Turkish Grand Prix

This article is about the Formula One race. For other uses, see Turkish Grand Prix (disambiguation).

Turkish Grand Prix

Istanbul Park
Race information
Laps	58
Circuit length	5.338 km (3.317 mi)
Race length	309.396 km (192.250 mi)
Number of times held	7
First held	2005
Last held	2011
Most wins (drivers)	Felipe Massa (3)
Most wins (constructors)	Ferrari (3)
Last race (2011):
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:25.049
Podium	1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h 30m 17.558s (209.066 km/h) 2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +8.807s 3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +10.075s
Fastest lap	Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:29.703 on lap 48

The Turkish Grand Prix (Turkish: Türkiye Grand Priksi) is a Formula One motor race that was first held on August 21, 2005 as part of the 2005 Formula One season. It is held at the newly built Istanbul Park Circuit, constructed by famous German civil engineer Hermann Tilke. The circuit is one of 5 anti-clockwise circuits on the 2011 Formula One season calendar along with Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, Korean International Circuit, the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore and the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil. The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy, venue for the San Marino Grand Prix - on the F1 schedule from 1981-2006 - is also an anti-clockwise circuit.

Tilke has stressed how the track follows 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. It takes an influence from many of the world's best race tracks. Turn 1 is very similar to the first corner of the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil and has also been compared with the "corkscrew" at Laguna Seca. There is a flat-out kink on a hill similar to Eau Rouge corner at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps; fans have jokingly referred to this as "Faux Rouge."

Turn 8 is probably the best corner on the track. This wickedly fast and long turn has been nicknamed "Diabolica", a play on Curva Parabolica at Monza. It is a quadruple apex corner with a load of 5g (5 times the acceleration of gravity) for 4 seconds. It is actually 4 corners joined together. Many drivers have found this to be one of the trickiest corners in Formula 1.

Because of the nature of the circuit the 2005 Turkish Grand Prix weekend saw exciting on-track action, with many drivers spinning off throughout the weekend due to pushing too hard, particularly at Turn 8. Juan Pablo Montoya memorably lost it at Turn 8 with two laps to go, following a tangle whilst trying to lap Tiago Monteiro. This allowed Fernando Alonso to take second place behind Kimi Räikkönen, an event which had a significant bearing on their battle for the World Championship headed towards its culmination.

A year later, Felipe Massa took his first pole position and victory at Istanbul. The Ferraris were 1-2 in early stages of the race, with Massa ahead of Michael Schumacher. Vitantonio Liuzzi's spin brought out the safety car and the Ferraris had to pit on the same lap. Alonso was able to get past Schumacher and the order stayed until the end of the race. Massa repeated in 2007 ahead of his new team-mate Räikkönen.

In 2008, the race was held in May. Two-stopping Massa won the race ahead of three-stopping Lewis Hamilton, although Hamilton had passed him during the race.

For 2011 the race was put in doubt due to the fact that Bernie Ecclestone wanted to double the fees for hosting the race. However Ecclestone confirmed that 2011 would have a 20-race calendar; no races would be taken off and there would be the addition of the Indian Grand Prix.

On 30 July 2011 it was announced that the Turkish Grand Prix would not be on the calendar from 2012.

2006 podium controversy

As part of the podium ceremony after the 2006 race, the winner's trophy was presented by Mehmet Ali Talat, who was introduced to television viewers via the captions as the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a state which is recognised only by Turkey. The FIA announced they would be investigating this incident, as a possible breach of the organisation's political neutrality. The identity of the person who would present the winner's trophy was left to the last minute, leaving the FIA no time to veto the choice. Some commentators feared this incident could jeopardise the future of the Turkish Grand Prix, and possibly also Turkey's round of the World Rally Championship, another FIA-sanctioned series. It was concluded with a 5 million dollar fine, which was later reduced by half.

Sponsors

Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix 2006-2008
ING Turkish Grand Prix 2009
Panasonic Turkish Grand Prix 2010
DHL Turkish Grand Prix 2011

Winners of the Turkish Grand Prix

Repeat winners (drivers)

Embolded drivers are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.

# of wins	Driver	Years won
3	Felipe Massa	2006, 2007, 2008

Repeat winners (constructors)

Embolded constructors are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.

# of wins	Constructor	Years won
3	Ferrari	2006, 2007, 2008
2	McLaren	2005, 2010

By year

Year	Driver	Constructor	Location	Report
2011	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	Istanbul	Report
2010	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	Istanbul	Report
2009	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	Istanbul	Report
2008	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Istanbul	Report
2007	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Istanbul	Report
2006	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Istanbul	Report
2005	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	Istanbul	Report

External links

• Official web site