f1 circuits: Turkey

ISTANBUL PARK

Image courtesy Renault F1Overview

Completed in Mid 2005, the circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke. Located in Kurtkoy (40 kms east of the city), it falls on the Asian side of the city.  The Bosphorous river divides Istanbul between Europea and Asia.  The majority of the international hotels are located in the Taksim area (city centre European side), and from there it would take around 45 minutes to get to the circuit.  

The total area allocated for the Circuit is 2,215,000 m2. The racing circuit which runs counter-clockwise is 5,378m long with an average width of 15m, excluding Runoff Areas. The Circuit is composed of 13 curves, of which 6 are right turns and 7 left turns. The sharpest turn will have a radius of 15m. The start and finish section is 655.5m in length. The Circuit runs over 4 level sections with rising and descending grades. The maximum theoretical speed expected to be achieved will be 320.5 Km/hr.

The main parking areas, with the total parking capacity of 20,000 are located along the outer peripheral ring road which is 5,482m in length and will facilitate the movement of traffic on the outer limits of the project area.

In addition, the project consists of 2.3 km of inner service roads and emergency lanes. There will be 4 under-passes and 3 pedestrian over passes linking the natural ground stands and temporary moveable stands with the parking areas. The central area is reserved for the construction of Go-Cart Racing track.

The main Grand Stand is over an area of 12,700m2 and has the seating capacity of 30,000 spectators. In addition, the temporary stands and natural ground stands will provide a total capacity of over 155,000 spectators. The paddock buildings are two level structures. The ground floor sections are for the F1 teams and the upper floors will serve as hospitality areas with additional viewing capacity of 5,000 seats. There are two VIP towers being constructed at the two ends of paddock buildings, each consisting of 7 floors to provide a floor space of 7,392 m2.

 

Specifications:

  • Starting time: 1300 CET
  • Local time: CET + 1 hour
  • Circuit: Istanbul Racing Circuit
  • Circuit length: 5.34 km
  • Race laps: 58
  • Total distance: 309.72 km
  • First GP: 21st August 2005
  • Winner 2009: Jenson Button, Brawn-Mercedes
  • Fastest Lap: J.P. Montoya, 2005, McLaren-Mercedes, 1:24.770
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

History:

The Istanbul Park racing circuit was one of only three circuits of the 2005 Formula One season that ran anti-clockwise, the other two are the Imola circuit in San Marino and the Interlagos circuit.

The circuit and its facilities were designed by the famous racetrack architect Hermann Tilke, who said he designed the track to try to catch the drivers out. The inaugural Turkish Grand Prix certainly caught the drivers out, with many drivers spinning off throughout the weekend.

Turn 8 particularly caught the imagination. The corner is a fast, sweeping corner with four apexes, similar to a multi-apex sections of the old Nürburgring. Spectators and drivers alike raved about Turn 8, comparing it to legendary corners such as Eau Rouge and 130R. The circuit itself has already been compared to Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Another notable corner is Turn 1, a sharp downhill left hander immediately after the front straight. This corner has been nicknamed by some as the "Turkish Corkscrew" in reference to the famous "Corkscrew" at Laguna Seca. Both the 2006 F1 and MotoGP races at the circuit featured mutliple incidents at this corner. A third noteworthy area is the uphill kink in the middle of the back straightaway; due to its similarity to Eau Rouge, it has been jokingly referred to as "Faux Rouge."

The circuit is not, however, without its critics. After qualifying, Jenson Button claimed that the track was getting bumpier as the weekend went on, particularly at Turn 8, which was what caused so many drivers to spin off. This harks back to another circuit designed by Hermann Tilke, Shanghai International Circuit, which is said to be sinking in places due to the fact that it was built on the site of a former swamp. Jarno Trulli was notable for his lukewarm feeling towards the circuit, saying that he felt the circuit was easy to learn, and that good performance was down more to the car than the driver.

The 2006 Turkish Grand Prix was won by Felipe Massa of Ferrari who led from start to finish (pitstops not withstanding) on his debut win. The highlight of the race however was the battle between reigning world champion Fernando Alonso in second and 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher in third. This was a battle which many felt echoed their previous battle at Imola during the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix, with Schumacher nose to tail with Alonso who, despite multiple attempts from the 7 time world champion, was able to successfully defend his position.

The circuit has also hosted FIA World Touring Car Championship, GP2, Formula-G, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and the Le Mans Series 1,000 km race.

 

New Developments:

There is a brand new international airport, Sabiha Gokcen Airport Istanbul, which is situated on the eastern shores of the city near the suburbs of Kurtkoy and Pendik.  At present it serves charter flights, some Turkish Airlines flights to Ankara, and smaller aircraft.   

 

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