F1 | Turkish GP, the slipperiness of the track penalizes the teams' data collection

Extremely complicated day of free practice for teams and drivers on the Istanbul Park track, scene of the next Turkish Grand Prix, the 14th round of this 2020 Formula 1 world championship. Due to the new asphalt laid on the Turkish circuit, the drivers were unable to make the most of the potential of the single-seaters due to the lack of grip, this aspect will have to push the engineers to work on the set-up and adjustments in view of tomorrow's sessions.

“The new asphalt in Istanbul Park, laid less than two weeks ago, today proved to be extremely slippery,” said Mario Isola. “We expected something very similar to the new Portimao asphalt but in reality it turned out to be very different and with a very low level of grip. There was a clear evolution of the track despite the absence of support races."

“Additionally, the track was washed overnight, leaving some areas slightly damp this morning,” he continued. “We saw some graining on the soft, as expected in these extreme conditions, due to the cars sliding; this situation should improve over the weekend as the asphalt is rubberized, the riders are able to warm up the tires more and the track continues to evolve."

“However, we also need to keep an eye on the weather; there is the possibility that it could rain during the weekend and this could restore the initial conditions of the track, adding to what is already a very big challenge", he concluded.