Valtteri Bottas and Nigel Melker topped the opening two practice sessions of the 2011 GP3 Series season at Istanbul.
The first session was held in wet and windy conditions, with sophomore Manor driver Rio Haryanto, who won at the Turkish circuit last year, leading the way early on. ART F3 convert Bottas moved to the top spot in the second half of the session.
Rookie Gabriel Chaves took first place from Bottas in the final moments, only for the Finn to snatch it straight back again. Melker went second quickest for Mucke, just ahead of teammate Luciano Bacheta who was making his series debut. Chaves ended up fourth ahead of fellow newcomer James Calado of ART.
The track had dried by the time the GP3 cars returned in the afternoon, when Melker ran at the top of the timesheets for much of the session. Lewis Williamson briefly took top spot for Arden, but the Dutchman returned to the head of the field in the middle of the session.
The pair remained at the top until the checkered flag, with Williamson's teenage teammate Mitch Evans going third. Andrea Caldarelli ended the session fourth for Tech 1 Racing, with Haryanto fifth. The top 22 drivers were covered by a second.
Practice 1 times:
| Driver | Team | Time | Gap | |
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Lotus ART | 1:52.295 | |
| 2 | Nigel Melker | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1:52.706 | 0.411 |
| 3 | Luciano Bacheta | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1:52.733 | 0.438 |
| 4 | Gabby Chaves | Addax Team | 1:52.738 | 0.443 |
| 5 | Mitch Evans | MW Arden | 1:52.819 | 0.524 |
| 6 | James Calado | Lotus ART | 1:52.844 | 0.549 |
| 7 | Rio Haryanto | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:52.879 | 0.584 |
| 8 | Dean Smith | Addax Team | 1:52.934 | 0.639 |
| 9 | Simon Trummer | MW Arden | 1:52.971 | 0.676 |
| 10 | Andrea Caldarelli | Tech1 Racing | 1:53.123 | 0.828 |
| 11 | Conor Daly | Carlin | 1:53.167 | 0.872 |
| 12 | Dominic Storey | Addax Team | 1:53.218 | 0.923 |
| 13 | Michael Christensen | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1:53.256 | 0.961 |
| 14 | Nico Muller | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:53.338 | 1.043 |
| 15 | Tom Dillmann | Carlin | 1:53.368 | 1.073 |
| 16 | Matias Laine | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:53.457 | 1.162 |
| 17 | Lewis Wiliamson | MW Arden | 1:53.491 | 1.196 |
| 18 | Antonio Felix Da Costa | Status GP | 1:53.524 | 1.229 |
| 19 | Maxim Zimin | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:53.649 | 1.354 |
| 20 | Ivan Lukashevich | Status GP | 1:53.676 | 1.381 |
| 21 | Tamas Pal Kiss | Tech1 Racing | 1:53.735 | 1.440 |
| 22 | Nick Yelloly | Atech CRS GP | 1:53.855 | 1.560 |
| 23 | Aaro Vainio | Tech 1 Racing | 1:53.983 | 1.688 |
| 24 | Pedro Nunes | Lotus ART | 1:54.244 | 1.949 |
| 25 | Alexander Sims | Status GP | 1:54.398 | 2.103 |
| 26 | Adrian Quaife-Hobbs | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:54.409 | 2.114 |
| 27 | Marlon Stockinger | Atech CRS GP | 1:54.783 | 2.488 |
| 28 | Vittorio Ghirelli | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:55.121 | 2.826 |
| 29 | Zoel Amberg | Atech CRS GP | 1:56.193 | 3.898 |
| 30 | Leonardo Corderio | Carlin | 1:59.026 | 6.731 |
Practice 2 times:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
| 1 | Nigel Melker | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1.46.151 | |
| 2 | Lewis Williamson | MW Arden | 1.46.182 | 0.031 |
| 3 | Mitch Evans | MW Arden | 1.46.205 | 0.054 |
| 4 | Andrea Caldarelli | Tech 1 Racing | 1.46.257 | 0.106 |
| 5 | Rio Haryanto | Marussia Manor Racing | 1.46.355 | 0.204 |
| 6 | Michael Christensen | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1.46.358 | 0.207 |
| 7 | Antonio Felix Da Costa | Status Grand Prix | 1.46.437 | 0.286 |
| 8 | Alexander Sims | Status Grand Prix | 1.46.469 | 0.318 |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas | Lotus ART | 1.46.524 | 0.373 |
| 10 | Matias Laine | Marussia Manor Racing | 1.46.606 | 0.455 |
| 11 | Nico Muller | Jenzer Motorsport | 1.46.639 | 0.488 |
| 12 | James Calado | Lotus ART | 1.46.688 | 0.537 |
| 13 | Nick Yelloly | Atech CRS GP | 1.46.739 | 0.588 |
| 14 | Gabriel Chaves | Addax Team | 1.46.775 | 0.624 |
| 15 | Aaro Vainio | Tech 1 Racing | 1.46.84 | 0.689 |
| 16 | Pedro Nunes | Lotus ART | 1.46.865 | 0.714 |
| 17 | Dean Smith | Addax Team | 1.46.889 | 0.738 |
| 18 | Simon Trummer | MW Arden | 1.46.968 | 0.817 |
| 19 | Tom Dillmann | Carlin | 1.46.983 | 0.832 |
| 20 | Marlon Stockinger | Atech CRS GP | 1.47.002 | 0.851 |
| 21 | Dominic Storey | Addax Team | 1.47.035 | 0.884 |
| 22 | Tamas Pal Kiss | Tech 1 Racing | 1.47.089 | 0.938 |
| 23 | Adrian Quaife-Hobbs | Marussia Manor Racing | 1.47.206 | 1.055 |
| 24 | Maxim Zimin | Jenzer Motorsport | 1.47.279 | 1.128 |
| 25 | Leonardo Cordeiro | Carlin | 1.47.29 | 1.139 |
| 26 | Luciano Bacheta | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1.47.309 | 1.158 |
| 27 | Ivan Lukashevich | Status Grand Prix | 1.47.319 | 1.168 |
| 28 | Conor Daly | Carlin | 1.47.348 | 1.197 |
| 29 | Vittorio Ghirelli | Jenzer Motorsport | 1.47.625 | 1.474 |
| 30 | Zoel Amberg | Atech CRS GP | 1.47.739 | 1.588 |
