Istanbul, 13 Nov 2020: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen topped the opening practice session for this weekend’s FIA Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix, with the Dutch driver beating team-mate Alex Albon by more than two-tenths of a second in a session defined by the slippery nature of the recently re-surfaced Istanbul Park circuit. 

Verstappen’s timesheet-topping lap of 1:35.077 was a full 10 seconds slower than the pole lap time set by Sebastian Vettel when F1 last visited Istanbul in 2011.

Roberts test positive: Meanwhile, FIA and Formula 1 announced that Williams Acting Team Principal Simon Roberts has tested positive for COVID-19 prior to travelling to Istanbul for this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix. 

Simon returned a negative test on Monday during the team’s regular COVID testing schedule, however after displaying minor symptoms he underwent a further test this morning which returned a positive result and is now isolating for the required 10-day period as per UK national guidelines. Simon has not been in close contact with any other members of the Williams Racing team, and the team will continue to operate trackside as planned.

Red flags begin FP 1: The treacherous conditions were revealed as soon as cars left the pit lane with drivers slithering around through the opening corners. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc then brought out the red flags when he slid wide ion the final corner and knocked over a bollard marking the pit lane entrance. 

The collision exposed bolts on the track and there was a brief delay while the bollard was replaced. 

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was the first to find some real grip on the surface and he steadily chipped away at the P1 time before reaching 1:43.009 a third of the way through the session. 

Verstappen then went quickest with a hard-tyre lap of 1:42.753s and then dropped the benchmark to 1:41.741 before Bottas re-took top spot with a lap of 1:39.204 just before the hour mark. Verstappen then improved again to 1:37.151s. 

The Red Bull driver held top spot for some time until he was dropped back Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who set a time of 1:36.085. Team-mate Charles Leclerc then took P2 

Verstappen’s team-mate Albon went quickest as the final five minutes of the session arrived, setting a lap of 1:35.318s on hard compound tyres but Verstappen was not to be denied and three minutes later he claimed P1 with his lap of 1:35.077. 

Albon held P2 at the flag ahead of Leclerc, while AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took fourth place on medium tyres. Vettel finished fifth ahead of the second Alpha Tauri of Daniil Kvyat, McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi. Ninth place went to Bottas, with Esteban Ocon 10th, while championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished 15th after only setting times in the final 20 minutes of the session. 2020 FIA Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix – Free Practice 11 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:35.077 29 202.1182 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 1:35.318 0.241 27 201.6073 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:35.507 0.430 26 201.2084 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:35.543 0.466 26 201.1325 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:35.620 0.543 29 200.9706 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 1:36.738 1.661 27 198.6477 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1:37.216 2.139 21 197.6718 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:37.503 2.426 21 197.0899 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:37.629 2.552 23 196.83410 Esteban Ocon Renault 1:38.428 3.351 23 195.23711 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:38.508 3.431 18 195.07812 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 1:38.612 3.535 22 194.87213 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1:39.484 4.407 21 193.16414 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1:40.025 4.948 25 192.11915 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:40.225 5.148 12 191.73616 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:41.035 5.958 23 190.19917 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:41.854 6.777 21 188.67018 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:45.156 10.079 20 182.74519 Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 1:46.462 11.385 12 180.50320 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:49.256 14.179 17 175.887