Hamilton upwind against the Istanbul tarmac

Fifteen days before welcoming the Formula 1 for the first time since 2011, the organizers of the Turkish Grand Prix have decided to redo the tarmac. Thus, Istanbul Park debuted a brand new surface this Friday. It was not a success.

While the weather conditions are not those to which Turkey has accustomed us when it hosted F1 in the past, the drivers did not appear very comfortable on the track. The first outing of the day was marked by a very slippery track compared by some to ice.

If it then erased offering better grip to the actors, it remained far from optimal driving conditions. And some did not hesitate to let it be known, like Lewis Hamilton, 15th then 4th in the sessions, far from the best brands of Max Verstappen.

« It was a disaster to be honest, underlined the world champion after the first day of driving. It's a fantastic circuit but I don't understand why they (organizers) spent millions to resurface the asphalt. I know it hadn't been changed for some time but a quick cleaning would have been enough instead of wasting money ».

As if that was not enough, the English pilot continued his explanation. “ It is much worse than in Portimão where there was also a new coating. So for us (Mercedes) at least the tires don't work. It's like driving on ice and therefore you don't enjoy your tours in Istanbul as it should be.

Here, the surface is very soft unlike the old circuits where it is more airy. This one is very smooth. I suppose there are traces of oil. It’s s*** with a capital M (laughs).”