AOn the way to his seventh Formula 1 title, Lewis Hamilton should not stop an unusual slide game. The brand new and still very slippery asphalt spoiled the drivers around the British defending champion in the first two training sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix and provided a partially meaningful result in Istanbul on Friday.
While Mercedes driver Hamilton, who can draw level with record champion Michael Schumacher in the race on Sunday (11.10 a.m. / in the FAZ live ticker for Formula 1, on RTL and Sky) after the world championships, was only fourth, Max Verstappen set the fastest time of the day in the Red Bull. Behind the Dutchman, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) came second and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) came third. Sebastian Vettel drove in the second Ferrari more than 1.6 seconds behind in eighth place. Overall, the gaps were unusually large.
“I have no grip,” Hamilton radioed his pits and complained about the lack of grip on his tires. Although the Silver Arrows had some difficulties, they still showed the most convincing performance in the racing simulation. The competition, however, was closer to the constructors’ world champion than usual. But the opponents also complained abundantly. “It’s worse than on ice. I can’t even give full throttle on the straight, ”said McLaren driver Lando Norris.
The road surface had only been repositioned at short notice a few weeks ago, as the Grand Prix on the Bosphorus was only added to the calendar retrospectively due to the corona pandemic and new asphalt was urgently needed. In addition, the temperatures were very low and the tire compounds too hard – all of this together resulted in a few spins and slow drives. The high-tech cars could not move at the usual high speeds for a long time.
“We just have to drive, drive, drive,” said Toto Wolff, Head of Motorsport at Mercedes. And with more rubber on the track, the situation relaxed a little. With a view to qualifying on Saturday, Wolff added jokingly: “You might need a little more rally skills to be fast.” To make matters worse, it could be that it should rain on Saturday and the next slide is threatened in the chase for the starting grid .
Mercedes had actually traveled to Turkey as a big favorite, but now it could be a little more exciting than expected. Both Red Bull and Ferrari made a decent impression. It remains to be seen whether Sebastian Vettel, who is only a disappointing 14th in the overall standings, will really be able to drive Leclerc or Verstappen up front. Vettel had won the last race in Turkey so far in 2011 on the way to his second Red Bull title.
Hamilton would like to perfect his seventh triumph four races before the end of the season. He definitely succeeds when he crosses the finish line in front of his teammate Bottas. The 35-year-old Brit is currently 85 points ahead. With 78 points of padding after the Grand Prix, Hamilton can no longer take the title.
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