Track Guide
This weekend the F1 circus heads to Istanbul Park for the Turkish GP, which is being held for the 4thtime. Istanbul Park is another of the new circuits in F1 designed by circuit architect of choice Hermann Tilke. One of the main differences with this track as opposed to his other tracks is that it gets rave reviews from all the drivers. A varied mix of corners, elevation changes and clear opportunities for overtaking has established it as a favourite with the fans too. It is also only one of three F1 circuits in 2008 to go in an anti-clockwise direction. The others being Interlagos and the new street circuit at Singapore will go in an anti-clockwise direction. In Istanbul it’s a short run down to turn 1, which is very similar to the Senna “S” at Interlagos. Like Belgium the track features a flat-out kink on a hill similar to Eau Rouge to an extent. The corner that this circuit is really famed for though is Turn 8, which is a triple apex corner, which in effect works out to being like 4 corners in 1 go. There are different lines that can be taken in this corner sequence and in 2005 many drivers made errors as they tried to push as hard through as they can to get the most speed out of it. Even 7 times world champion Michael Schumacher got it all wrong in qualifying in 2005. The corner is also hard on the driver’s necks as for 4 seconds the drivers are pulling 5G, along with the fact that the circuit is anti-clockwise and in Turkey it is normally extremely hot for the GP weekend it makes life for the drivers even harder and its one of those races that they have to be really fit and strong for. The best overtaking spot on the circuit is without doubt turn 12 at the end of the long fast straight with the flat-out kink in the middle of it as mentioned above. Its also possible to overtake in Turn 9 at the end of the straight following Turn 8, the drivers can even bite back at the opponent that has just overtaken them all the way to Turn 12 even with the turbulent air the cars produce when following each other. The pit straight is fairly short which is unusual as Hermann Tilke has always favoured long straights but with a slow exit onto the straight and a tight turn 1 overtaking is possible here too but not the clearest opportunity on the track. So overall Istanbul Park has to rate as one of the best tracks on the F1 calendar with all the challenges that it offers to the drivers. They always have to work hard for their money here and provide a spectacle for the fans.
Past Races
comments (2) write a comment »
write a new comment
8 months ago
Can't wait for the race. I agree that Ferrari seem unstoppable at the moment, but i'm hoping for another strong performance by Alonso. Hopefully the weekend will produce some exciting action, unlike Spain.
8 months ago
Ferrari really do seem unstoppable at the moment and I think its going to be between Raikkonen and Massa for overall glory. Hamilton's going to need to keep the pressure up though so he'll need another podium, I would bank on Raikkonen, Massa and Hamilton on the podium (and in that order) but I wouldn't be suprised to see a BMW or Alonso up there or making matters hard for the big two teams.
write a new comment