Turkish Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Lewis Hamilton takes the lead, but will be penalized on the grid on Sunday

The first 20 minutes

The Formula 1 cars made their appearance on the track of Istanbul circuit and immediately the drivers were able to notice that the grip was much better than last year. If the track was soaked last year, the new surface was also oily.

Ferrari has worked a lot on the rear end of its single-seater, and it is Carlos Sainz who is responsible for conducting these aero tests. The Spanish driver will start from the back of the grid this Sunday due to an engine change. The team’s Italian outfit says he will have an engine providing an additional 10 horsepower.

Unhappy during the last Grand Prix in Russia, Lando Norris arrives in Turkey ensuring that he was able to understand and study the mistakes made in Sochi.

We also saw the Red Bull cars rolling with their white and red liveries paying tribute to Honda. This celebration was supposed to take place at Suzuka during the Japanese Grand Prix, but the latter was canceled and replaced by the Turkish Grand Prix.

The @HondaRacingF1 tribute livery looks even better out on track 🤩

We like your style, @redbullracing!#TurkishGP 🇹🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/PiGbojbpqH

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 8, 2021

At midday

Lewis Hamilton held the fastest time after 30 minutes of driving (1:24.511), leading Esteban Ocon (+0.659) and Valtteri Bottas. It was at this point in the session that we learned about the introduction of a 4th engine in Lewis Hamilton’s car. The Englishman will start at best 11th this weekend.

BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton is set to receive a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race

His car has a new internal combustion engine, exceeding his allocation#TurkishGP 🇹🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/TUy4idPRdx

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 8, 2021

After 40 minutes of testing, Lewis Hamilton was leading the timesheets with a time of 1:24.178 (record in all 3 sectors). He was ahead of his championship rival Max Verstappen (+0.425) and Charles Leclerc (+0.476).

The last 20 minutes

The drivers tried to find the right setup for their single-seater, as the teams arrived in Turkey without really having specific information or references. The weather conditions and track conditions had been greatly altered last year.

Three drivers were able to discover the Istanbul track, indeed Nikita Mazepin, Mick Schumacher, and Yuki Tsunoda had never driven on this track behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car.

The right front tires will be the ones suffering the most this weekend, we saw patches of graining appear on all the tires fitted on the single-seaters.

Timing ranking