F1 Turkish GP qualifying - Start time, how to watch & more

The defending F1 world champion enjoyed a strong start at the Istanbul Park by going quickest in each Friday practice session, but his Mercedes team confirmed he will serve a 10-place grid penalty for the Turkish GP after taking on a new internal combustion engine outside of his season allocation. 

It therefore presents world title rival Max Verstappen with a good opportunity to reclaim the points lead this weekend, having slipped two points behind Hamilton after the Russian GP, but the Red Bull driver struggled for handling with his F1 car on Friday and could only manage fifth fastest in FP2. 

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc impressed to take second place in the second session, ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, with Sergio Perez edging his Red Bull team-mate to take fourth place at the end of the Friday action.

After frustratingly missing out on a maiden F1 win last time out in Russia, Lando Norris bounced back to end FP2 in sixth place for McLaren ahead of Alpine duo Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.

Despite a mid-FP2 spin, Pierre Gasly claimed ninth for AlphaTauri in front of Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) and team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, as Carlos Sainz Jr ended the day in 12th for Ferrari ahead of serving a back of the grid penalty for taking on an upgraded hybrid system within his new power unit for the Turkish GP. 

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

What time does qualifying start for the Turkish Grand Prix?

Qualifying for the Turkish GP starts at 3pm local time (1pm BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.

• Date: Saturday 9th October 2021
• Start time: 3pm local time - 1pm BST

How can I watch qualifying?

In the United Kingdom every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with Turkish GP qualifying coverage starting at 12pm BST.

• Channel: Sky Sports F1
• Start time: 12:00pm BST

Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here. 

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

When can I watch the highlights of Turkish GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the Turkish GP at 6:00pm BST on Saturday. The full programme will run for 90 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.

For the entire 2021 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race on the Saturday and Sunday of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.

• Channel: Channel 4
• Start time: 6:30pm BST

Will Turkish GP qualifying be on the radio?

Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2021 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.

Coverage of Turkish GP qualifying will start at 12:55pm BST on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra and the BBC Sounds app.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

What's the weather forecast for qualifying at the Istanbul Park?

Heavy rain is forecast for Saturday morning, with a good chance the wet weather will continue for the start of qualifying at the Istanbul Park. Temperatures are set to be 20 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying – three degrees warmer than qualifying for the Russian GP.

Turkish Grand Prix FP2 results:

Cla	Driver	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Lewis Hamilton	30	1'23.804			229.306
2	Charles Leclerc	29	1'23.970	0.166	0.166	228.853
3	Valtteri Bottas	31	1'24.214	0.410	0.244	228.190
4	Sergio Perez	28	1'24.373	0.569	0.159	227.760
5	Max Verstappen	27	1'24.439	0.635	0.066	227.582
6	Lando Norris	24	1'24.525	0.721	0.086	227.350
7	Fernando Alonso	21	1'24.660	0.856	0.135	226.987
8	Esteban Ocon	26	1'24.672	0.868	0.012	226.955
9	Pierre Gasly	32	1'24.756	0.952	0.084	226.730
10	Antonio Giovinazzi	29	1'24.796	0.992	0.040	226.623
View full results

Turkish Grand Prix FP1 results:

Cla	Driver	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Lewis Hamilton	26	1'24.178			228.287
2	Max Verstappen	24	1'24.603	0.425	0.425	227.140
3	Charles Leclerc	27	1'24.654	0.476	0.051	227.004
4	Valtteri Bottas	28	1'24.842	0.664	0.188	226.501
5	Carlos Sainz Jr.	25	1'24.860	0.682	0.018	226.452
6	Esteban Ocon	30	1'24.909	0.731	0.049	226.322
7	Lando Norris	26	1'25.347	1.169	0.438	225.160
8	Pierre Gasly	30	1'25.382	1.204	0.035	225.068
9	Fernando Alonso	26	1'25.383	1.205	0.001	225.065
10	Sergio Perez	24	1'25.459	1.281	0.076	224.865
View full results