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By: Jake Boxall-Legge

Summary

Vertsappen tops FP2 for the Turkish GP having also gone quickest in the first session
Leclerc P2, Bottas P3, Hamilton P4
Drivers struggled for overall grip in both sessions due to low track temperature
F1 returns to the Istanbul Park circuit for the first time since 2011
Status: Stopped
Thanks very much for following along today everybody. We'll be back tomorrow with all the action from FP3 and qualifying, but until then make sure to check out all the reaction and analysis from Friday's running on the site later on. Until then, see you!
 
So, who will be happiest with their Friday running? It's a tricky call. Red Bull and Ferrari both looked strong, but so often we've seen Mercedes turn the tables. Now the hard work back at the factories will only just be starting as teams crank up their simulators and focus on refining everything that was learned today.
 
That's everybody safely across the line and back to the pits. Plenty going on in that session, as the track continued to evolve from the high 1m38s down to a 1m28.3s in the end. It poses the question though - how much more time will we see from the track tomorrow?
The chequered flag comes out, bringing a fascinating FP2 session to a close - although there are plenty of drivers still out on track.
Verstappen becomes the latest man to have a lap deleted after passing an Alfa Romeo into Turn 1. He takes a shallower line and just drifts out onto the astroturf and has a big wobble getting back on the power. That might be an interesting prelude of what overtaking moves look like come the race...
 
Both Red Bulls, Mercedes and Ferraris are now on the medium tyres as the session winds down. Will they be the tyre of choice to use in Q2, and even Q3 as in Portugal?
The only man currently getting some extra running in on the hards is Nicholas Latifi - who is lapping in the mid 1m43s at present, around 10s off his best on the softs. Remarkable.
Kvyat is currently sitting an impressive sixth-fastest, but has just had a confidence-denting spin at Turn 14.
Albon has come in for a practice pitstop and switched over to the medium tyre. Vettel, Sainz and Russell are the only other drivers using the yellow-striped compound at present, with Russell's tyres likely causing lots of vibrations thanks to his earlier spin.
 
One who has improving recently is Esteban Ocon, who has moved up to P12 in the Renault on a 1m31.380s - still 3s off the pace however.
All of the top runners are currently out on softs with 15 minutes of the session remaining, but nobody looks like improving for the moment - teams perhaps simulating a first stint of the race with fuel on-board?
Yellows fly down at Turn 4 after Raikkonen has a spin, but no harm done for the Alfa man - who won the inaugural Turkish GP back in 2005.
When it rains, it pours... Now Albon has another two laps chalked off for track limits at Turn 1. Can't say he's not trying though.
Albon hasn't improved on this set of rubber - his efforts not helped by two track limits infringements at Turn 6 on consecutive tours. That said, neither would have been enough to get him in and amongst the top three anyway.
"The amount of snaps in Turn 8 is insane," complains Russell, who is on the mediums at present. Replays show the back-end just got away from him, while Latifi had a major tankslapper mid-corner and ended up turning left when he should have been heading right.
Synchronised spinning occurring at Williams meanwhile, with Russell facing the wrong way at Turn 1 and Latifi doing the same at Turn 7.
There's some very impressive architecture at Istanbul Park - Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes W11 provides the foreground.

There's some very impressive architecture at Istanbul Park - Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes W11 provides the foreground.

Bottas now launches himself up to third, joining Verstappen and Leclerc in the 1m28s club. He's sneaked in with a 28.905s, putting him three tenths ahead of Hamilton. Meanwhile Albon, who has been shuffled down to P5, is back out for another go.
Remember a few minutes ago when early soft tyre-adopter Latifi was up in P8? Well, he's now been bumped back to P20, 5.1s off the pace.
Now Verstappen goes quickest again on a 1m28.330s. This is yo-yoing much faster than I can actually work a yo-yo.
What of the Mercedes then? Hamilton is now fourth on a 1m29.902s, but Bottas is still languishing back in P8 on a 1m30.930s. He's just behind Norris, who springs up from P20 to P7.
Now Verstappen goes quickest of all on a 1m28.984s before Leclerc goes back to the top on a 1m28.731s. An enjoyable battle bubbling up here for FP2 bragging rights, not that it amounts to much mind.
Everybody bar Albon and Russell is currently out on softs - the gap between leader Albon and birthday boy Norris in P20 is a shade over 5.0s currently.
Interestingly, Albon doesn't have the quickest time in any of the three sectors - that honour going to Verstappen (1 and 3) and Leclerc (2), but he's done the best job so far across the lap.
Verstappen has improved again, and is within 0.07s of Albon at the head of the field, his 1m29.370s falling just short of his team-mate's best.
Albon is having a lot of fun out there at the moment - he's improved again to a 1m29.363 as Gasly responds to having his previous best deleted by moving up to fifth, ahead of Kvyat. Sainz is now seventh ahead of Hamilton, Perez, Raikkonen and Bottas now back in P12, 2.7s off the lead Red Bull's pace.
Hamilton and Bottas are now on the soft tyres too - what can they come up with?
Albon now moves to the top again on a 1m29.627s, putting him almost two tenths up as Leclerc improves again. Verstappen meanwhile moves into third, ahead of Vettel. Kvyat and Gasly have pushed the Mercedes pair down to P7 and P8 - what have the Black Arrows got in their locker?
Sainz meanwhile is complaining about heavy graining on his front-right soft. That's a fairly common complaint at the moment.
Leclerc improves again on a 1m30.307s as Vettel moves into second, 0.4s behind. It's almost like 2019 all over again.
Vettel briefly moves up to third before his time is deleted for track limits at Turn 1, the same fate befalling Albon shortly after he had managed a 1m30.127s that would have bumped Leclerc back to second.
We spoke too soon on Leclerc, he's gone quickest on a 1m30.751s to just shade Albon, but slow motion shots show his tyres aren't in the best of shape.
Ocon meanwhile does improve and now has the dubious honour of not being slowest - but not by much, as he's still only P19, and 6.3s off the pace. Team-mate Ricciardo is only P17 - but neither, to memory, has done a medium tyre run yet, evidently planning to save them for tomorrow and Sunday.
"Ah, the softs are so bad," complains Leclerc. "I mean, they grain so quickly." Still no improvement from him as yet.
The two drivers book-ending the field now come out on softs as well. Albon is currently 10.5s ahead of Ocon - who, we assure you, isn't driving the Minardi two-seater but is in a contemporary Renault.

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