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 | |
| |
| Podium | |
| Fastest lap | |
| |
The Turkish Grand Prix (Turkish: Türkiye Grand Prix'i) was a Formula One motor race that was first held on August 21, 2005 as part of the 2005 Formula One season and last held on 8 May 2011 as part of the 2011 Formula One season. It was held at Istanbul Park Circuit, constructed by Hermann Tilke. The circuit is an anticlockwise 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 Mazda Raceway 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. 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 where Juan Pablo Montoya ran wide with two laps to go following a tangle with the Jordan of 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.[1]
On 30 July 2011 it was announced that the Turkish Grand Prix would not be on the calendar from 2012.[2]
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.[3] It was concluded with a 5 million dollar fine,[4] which was later reduced by half.[5]
Sponsors
Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix 2006-2008
ING Turkish Grand Prix 2009
Panasonic Turkish Grand Prix 2010
DHL Turkish Grand Prix 2011 [6]
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
All Turkish Grand Prix were held at Istanbul Park.
| Year | Driver | Constructor | Report |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 |  Sebastian Vettel |
Red Bull-Renault | Report |
| 2010 | Lewis Hamilton |
McLaren-Mercedes | Report |
| 2009 | Jenson Button |
Brawn-Mercedes | Report |
| 2008 | Felipe Massa |
Ferrari | Report |
| 2007 | Felipe Massa |
Ferrari | Report |
| 2006 | Felipe Massa |
Ferrari | Report |
| 2005 |  Kimi Räikkönen |
McLaren-Mercedes | Report |
References
- ↑ "F1 set for record 20-race season". BBC News. 16 April 2010.
- ↑ "Turkey set to be dropped for 2012". BBC News.
- ↑ "News | Planet F1 | Formula One News". Planet F1. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
- ↑ "Turks fined only $5m > F1 News >". Grandprix.com. 2006-09-19. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
- ↑ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmafp/is_200703/ai_n18747335/?tag=content;col1. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "DHL the official title sponsor of 2011 Turkish race". Retrieved 6 May 2011.
External links
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Coordinates: 40°57′20.5″N 29°24′29.7″E / 40.955694°N 29.408250°E