Verstappen fastest at Styrian GP, Bottas spins in pit lane

Formula One leader Max Verstappen was fastest in both practices at the Styrian Grand Prix on Friday, with defending champion Lewis Hamilton finishing nearly four-tenths of a second off the pace in fourth place.

Hamilton's teammate, Valtteri Bottas, was involved in a rare incident in the pit lane, which was under investigation by race stewards. His Mercedes spun shortly after its release following a tire change in the second practice and Bottas just avoided colliding into McLaren mechanics in the next box.

Bottas didn't return to the track and finished P2 in 12th.

Practice took place in a drizzle, though the track was not slippery.

Verstappen shaved 0.5 seconds off his leading P1 time in the afternoon session.

"Although there are a few things to look into, which is very normal for a Friday, I am quite happy with where the car is at the moment," Verstappen said.

"In the second practice, Lewis had a faster lap time that was deleted so it looks a bit different to what is shown at the moment on the timesheets but we expect to see both teams at the top."

Hamilton's lap, .077 faster, was invalid as the seven-time world champion exceeded the track limit in one of the turns. He was third in the first practice.

McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo and Renault's Esteban Ocon were over three-tenths of a second behind in second and third places respectively.

AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, who posted the second fastest time in P1, sat out the afternoon session while team mechanics were working on his car. Team principal Franz Tost said data from the first practice showed irregularities, indicating an unknown issue with the power unit.

Both Ferraris failed to make the top 10.

The third practice is scheduled for Saturday, followed by qualifying.

Hamilton and Bottas won the two races held on the track in the Austrian Alps last year, while Verstappen triumphed in 2018 and 2019.

Verstappen leads overall with 131 points, followed by Hamilton on 119, and Sergio Perez third on 84.

Perez clocked only the 13th and ninth fastest times, respectively.

Red Bull arrives at its home track on the back of a three-race winning streak, the team's first since the introduction of the hybrid power units in 2014.

For its engine supplier Honda, three wins in a row is its first time since 1991 when Ayrton Senna won the opening four races.

Turkish GP back on F1 calendar after Singapore canceled

The Turkish Grand Prix is back on this year's Formula One calendar for the second time after the race in Singapore was canceled.

"We hope to see another fantastic race again in one of the best tracks in the world," F1 president Stefano Domenicali said Friday.

The Istanbul Park circuit takes the place of the canceled night race on the Singapore street circuit on Oct. 3. Singapore dropped out June 4, with F1 citing "safety and logistic concerns" caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Turkey was originally a stopgap replacement for another canceled race in Canada but was cut last month and replaced with a second race in Austria when Britain introduced tougher travel restrictions on Turkey. Most F1 teams are based in Britain.

It will be the ninth edition of the Turkish Grand Prix. The race was held every year from 2005 through 2011 and was resurrected last year when other events were called off amid the pandemic. Lewis Hamilton won the 2020 race.