Turkish practice like "driving in your kitchen" - Sergio Perez

Turkish Grand Prix

Turkish practice like "driving in your kitchen" - Perez

Perez likened the track surface in Turkey to marble

Ewan Gale

Friday 13 November 2020 19:15

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Racing Point driver Sergio Perez compared the resurfaced track at Istanbul Park to driving in his kitchen following a tricky day for all during Turkish Grand Prix practice.

The circuit was only relaid 10 days prior to the event in preparation for Formula 1's return to the venue after a nine-year absence.

But the track's oils, combined with cold temperatures and a damp surface after it was washed shortly before practice, culminated in lap times 10 seconds slower than the 2011 pole position time in FP1 and three seconds down in FP2.

"It is very tricky, but more than the coldness, it is the grip," he said.

"On the track walk, it just felt like marble. So it is like driving in your kitchen at home. It is really hard, really slippery. It is getting better but I don't expect great things.

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"It took away the excitement of the track because you hardly feel the circuit in the new generation of cars.

"I think in qualifying and especially Sunday, there will be plenty of opportunities, getting it right and getting it wrong, it is massive around here.

"I have learnt a lot and I hope we are going in the right direction as a team and hope we can be competitive."

Team boss Otmar Szafnauer was enthused by the long-run simulations completed by his drivers and highlighted tyre temperature regulation as a key area ahead of the rest of the weekend.

"[It was] Very slippery at the beginning," he told Sky Sports F1. "So [we were] struggling for grip and having to adjust tyre temperature which is going to be key around here and making sure you can have a good balance between one lap and the race distance.

"We are still working on our one-lap pace but it looked like our long-run pace here is strong, it looked quite good. So we will work overnight to see if we can get a little bit better in qualifying without compromising the race.

"There are no points for qualifying and you can overtake here."

Before you go...

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