08/10/2021
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen: "It's a super nice track especially with the improved conditions but it looks like we have a lot to go through this evening because today wasn't the best of days. We tried a few different things going from FP1 to FP2 but we're still looking around for improvements as we don't have a lot of data on these cars for this track. Of course, Lewis is taking a penalty on Sunday but we have to focus on ourselves, hopefully we can make improvements before qualifying tomorrow as we have some challenges, we'll see what we can do. I'm just looking forward to the rest of the weekend and getting back out there on track."
Sergio Perez: "It has been a positive Friday overall and with the work we will do this evening we should be looking good for qualifying. The amount of grip surprised me today; it is more like a standard track out there now, but it is still very challenging because the grip is not consistent. Sometimes on the entrance to the corner you have less grip than on the exit, so as a driver it is difficult to adjust to that aspect of this track. Mercedes look strong here but hopefully overnight we are able to chip away a couple of tenths and be in the mix for tomorrow. It is all about compromise because if you try and get the ideal balance for qualifying over one lap then you compromise the long run pace a bit, which is important here because overtaking is relatively easy. There is the potential of rain for qualifying tomorrow, but we will be well prepared, whatever the weather."
Check out our Friday gallery from Istanbul, here.