Verstappen refuses to be distracted by Hamilton engine penalty after struggles

Max Verstappen has refused to be distracted by Lewis Hamilton's engine penalty after Red Bull struggled during Friday practice for the Turkish Grand Prix.

Verstappen ended Friday fifth fastest, trailing championship rival Hamilton, who topped both sessions, by six tenths at the end of the second session.

Two points separate the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers in the points standings but with Hamilton facing a 10 place grid penalty for an ICE [internal combustion engine] change, Verstappen and Red Bull have a chance to take the upper hand.

After a day where Red Bull conceded to facing a "balance mish-mash" with the Dutchman, Verstappen insisted he must focus attention on his own weekend before worrying about the fate of his rival.

“We have to focus on ourselves and today wasn’t that good so we will work on that," said Verstappen.

"We tried a few things compared to FP1 but also FP1 wasn’t that great. So we’re still looking around a bit what to do.

“Of course, it’s a bit different here. We don’t have a lot of data from here with these kinds of cars so it seems that we have a bit of an evening ahead to make it a bit better because today wasn’t the best of days.”

Verstappen even trailed team-mate Sergio Perez in the second session, with the Mexican finding improved pace with a different set-up as Red Bull searched for answers to its balance issues.

Asked what he believed his optimum qualifying potential could be, Verstappen added: “I don’t know yet.

"Hopefully it will improve because otherwise, it is not looking too good. But we will see what we can do overnight.”

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