Turkish Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Verstappen, again

Max Verstappen dominated Friday by topping the timesheets in both of the day’s scheduled practice sessions.

The session started under the sun, but the track remained very slippery. Bottas immediately set the best time of the day at 1:35.107, just ahead of his compatriot Kimi Räikkönen. Bottas then improved his mark to 1:34.300 before Charles Leclerc climbed to the top of the timesheet with 1:33.429. The times continued to improve as the session went on.

Romain Grosjean is the first driver to cause a yellow flag for a spin at turn 7, without damage. Despite the cold track, Verstappen was already complaining about the wear on his front right tire due to turn 8. The track is still very slippery as temperatures are slightly higher at 16 degrees.

After 30 minutes, Lewis Hamilton had a scare at turn 1 by going off track, but without any damage, while the first drivers on soft tires were seen.

Russell and Latifi also went off track. Most of the drivers have a very lively front end, struggling particularly to take turn 1.

Ferraris were in the spotlight during this session, with Leclerc leading on several occasions and Vettel regularly in the top 3, just like the Red Bulls, with Verstappen and Albon taking turns at the top of this second free practice session. Daniil Kvyat, for once, achieved a better time than his French teammate. As for Renault, they were more subdued, with Esteban Ocon recording the 12th fastest time, while his teammate Daniel Ricciardo posted the 15th time.

The times are very spread out. Some drivers have managed to find grip faster than others, and the gaps show it. Latifi is more than 5 seconds off Verstappen’s times. If the times continue to improve tomorrow during qualifying, they must not exceed a 6.5-second gap to comply with the 107% rule.

Ranking of Free Practice 2 in Istanbul: