Hamilton won the introductory training in Turkey, but is facing a penalty

British driver Lewis Hamilton won both introductory training sessions for the Turkish Formula One Grand Prix, but because he put a new engine in them, he will start Sunday’s race ten places lower than he placed a day earlier in qualifying. The reigning world champion and current world championship leader will receive a penalty for exceeding the permitted limit of three power units per season. Thanks to the fact that he replaced only one part of the car, the internal combustion engine, he avoids the absolute penalty in the form of starting from the last place.

British world champion Lewis Hamilton on the track during training for the Turkish Grand Prix.

Umit Bektas, Reuters

Mercedes announced that other components such as the turbo, hybrid system, batteries or other electronic parts remained unchanged on Hamilton’s car. Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, starts the race from the tail of the starting field, replacing the entire unit in his Ferrari.

“We try to simulate all the races by the end of the year and find a balance between possible risk and reliability. We certainly don’t want to fail during the race, but we also don’t want to get too much penalty. places than starting from the back positions, “Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ head of track operations operations, told Sky Sports.

Hamilton, who won his jubilee 100th Formula 1 victory in Russia’s last Grand Prix, is defending his two-point championship lead in Istanbul ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was second in the morning with a loss of 425 thousandths of a second, but in the afternoon he lost over six tenths to Hamilton and finished fifth.

Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, on the other hand, showed good speed, taking third and second place in training. He was only 166 thousandths behind Hamilton in the afternoon.

The pilots of the Red Bull and AlphaTauri sister team trained in special white cars to commemorate Honda’s first Formula One victory in 1965. At a distance, they pay tribute to their engine supplier, who will leave F1 after the season.

The Turkish Grand Prix program continues with Saturday’s third practice and subsequent qualification from 14:00 CEST. The race will take place at the same time a day later.