Turkey made its debut on the Formula One calendar in 2005 with an all-new purpose-built circuit in Istanbul. The spectacular 5.378 kilometre track is designed by famed German architect Herman Tilke, the man behind Sepang, Bahrain and Shanghai, and features 14 turns - eight lefts and six rights - with the cars expected to reach speeds of up to 320 kph.
An unusual feature of the venue is that the lap will run anti-clockwise, making the Turkish Grand Prix only the second race on the calendar to do so (Brazil being the other). It possesses a wide variety of corners, and while perhaps not as technical as Shanghai, it provides drivers with a real challenge.
The character of the circuit should be further enhanced by plenty of gradients -the track is built on four different ground levels. Though there seem to be fewer obvious overtaking opportunities - it doesn't feature the long straights followed by tight hairpins that characterise the likes of Sepang and Shanghai.
While Raikkonen entered the record books as the winner of the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix, Massa registered his maiden victory here last season. |
I s t a n b u l