Turkish Grand Prix

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 the Istanbul Park Circuit, designed by Hermann Tilke. The circuit is an anticlockwise circuit.

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 held7
First held2005
Last held2011
Most wins (drivers) Felipe Massa (3)
Most wins (constructors) Ferrari (3)
Circuit length5.338 km (3.317 mi)
Race length309.396 km (192.250 mi)
Laps58
Last race (2011)
Pole position
Podium
Fastest lap
Aerial view of Istanbul Park

History

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 Tuzla. 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 teammate 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 Tuzla 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 its 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.

Official names and sponsors

Winners of the Turkish Grand Prix

Repeat winners (drivers)
Wins Driver Years won
3 Felipe Massa 2006, 2007, 2008

Repeat winners (constructors)
Wins Constructor Years won
3 Ferrari 2006, 2007, 2008
2 McLaren 2005, 2010

Repeat winners (engine manufacturers)
Wins Manufacturer Years won
3 Ferrari 2006, 2007, 2008
Mercedes * 2005, 2009, 2010

* Built by Ilmor in 2005

Year by year

All Turkish Grands Prix were held at Istanbul Park.

Year Driver Constructor Report
2005 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes Report
2006 Felipe Massa Ferrari Report
2007 Felipe Massa Ferrari Report
2008 Felipe Massa Ferrari Report
2009 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes Report
2010 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes Report
2011 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault Report
Source:[14]

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. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  5. "Turks fined only $5m". Grandprix.com. 19 September 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  6. "2005 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  7. "2010 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  8. "2006 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  9. "2007 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  10. "2008 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  11. "2009 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  12. "2011 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  13. "DHL the official title sponsor of 2011 Turkish race". Formula 1. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  14. "Istanbul • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 9 January 2019.

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