Ferrari hope reworked Istanbul track surface will “still be slippery”. Ferrari hope reworked Istanbul track surface will "still be slippery".

Prior to the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park, the circuit was water-blasted to make the surface rougher as a result of an FIA recommendation due to the events which took place last year at this venue.

The Istanbul surface had been re-laid with fresh asphalt ahead of Turkey’s return to the Formula 1 calendar for the first time since 2011, but taking into consideration the fact that work was only completed three weeks before the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix weekend, there was not enough time for the circuit to cure and the bitumen remained saturated with slippery oils.

That situation, allied to Pirelli bringing the hardest tyres in its range last year, left the drivers struggling to build tyre temperature and feeling like they were driving on a surface “worse than ice”, per McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Rain during the final two days of the 2020 event exacerbated their struggles, with several drivers spinning off – some several times. The water-blasting work, that according to Motorsport.com was only completed in the last few weeks, is aimed at making the track surface rougher to raise grip levels by exposing the gaps between the stones, with Pirelli also making its compound choice one step softer for 2021 to provide further assistance.

Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc explained that he “remembers a lot of people complained [in 2020], but I was one of the only ones that was actually happy that it was like this because we were competitive, we were fighting for very good positions. And obviously a podium was possible. I enjoyed that weekend – it didn’t end up the way I wanted, by being just under the podium, being fourth. But, overall, it was a positive weekend for us, and I hope we can reproduce that this year. I’ve heard some things have changed – obviously they have washed the track several times. So, let’s see if it’s as bad as last year. I don’t think it will be as bad, but hopefully it will still be slippery and hopefully it will still benefit us.” – Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc concluded.