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Turkish Grand Prix Wiki Information
The Turkish Grand Prix
(Turkish: Türkiye Grand Prix
) is a Formula One motor race that debuted on August 21, 2005 as part of the 2005 Formula One season. It is held at the newly built Istanbul Park Circuit, constructed by famous German civil engineer Hermann Tilke. The circuit is one of four anti-clockwise circuits on the 2009 Formula One season calendar along with Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore and the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil. The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy, venue for the San Marino Grand Prix - on the F1 schedule from 1981-2006 - is also an anti-clockwise circuit.
Tilke has stressed how the track follows the contours of the land, which dips and falls. This is in contrast to some of his other recent tracks, the topography of which did not allow such variation. It takes an influence from many of the worlds best race tracks. Corner 1 is very similar to corner one in Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil and has also been compared to the "corkscrew" at Laguna Seca. There is a flat-out kink on a hill similar to Eau Rouge corner at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps; fans have jokingly referred to this as "Faux Rouge."
Turn 8 is probably the best corner on the track. It is a quadruple apex corner with a load of 5G (5 times the force of gravity) for 4 seconds. It is actually 4 corners joined together. Many drivers have found this a very tricky corner of the 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. Juan Pablo Montoya memorably lost it at Turn 8 with two laps to go, following a tangle whilst trying to lap 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.
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TURKISH GRAND PRIX TICKETS
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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 only recognised 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. It was concluded with a 5 million dollar fine.
Sponsors
RBS Turkish Grand Prix 2005
Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix 2006-2008
ING Turkish Grand Prix 2009
Winners of the Turkish Grand Prix
| Year
| Driver
| Constructor
| Location
| Report
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| 2009
| Jenson Button
| Brawn-Mercedes
| Istanbul
| Report
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| 2008
| Felipe Massa
| Ferrari
| Istanbul
| Report
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| 2007
| Felipe Massa
| Ferrari
| Istanbul
| Report
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| 2006
| Felipe Massa
| Ferrari
| Istanbul
| Report
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| 2005
| Kimi Räikkönen
| McLaren-Mercedes
| Istanbul
| Report
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