F1 returns this weekend and there has already been a big twist.
Lewis Hamilton has taken a new combustion engine, exceeding his allocation of engine changes.
And that means a ten-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race in Istanbul.
Follow all the action with our live blog below…
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RED BULL ADMIT ‘BALANCE MISH-MASH’
Red Bull boss Christian Horner admits his team have their work cut out if they are to help Max Verstappen return top of the championship with victory in the Turkish GP.
He said: “We’ve got a little bit of a balance mish-mash at the moment. The circuit is a lot grippier than it was last year and we’re just a little bit out of the window with Max on set-up.
“It’s going to be a busy night tonight, burning the midnight oil with the engineers and no doubt back in the factory at Milton Keynes.
“We know we’ve got a good car so it’s just a matter of getting into that window.”
THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE GLOVE BOX
SunSport’s Ben Hunt writes: Email has just landed in my inbox telling me that Hamilton, Vettel, Sainz, Ricciardo and Russell are all trialling a prototype glove.
The new gloves have improved heat transmission protection. It comes after Romain Grosjean suffered bad burns to his hands following his fiery smash in Bahrain last year.
Credit to the FIA for pushing though the new safety improvements.
AND THE NEW
Mercedes trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, says that Lewis Hamilton’s 10-place penalty for an engine change – rather than a completely new powertrain – is a calculated risk.
He said: “We’re simulating all the races until the end of the year and obviously the thing you definitely don’t want to do is fail during a race and then have to take a penalty anyway.
T”hen there’s also a performance element, because the power units do lose a bit of horsepower over their life.
“The bit that most contributes to the reliability and the performance is the ICE itself – and it’s better to take 10 places than start at the back.”
LEW BEAUTY
Lewis Hamilton is hoping for a Turkish delight – despite being forced to take a 10-place penalty on Sunday.
As SunSport reported earlier this week, the world champion risked being bumped to the back of the grid for taking a new powerunit in the back of his Mercedes.
F1 rules allow drivers to use three engines, plus their components, during the course of a season. Any additional parts will incur grid penalties for the grands prix.
However, Merc have only replaced the internal combustion engine (ICE) in his motor – keeping his penalties to a minimum so he can still fight Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Hamilton is now eyeing up clinching pole in qualifying on Saturday to start just outside of the top-10 before embarking on a major fightback through the field.
He said: “I have a lot of work to do on Sunday. The other drivers are going to be hard to pass. They seem to be improving more and more throughout the year.
“I need to be on pole to limit the loss and then understand the car to do the best I can and find the right balance.”
GASSED
Pierre Gasly was having trouble with understeer during his practice session.
He finished ninth after the second practice.
SECOND PRACTICE RESULTS
What another impressive drive from Lewis Hamilton.
FP2 IS DONE
Advantage Hamilton, despite the penalty. Red Bull have work to do.
And could Ferrari be in with a shout on Sunday?
PROBLEM FOR OCON
The session is over but the Frenchman is stuck on the grid. He’s stuck in neutral and cannot get moving again.
FP2 IS DONE AND HAMILTON LEADS LECLERC
Hamilton topped the morning session too and is looking good in Istanbul, despite having that 10-place grid penalty to contend with.
Verstappen down in fifth while Perez improved to land fourth. This is not shaping up to be the weekend Red Bull were hoping for.
GASLY NOW SPINS
Maybe it was his short arms? Interestingly, there have been few spins or errors today. The track really has gripped up from 2020 when it was all sorts of a mess.
X RATED FROM RAIKKONEN
He’s swearing like a trooper over the team’s radio because his water bottle has been leaking.
Put cleanly, he want’s to know why it is taking so long to fix the problem…
GASLY COMPLAINS OF HAVING…ERR SHORT ARMS
The AlphaTauri man is having a few issues down in eighth place. He’s just told his team he’s having a bit of trouble steering.
He said: “I think my arms are too short to turn the wheel.”
That’s a first.
USUAL SERVICE RESUMED
Hamilton is leading the way from Leclerc. Bottas in P3. Perez P4 and Verstappen down in fifth place.
Red Bull certainly have their work cut out here, it seems.
LECLERC IS NOW SETTING THE PACE
Wile Norris, Perez and Hamilton are all very close to each other. This is shaping up to be fairly competitive.
FP2 IS GO
And the Haas cars are first out on track.
ASTON MARTIN HAVE WORK TO DO
Lance Stroll took pole in Turkey last year, in FP1 he was only 17th while Sebastian Vettel was in P13.
ALMOST TIME FOR FP2
Have Red Bull managed to make improvements to Verstappen’s car? Can he close that gap to Hamilton, who has that engine penalty looming on Sunday.
HOW FP1 FINISHED
A look at the lap times in Turkey.
P1 IS DONE AND HAMILTON SETS THE BENCHMARK
The world champion is almost half a second up on Verstappen.
Leclerc, Bottas, Sainz, Ocon, Norris, Gasly, Alonso and Perez complete the top 10 in Istanbul.
PEREZ IN P10
Now, I know it is only P1 and we cannot read too much into it, but the Mexican being down in 10th is not where Red Bull would want him to be.
Bottas is in P4, while the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Sainz are P3 and P5 respectively.
Perez needs to get up to speed in P2 or risk another poor weekend.
HAMILTON ON TOP IN TURKEY
He’s 0.425 seconds ahead of Verstappen, who sits in second place.
That new engine might trigger a big penalty, but it looks well worth it, as he is clearly quicker than his nearest challenger.
GLOVES ARE ON
Email has just landed in my inbox telling me that Hamilton, Vettel, Sainz, Ricciardo and Russell are all trialling a prototype glove this morning.
The new gloves have improved heat transmission protection. It comes after Romain Grosjean suffered bad burns to his hands following his fiery smash in Bahrain last year.
Credit to the FIA for pushing though the new safety improvements.
TRACK TIMES ARE TUMBLING
Pirelli say a combination of their new rubber, better grip and conditions after resulting in new records being set in Turkey.
BREAKING NEWS: HAMILTON WILL GET A GRID PENALTY AFTER TAKING A NEW ENGINE FOR THIS RACE
As it stands it will be a 10-place grid drop, but he could yet take more components that would add to his tally.
He has used three power units, this internal combustion engine (ICE) is his fourth.
He was coy about it yesterday during the press conference but this has made it very-much advantage Max Verstappen in Turkey.
HAMILTON AND VERSTAPPEN BOTH ON TRACK
The Mercedes man tops the lot after eight minutes while Ferrari are doing some serious aero testing on Carlos Sainz’s car.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
