Turkish GP

The german engineer Hermann Tilke - the famed architect of the international GP circuits in Sepang, Bahrain and Shanghai, designed this brand-new purpose-built Istanbul circuit. This 5.338km long circuit is markedly different from Tilke's other tracks because of two main reasons. Firstly, Istanbul Park is only the third F1 track, which is run in the counter clockwise direction. The other two circuits comprise of the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy and the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil. The second distinguishing feature is the varying topography of the track, which is absent in Tilke's previous creations. The numerous dips and falls along the length of the track give the track four different ground levels. This constantly changing elevation of the track makes it very difficult for drivers to hold their line at high speeds and thus provides ample opportunities for the drivers to test their driving skills.

The Istanbul Park has a total number of 14 curves, which consists of 6 rights and 8 lefts. Among these, there are quite a few that resemble some of the most challenging curves on other celebrated circuits. For example, the first corner is very similar to corner one in Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil and has also been compared to the "corkscrew" at Laguna Seca due to its sudden dip in elevation. However, Turn 8 of the Istanbul Park is probably the trickiest and best corner on the track. The turn has been constructed by joining altogether four corners and hence the corner is said to produce a load, which equals five times the force of gravity, on the travelling F1 car for a period of 4 seconds. As this turn produces such a massive load, more popularly known as g-force, it has become notoriously famous for sending over-ambitious F1 drivers spinning off the track.

Despite having so many demanding sweeping corners, the Istanbul Park is also known to be extremely fast. The present generation of F1 cars can easily reach the 320kph mark on this circuit. Juan Pablo Montoya who clocked 1'24.770 in the 2005 GP holds the record for the fastest lap on the Istanbul Park. Michael Schumacher clinched the fastest lap of the 2006 GP in his Ferrari with an impressive timing of 1:28.005 Besides the superb track itself, another impressive feature of the Istanbul Park is the availability of great facilities for the spectators. The circuit boasts of seating a total of 130,000 spectators, of which 25,000 can sit in the main grandstand. There are also two seven-floor VIP towers located at the two ends of the paddock.

Packed with all these quintessential features, the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park surely delivers a gripping F1 experience.