F1 returns this weekend and there has already been a big twist.
Lewis Hamilton has taken a new combustion engine, exceeding his allocation of engine changes.
And that means a ten-place grid penalty for Sunday's race in Istanbul.
Follow all the action with our live blog below…
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- Ben Hunt
HOW FP1 FINISHED
A look at the lap times in Turkey.
- Ben Hunt
P1 IS DONE AND HAMILTON SETS THE BENCHMARK
The world champion is almost half a second up on Verstappen.
Leclerc, Bottas, Sainz, Ocon, Norris, Gasly, Alonso and Perez complete the top 10 in Istanbul.
- Ben Hunt
PEREZ IN P10
Now, I know it is only P1 and we cannot read too much into it, but the Mexican being down in 10th is not where Red Bull would want him to be.
Bottas is in P4, while the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Sainz are P3 and P5 respectively.
Perez needs to get up to speed in P2 or risk another poor weekend.
- Ben Hunt
HAMILTON ON TOP IN TURKEY
He's 0.425 seconds ahead of Verstappen, who sits in second place.
That new engine might trigger a big penalty, but it looks well worth it, as he is clearly quicker than his nearest challenger.
- Ben Hunt
GLOVES ARE ON
Email has just landed in my inbox telling me that Hamilton, Vettel, Sainz, Ricciardo and Russell are all trialling a prototype glove this morning.
The new gloves have improved heat transmission protection. It comes after Romain Grosjean suffered bad burns to his hands following his fiery smash in Bahrain last year.
Credit to the FIA for pushing though the new safety improvements.
- Ben Hunt
TRACK TIMES ARE TUMBLING
Pirelli say a combination of their new rubber, better grip and conditions after resulting in new records being set in Turkey.
- Ben Hunt
BREAKING NEWS: HAMILTON WILL GET A GRID PENALTY AFTER TAKING A NEW ENGINE FOR THIS RACE
As it stands it will be a 10-place grid drop, but he could yet take more components that would add to his tally.
He has used three power units, this internal combustion engine (ICE) is his fourth.
He was coy about it yesterday during the press conference but this has made it very-much advantage Max Verstappen in Turkey.
- Ben Hunt
HAMILTON AND VERSTAPPEN BOTH ON TRACK
The Mercedes man tops the lot after eight minutes while Ferrari are doing some serious aero testing on Carlos Sainz's car.
- Ben Hunt
NOW WE HAVE SOME CARS ON TRACK
Alpine, Alfa Romeo and McLaren all taking the opportunity to get in some early installation laps.
Last year, this was a slippery affair in the wet, but drivers reporting that the grip levels are already much better than in 2020.
- Ben Hunt
FP1 IS GO
Slow start to the session. Final checks and tweaks to the cars of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Remember, Hamilton leads the Dutchman by just two points.
- Ben Hunt
A LITTLE OVER SIX MINUTES TO GO AND HERE IS THE WEATHER REPORT FOR FP1
Good conditions in Istanbul for the start of the Turkish GP, but watch out for that wind. Could catch some drivers out.
- Ben Hunt
ALL WHITE FOR RED BULL
A special one-off livery for Red Bull this weekend to celebrate their partnership with engine makers, Honda.
The white and red colour scheme looks rather neat. He's Sergio Perez in his special race suit.
- Jake Lambourne
COR BLIMEY
Formula One have been forced to replace the medical car crew for this weekend's Turkish GP after both tested positive for coronavirus.
The dynamic duo of driver Alan van der Merwe and doctor Ian Roberts have been stalwarts in the role and famously helped save Romain Grosjean from his fiery crash in Bahrain.
Both failed a pre-event test ahead of the race in Istanbul and the FIA have confirmed they will sit out this weekend's GP.
An FIA spokesman said: "[Both] tested positive for COVID-19 prior to travelling and are therefore self-isolating and will not attend the 2021 FIA Formula Turkish Grand Prix.
"They will be replaced at this event by FIA Formula E World Championship Safety Car Driver, Bruno Correia, and Medical Delegate, Dr Bruno Franceschini, respectively."
F1 has mostly escaped the effects of Covid-19 this season though some drivers have caught the virus.
- Jake Lambourne
BACK OF THE PACK
Lewis Hamilton is poised to start Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix from the BACK of the grid due to an engine penalty.
The world champion has a two-point advantage over Max Verstappen but is set for a new power unit, triggering a host of penalties.
F1 drivers are allowed to use three engines over the duration of the 22-race season. Any additional power units come with sanctions.
Hamilton has already used his allocation and his Mercedes team are now weighing up whether to introduce a new one for the remaining seven races.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: "It's a possibility. When, and how, is not yet decided. Most important is that you don't DNF because of a reliability issue.
"You can cope with swings, whether you finish second, third, I think that is OK, the championship is going to go long. But if you don't finish…
"So we are looking at the parameters of the engines, making sure we don't suffer from any reliability problems."
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