Max Verstappen posts fastest time on F1 track Lewis Hamilton calls ‘an ice rink’ in Turkey

Associated PressNov 13, 2020, 9:30 AM EST
F1 Turkey practice Verstappen
Peter Fox/Getty Images
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ISTANBUL, Turkey — Red Bull driver Max Verstappen posted the fastest time Friday in the second F1 practice for the Turkish Grand Prix as speeds improved following a slow first session on a slippery track.

Verstappen was 0.4 seconds quicker than Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and 0.58 ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was 0.85 back in fourth place on a resurfaced, low-grip circuit that last hosted a Formula One race in 2011.

“It was a little bit of a disaster today, to be honest … it’s like an ice rink out there,” said Hamilton, who felt organizers wasted “millions” needlessly resurfacing it.

“It’s terrifying the whole way around,” Hamilton said. “It’s almost like there are wet patches all over. So (when) you’re accelerating, it goes so fast. That’s because you’re way, way below the (tire) temperature window.”

But Bottas, who did offseason rally driving last winter back in Finland, appreciated the challenge.

“For sure it (rally driving) helped. It was quite far from the normal driving style we’re used to in Formula One. I had fun, actually,” he said. “It was pretty extreme the way the tarmac was.”

Verstappen’s best lap was 1 minute, 28.33 seconds, considerably better than his fastest time of 1:35.077 in the first session.

Hamilton is looking to secure his seventh F1 title and equal Michael Schumacher’s record. He is the runaway championship leader and only needs to finish ahead of Bottas on Sunday to win the title.

But although times improved as tires got warmer in the afternoon, Verstappen’s leading mark was still three seconds slower than Sebastian Vettel’s pole position for Red Bull nine years ago.

Verstappen was even further behind Juan Pablo Montoya’s track record of 1:24.77, when the inaugural race was held in 2005.

“We are all still about five seconds off where we should be on this track,” Verstappen said. He joked, “I hope it’s not going to rain (on Sunday) because then we may actually need spikes (on the tires).”

Several drivers had difficulties controlling their car during the second practice.

Williams driver George Russell slid sideways across the track and teammate Nicholas Latifi lost the rear of the car. So did AlphaTauri driver Daniil Kvyat and Alfa Romeo veteran Kimi Raikkonen, who won the inaugural race when he was 25.

Driving under a cloudy sky and cool temperatures in the first session, Verstappen finished ahead of teammate Alexander Albon and Leclerc, who skidded into a bollard at the pit lane entrance early on.

Hamilton took no risks and ended that practice run down in 15th place, while Bottas briefly lost control moments from the end but finished it without any trouble in ninth.

The race is being held without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic. This is the 14th race of the season and only three have been held with fans.

A small number of healthcare workers will be allowed to attend the next two races in Bahrain as a reward for their efforts in fighting the spread of COVID-19.

Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).