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
Number of times held 7
First held 2005
Last held 2011
Most wins (drivers) Brazil Felipe Massa (3)
Most wins (constructors) Italy Ferrari (3)
Circuit length 5.338 km (3.317 mi)
Race length 309.396 km (192.250 mi)
Laps 58
Last race (2011)
Pole position
Podium
Fastest lap
Aerial view of Istanbul Park

The Turkish Grand Prix (Turkish: Türkiye Grand Prix'si) was a Formula One motor race that was first held on 21 August 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, designed by Hermann Tilke. The circuit is an anticlockwise circuit.

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 because 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 due to a lack of agreement on the annual cost.[2] On 9 January 2013 the government chose not to approve the Formula 1 deal that would have held the race in Istanbul in 2013.

The project, set to cost Turkey around 20 million dollars in total, needed to receive 13 million dollars of state funding. The government, however, did not give his approval, and the project fell through.[3]

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.[4] It was concluded with a 5 million dollar fine,[5] which was later reduced by half.

Sponsors

Winners of the Turkish Grand Prix

All Turkish Grand Prix were held at Istanbul Park.

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

References

  1. ↑ "F1 set for record 20-race season". BBC News. 16 April 2010.
  2. ↑ "Turkey set to be dropped for 2012". BBC News.
  3. ↑ Daily Hürriyet newspaper Turkey 9 January 2013
  4. ↑ "News | Planet F1 | Formula One News". Planet F1. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Turks fined only $5m > F1 News >". Grandprix.com. 19 September 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "DHL the official title sponsor of 2011 Turkish race". Formula 1. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.

Coordinates: 40°57′20.5″N 29°24′29.7″E / 40.955694°N 29.408250°E / 40.955694; 29.408250

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