@TurkishGP FP2: @LewisHamilton quickest ahead of @CharlesLeclerc. #F1
Lewis Hamilton, #44, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, F1 W12 EQ Performance, Free Practice 2, Formula 1 Rolex Turkish Grand Prix 2021, Intercity Istanbul Park, Istanbul, Turkey. Image credit to Sutton Images. Hamilton Turkish GP FP2, 2021 Turkish GP FP2.
Lewis Hamilton ended the day as he started it, on top in FP2 at the Turkish GP ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who was second and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas who completed the top three.
After Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher lead the field around the Intercity Istanbul Park circuit to set the first time on the board in the second hour-long practice session, which saw strong and unpredictable wind gusts, Leclerc posted the initial benchmark of a 1:25.880 on the C3 yellow-marked medium tyres.
The tyre choices were split throughout the pack during the early proceedings, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz pushing his team-mate down the time-sheets on his initial hot-lap – a 1:25.819 – using the C4 red-marked softs.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez moved ahead on a 1:25.278 – posted on the medium rubber – before Bottas beat him a few moments later with a 1:25.199, also on the yellow side-walled mediums.
Behind Bottas, Leclerc returned to the top of the time-sheets on a 1:25.021, before him and Perez exchanged quick efforts to lower the benchmark to a 1:24.102 as the opening ten minutes of the session ended.
After a brief pause in action as the majority of the field hit the pits for a setup and tyre change, the drivers steadily emerged on track to complete their qualifying simulation runs.
Hamilton was the first of the front running drivers to go for a flying lap on the red-branded C4 softer rubber, posting the quickest times in sectors one and three.
The world champion hit the top of the time-sheets with a 1:23.804, which remained as the sessions best until the end.
Leclerc held his high place in the order ending up in second place on his flyer using the softs and wound up 0.166 seconds adrift of Hamiltons’ Turkish GP FP2 benchmark.
Bottas’s best effort was 0.410 seconds off of team-mate Hamilton with Perez slotting in fourth place.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen appeared to be struggling with under-steer throughout his soft tyre stint, where the Dutchman continued to report strange car behaviour mid-corner where he also encountered random snaps of over-steer.
Verstappen was 0.896 down on Hamilton with his initial flyer on the softer compounds and although the Red Bull driver brought the gap down to 0.635 on his next effort that 1:24.439 was only good enough for fifth place.
McLaren’s Lando Norris began his long-race pace running at the start of FP2’s final third of the session by taking sixth in the order, with Alpine F1 Team’s Fernando Alonso – who caught a big snap of over-steer exiting the turn three quick left on his flyer using the softs – ending the day seventh.
The second Alpine A521 entry of Esteban Ocon was eighth and ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who was also struggling with under-steer throughout the session.
Gasly also suffered a spin through the turn six fast-left kink after running wide exiting the preceding corner and clipping the apex kerb, which sent his Honda-powered AT02 racer around and slid off backwards into the run-off area at turn six at high-speed before coming to a halt well short of the gravel trap and outside barriers.
Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi completed the top ten, whilst his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen complained about his leaking water drinking system at several points during the afternoon session.
Raikkonen initially reported water leaking onto his boots when he pitted just before the halfway point, then complained about the amount of time it was taking find and fix the problem on what the Finn called “the most simple part on the car”.
Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda ended FP2 in 11th place and ahead of Ferrari’s Sainz who came 12th in the classifications with the latter suffering a big front-left lock-up and taking an excursion into the first corner run-off area and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll finished 13th.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo ended the session in 14th and in-front of Alfa Romeo’s Raikkonen who was 15th and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel who came 16th in the order.
Williams Racing pairing Nicholas Latifi and George Russell were 17th and 18th respectively with Haas F1 Team’s Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin finishing at the rear.
Latifi also lost the rear of his FW43B racer and spun going through the turn nine/ten chicane at the end of the opening ten minutes. The Canadian also suffered a second spin at the same spot during the closing stages – losing the front in the second incident to dart off right into the run-off area after following Raikkonen’s Alfa through turn nine.
Mazepin also spun out at high-speed running through the third apex of the intense turn eight sequence.
You can see the full Formula 1 Rolex Turkish Grand Prix 2021 Free Practice 2 Results Classification here at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1078/turkey/practice-2.html
#TurkishGP FP1: @LewisHamilton tops time-sheets ahead of @Max33Verstappen. #F1
