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FP1: Hamilton leads Verstappen in opening Turkish Grand Prix practice session

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton drives during a practice session at the Intercity IstanbulMercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton drives during a practice session at the Intercity Istanbul Park in Istanbul on October 8, 2021, ahead of the Turkish F1 Grand Prix. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in FP1 for the Turkish Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Hamilton has, however, received a grid penalty, having taken a new engine at Istanbul Park.

The championship leader set the fastest time of 1m 24.178s in FP1 on Friday after it was confirmed that he would take a new engine for Sunday's race, and a 10-place grid penalty as a result. Verstappen finished 0.425s off, with Leclerc just 0.051s off the new-look Red Bull in P3.

READ MORE: Pressure? What pressure? Hamilton and Verstappen shrug off title fight stress – but will one of them crack in Istanbul?

Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas took P4, six-tenths off his team mate, while engine penalty-hit Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five for Ferrari as all five set their benchmarks on softs.

Alpine's Esteban Ocon finished sixth – on hard tyres, however – and was 0.731s off top spot in FP1. He finished ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris (P7) and medium-shod compatriot Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri in P8.

Practice 1 results

FORMULA 1 ROLEX TURKISH GRAND PRIX 2021

Pos.DriverTime
1Lewis HamiltonHAM1:24.178
2Max VerstappenVER+0.425s
3Charles LeclercLEC+0.476s
4Valtteri BottasBOT+0.664s
5Carlos SainzSAI+0.682s
View all standings

Fernando Alonso was 1.205s off the pace but ninth for Alpine. That left Red Bull's Sergio Perez 10th, the Mexican having complained of understeer late on.

George Russell was next in the order, 11th for Williams, and ahead of McLaren's medium-tyred Daniel Ricciardo in P12. That pair were two of five drivers permitted to use prototype FIA gloves this weekend that aim for better heat transmission protection. The others were Hamilton, Sainz, and Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel in 13th and Williams' Nicholas Latifi in 15th were split by the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi in P14.

Rounding out the order came the second Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen in 16th, Aston Martin's Lance Stroll in P17, followed by the rookie trio of Yuki Tsunoda and the Haas pairing of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

FP2 follows at 1500 local time with F1.com delivering live coverage and up-to-date reaction from the opening day of the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix.

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