Two hours before the start of the Turkish Grand Prix, the Istanbul Park track is still wet. The very cloudy sky and the low temperatures cast many doubts on the possibility that the race could start on slick tires. Even if the rainfall has stopped, the poor drainage of the track is not favoring the conditions for the use of dry tires, and especially in some points of the track (Turn 1 and Turn 11) large wet areas remain.
The plans on the eve are therefore at risk, but several teams continue to hope for the possibility of an improvement in the weather that could lead to the race being held on dry tires. In this scenario, the data obtained between Friday and Saturday by Pirelli suggest a race with two pit stops due to the aggressiveness of the asphalt. According to the simulations, the fastest strategy should be medium-hard-hard, with pit stops scheduled on laps 15 and 37, however the teams aim for a single stop, with the transition from medium to hard in a window ranging from lap 20 to 25.
The availability of new sets of top drivers is aligned. The drivers of Red Bull, Mercedes (and Leclerc) have two trains of new hard, and as many of medium and soft used. Wide choice instead for Carlos Sainz, who having not played the complete qualifying session can count on new sets of all compounds. On the other hand, no problem in the wet race house, since all the riders will have three sets of intermediates and as many full-wet sets at their disposal.