Daniel Ricciardo unconcerned by "hiccups" on revitalised Istanbul surface

Ricciardo, McLaren, TurkishGP — Photo: © LAT Images

Turkish Grand Prix

Ricciardo unconcerned by "hiccups" on revitalised Istanbul surface

Ricciardo finished half a second away from team-mate Norris

Ewan Gale

Friday 8 October 2021 17:14

Daniel Ricciardo revealed to enduring a "few little hiccups" on what he described as a "completely different" Istanbul Park circuit ahead of this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.

The Australian was half a second slower than team-mate Lando Norris in FP2 for the Turkish Grand Prix in a session that seemed to resemble Ricciardo's difficult opening half to the season.

On a much-improved surface to last season's race at the venue, lap times reached record-breaking lows and although Ricciardo failed to match Norris' pace, he said the lap times masked his true performance.

"I think on the lap time charts, I wouldn't read too much into it," insisted Ricciardo.

"I don't know what position I ended [14th] but the times there, there were a few little hiccups but nothing crazy.

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"I feel alright. It is a completely different track to last year. I think last year in FP2 I did a [one minute] 31, whereas today I was a 24, 23.

"We are a lot quicker and it is a nice track with the grip. I am pretty clear on what I need to do so I feel good about it."

Norris Friday "nothing too special"

Norris was one of nine drivers to better the previous lap record in Turkey set by Juan Pablo Montoya in 2005.

Sixth was the best he could muster in the afternoon running as McLaren's rival Ferrari set a stellar pace courtesy of Charles Leclerc to finish second, with Norris conceding to making errors.

"It was a good day, I made a couple of mistakes but that is what Friday is for I guess," he said.

"We tried some things with the set-up and used an extra set of tyres as well, just tried some more things in preparation for tomorrow but as Fridays go, a decent one. Nothing too special.

"Getting used to the track because it is quite different to last season, five or six seconds quicker to what we did last year. It feels like a completely different circuit. It is a cool one, a challenge."