Max Verstappen topped a slippery practice for the Turkish Formula One grand prix while Lewis Hamilton started his bid for a record-equalling seventh world title with a surprisingly lowly fourth place.

On a day when Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo struggled, Red Bull’s Verstappen clocked 1 minute 28.330 seconds on the 5.338km Istanbul Park circuit in the afternoon, after also leading the way in the morning.

Charles Leclerc was second, 0.401sec back for Ferrari, with the Mercedes duo of Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton following with a deficit of 0.575 and 0.850, respectively.

Hamilton was 15th in the first session where he only had a few laps.

Ricciardo, currently fourth in the drivers’ championship, had a poor couple of sessions, finishing 18th in the morning and only improving to 15th in the second.

Hamilton is 85 points ahead of Bottas with four races left and in the first Istanbul race since 2011 on Sunday can draw level with former great Michael Schumacher on seven world titles.

He needs to be 78 points ahead after the race to complete the milestone.

Drivers had their problems on the circuit which got a fresh surface after being confirmed into the revised 2020 calendar when races in Asia and the Americas were cancelled owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

Many cars spun and drivers complained about the slippery tarmac, and the morning session was red-flagged early on after Leclerc destroyed a bollard.