Turkish Grand Prix

The Turkish Grand Prix is held in Istanbul Park situated in Akfırat County east of Istanbul, Turkey. Located on the edge of one of the world’s most exotic cities, Istanbul Park sets new standards in motor racing for drivers, fans and corporate guests. Host of the Turkish Grand Prix since its inception in August 2005, the circuit combines one of the F1 calendar’s most challenging layouts, with superb spectator access and unparalleled levels of hospitality.

It has been called ‘the best race track in the world’ by Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone. The circuit possesses a wide variety of corners, including the notorious multi-apex Turn Eight – that provides the drivers with a real challenge.

A vast majority of drivers enjoy coming to Istanbul due to the challenges the track has on man and machine. One of those drivers that has high praise for the track is 2009 world champion Jenson Button – ‘Istanbul Park is a track that I really enjoy, Turn Eight is one of the best corners in Formula One. It feels fantastic when you throw the car into the first apex, and then just feed it through with very precise throttle and steering inputs. When you get it right, it feels absolutely fantastic – you really can pull a lot of speed through that corner.

Actually, I think the track is one of the better modern circuits we visit – it’s got a good balance of corners, some good gradient and, most importantly, in terms of overtaking, it’s probably the best-designed circuit that we visit all year’

The character of the circuit is what’s adored by drivers and fans the most. It’s enhanced by plenty of gradients resulting in the track being built on four different ground levels. The Istanbul Circuit doesn’t feature the long straights followed by tight hairpins that characterise the other circuits on the F1 calendar, but the potential for a driver under pressure to make a mistake here means no shortage of passing on the circuit, resulting in what is often a close, entertaining race for all to see.

2011 Season

The Istanbul circuit has always rewarded a car which has superior downforce, something that was demonstrated in 2010 when the Red Bull RB6 was the only car able to go through turn 8 flat. With this in mind, it’s clear the Red Bull RB7 will again be in contention for the win and a favourite amongst the fans. The question is though, who will be biting at their heels? Can McLaren show Red Bull how it’s done with thanks to McLarens relentless ability to develop a car? Will Renault continue to demonstrate their hunger to be champions again and can Ferrari overcome their single lap pace to be in a position to challenge the front runners?

No one really knows at this stage. And in Formula One, teams not only need to win the race on track, but also win the development race behind the scenes. Teams can go from zero to hero in a space of two weeks. This is key in 2011 to all the teams if they want to win the championships.

Overview

Constructing the circuit was a massive task, and one that was undertaken impressively quickly, with building work officially started just under two years prior to hosting its first grand prix. 1450 workers were involved in the project, with two shifts being worked to ensure the most efficient use of time to ensure tight deadlines were meet. The project was certainly on a grand scale with no less than 2.6 million cubic meters of ground was excavated to create the gently-contoured track which features six right turns and eight left turns.

The 5.338 km track has 14 challenging bends and an unusual anti-clockwise layout, it is considered a benchmark test of both driver and car, and the multi-apex Turn Eight has already gone down in Formula One folklore as one of the sport’s toughest corners.

The Circuit is also fast, with two long straights seeing the cars reach speeds of over 330 km/h, while its mixture of fast and slow corners means there are plenty of overtaking opportunities. Adding to the circuit’s spectacle are dramatic gradient changes. Over the course of a lap, the track’s elevation varies by almost 46 metres. The race is held over 58 laps where the cars will cover 309.396 km during this process. The lap record of 1:24.770 is held by Juan Pablo Montoya who achieved this feat in 2005.

For spectators too, Istanbul Park’s facilities are incomparable. The track has a seating capacity for more than 130,000 fans, 25,000 of whom can enjoy the action from the track’s main grandstand.

History

The Turkish Grand Prix was first held on August 21 in 2005 at the newly built Istanbul Park Circuit, constructed by famous German civil engineer Hermann Tilke.

In the design stages, Tilke stressed how the track must follow the contours of the land, which dips and falls. This is in contrast to some of his other recent tracks, the topography of which did not allow such variation. The circuit takes an influence from many of the world’s best race tracks.

Because of the nature of the circuit the fan’s often see exciting on-track action, with many drivers spinning off throughout the weekend due to pushing too hard, particularly at Turn 8. It is yet to be decided if F1will return back to Istanbul in 2012, because as of yet, no deal has been agreed for Formula One to return in 2012 onwards.

Key Moments

2010

On lap 40, Sebastian Vettel attempted a pass on his team mate, Mark Webber for the lead at turn twelve, but inadvertently collided into his team mate, ending his own race and very nearly spoiling Webber’s in the process. Webber was forced to pit for repairs as the McLarens inherited first and second, but with a thirty-second buffer to the now fourth-placed Michael Schumacher, Webber was able to retain third place.

2009

Button cruised to his sixth win from the first seven races, a feat only matched by Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher, who all won the World Championship after achieving this feat. Button also became the first Englishman to score record four consecutive victories since Nigel Mansell in 1992, who also went on to win the title that season

2008

In the week running up to the Turkish GP, Super Aguri withdrew from Formula One, due to financial problems, leaving the sport with only ten teams. Felipe Massa’s victory was his third consecutive pole position and victory in Turkey.

2006

Felipe Massa wins his first F1 race of his career. But in the lime light was the grand Prix organisers who were fined $5,000,000 for political bias, following their choice of Mehmet Ali Talat to present the winner’s trophy. Talat is President of the Turkish Cypriot state, which is not an internationally recognised government. As a result of this, it was seen by the governing body of Formula One as having compromised their neutrality.

2005

Due to the track being new, Juan Pablo Montoya’s fastest race lap was over 2 seconds faster than his team mate’s qualifying time.