Racing Point | 1:38.612 | 3.535 | 22 | hard |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | 1:39.484 | 4.407 | 21 | hard |
| 14 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:40.025 | 4.948 | 25 | soft |
| 15 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:40.225 | 5.148 | 12 | hard |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1:41.035 | 5.958 | 23 | hard |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:41.854 | 6.777 | 21 | hard |
| 18 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:45.156 | 10.079 | 20 | hard |
| 19 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | McLaren | 1:46.462 | 11.385 | 12 | hard |
| 20 | George Russell | Williams | 1:49.256 | 14.179 | 17 | hard |
The course
10:30: Latifi in hours.
10:29: Verstappen first …
10:28: Kvjat in hours …
10:24: Bottas in hours.
10:22: The Ferrari driver overcomes the Albon.
10:17: We’re accelerating, the order is changing. Both Ferrari cars are now in the lead.
10:09: VSC is over.
10:05: Well, we covered it up. Sainz parked the car.
10:04: VSC
10:04: The track started to accelerate …
10:03: Sainz on the track as well, so the engine problems weren’t serious.
10:03: Verstappen first before Bottas and Leclerc.
9:57: Bottas has already gotten below 1:40, he has 2.5 seconds on Verstappen, and a third Leclerc 4.
9:54: Bottas takes the lead – 1: 40.806
9:47: Sainz has a problem with the engine, he’s back in the pits. He has 11 laps on his account.
9:46:
- See
- Bot
- Lec
- Vet
- Sai
- White
- Per
- Gas
- Rai
- Nor
9:46: The Hamiltons have wiped out time, so he and Ricciard have no time on their tails yet.
9:44: Fastest Verstappen – 1: 42.753
9:43: Gasly showed off an elegant watch.
9:41: Even the car with number 44 on the track.
9:40: The results of the first training need to be taken with a grain of salt, but today probably even more. The fourth Leclerc loses 6.3 seconds! And Russell needs 19 seconds.
9:39: Hamilton was the only one not yet on the track.
9:37: Russell only on soft.
9:35:
- Bot
- See
- Vet
- Sai
- Rai
- White
9:35: more riders on the track.
9:29: George Russell put on a new engine, MGU-H and MGU-K and a turbo and gets a penalty.
9:23: Kvjat and Hamilton were not on the track yet.
9:22: In addition to Bottas, there is Gasly on the track.
9:19: Grip might help if everyone didn’t ride hard. On the other hand, it is logical that they want to get rid of this mixture (they return one set after 40 minutes).
9:18: Bottas off the track.
9:16: There are sometimes wet spots on the track, but otherwise it is dry. Bottas has a problem turning …
9:15: Bottas ends silence …
9:14: But no one on the track …
9:14: we continue …
9:09: After the cone, quite unpleasant screws remained in the track.
9:06: Rolled cone …
9:05: red flags
9:05: Vettel, Sainz with time, but rather symbolic.
9:04: Leclerc shot down a cone … riders complain about the grip always and everywhere, but this time they really slide.
9:02: Verstappen complains of grip …
9:00: Verstappen, Norris, Sainz na trati.
8:55: But the riders are also waiting for popular track limits and especially hell in the form of the eighth turn … some six seconds, four apexes and up to 5 G. Some riders use additional headrests. For example, Max Verstappen (but not alone) rejected them. He reportedly had them once in F3 and his father Jos laughed at him. He would rather have his head dropped than have a headrest.
8:54: We celebrate in Turkey. Lando Norris is 21 today, Sauber will race the 500th Grand Prix and the Red Bull 300.
8:50: For example, Vettel even made its debut in Turkey – the first Friday training session with the BMW Sauber in 2006 took place here.
8:48: About a third of the field ever rode on this circuit – in 2011 Vettel, Pérez, Hamilton. Formerly Räikkönen. In other series or trainings, Ricciardo and Grosjean and Bottas.
8:48: Istanbul is returning to the calendar for the first time since 2011.
8:47: Welcome to the online broadcast of the first practice at the Turkish Grand Prix.
