Birthday boy Norris went to 'drift school' on Friday

©McLaren

McLaren's Lando Norris says he celebrated his 21st birthday on Friday by going to "drift school" at Istanbul Park's slippery circuit.

A massive lack of grip resulting from the Turkish track's resurfaced tarmac and cool temperatures threw a spanner into the works of F1's teams, with drivers slip sliding their way through both of Friday's practice sessions

Lap times were nowhere near the teams' simulated benchmark, with over 2.5 seconds separating the top-ten in FP2, a session that Norris concluded P10.

"It was a fun day," said the 21-year-old. "It was drift school today, that was my birthday present and it was my first day of drift school ever. It was nice.

"It’s tricky in a Formula 1 car, a lot of power, a lot of downforce and big snaps. So most laps you’re crapping yourself a bit, especially the high-speed Turn 8 and so on, so it’s tricky but it’s also a lot of fun.

"It’s fun to push the car and be on the limit like that all the time, but it’s not so much you’re on the limit, it’s trying to build tyre temperature and so on.

"We have to try and figure out what’s the best plan for tomorrow in terms of laps put on a set of tyres versus to build the tyre temperature and not taking the life out of the tyre, but I’m sure everyone’s going to be thinking about that and how to do it."

Pirelli informed 'quite late' of Istanbul resurfacing

In FP2, Norris clocked in just behind Racing Point's Lance Stroll, McLaren's main rival along with Renault in the trio's fierce battle for third in the Constructors' standings.

While Racing Point and McLaren each put a driver in the top-ten, both Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo concluded their day among the second half of the field.

"We still have Ferrari who are a lot quicker than us and AlphaTauri, who are a little bit quicker, so if we can make some improvements I think we can fight AlphaTauri a little bit more," added Norris.

“They were convincingly ahead throughout the whole day today. So it’s not going to be easy, but we have a chance to score some good points this weekend if things go smoothly, but it’s very tricky to do that."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.