An introduction to the Turkish Grand Prix
Historically, the F1 World Championship races have concentrated around the famous racing tracks of Europe, slowly expanding overseas to add new race tracks and countries, which do not necessarily have a history of F1 racing, such as Bahrain, China and Malaysia. With the introduction of the Turkish Grand Prix F1 is taking a further step into new territory as it plants itself firmly between Europe and the Middle east in this historic city. Making its debut in the 2005 F1 Championship season, the Istanbul Park racing circuit - especially constructed for F1 racing - will bring F1 enthusiasts to the bustling metropolis of Istanbul.
The idea of hosting a F1 World Championship race and building a F1 racing circuit came about in September 2003 and design and construction contracts were awarded accordingly. The Turkish government has placed national importance on hosting a F1 Championship Grand Prix race and has spent over ?40 million in the construction of a state-of-the-art racing circuit. Located in an area lush with greenery and forest outside of Istanbul, the Istanbul Park racing circuit, with an area of 2,215,000 square meters, offers a pleasant and unpolluted environment, but is close enough to the city to provide quick access, entertainment and lodging for F1 enthusiasts. F1 aficionados will be happy to see plentiful amenities and modern facilities at the racing circuit, as organisers will have to rival other new and very impressive tracks in Shanghai and Bahrain.
The consortium building and financing the Istanbul Park racing circuit, hired famous German architect and designer, Hermann Tilke to design the track. Most recently, he designed the Sepang (Malaysia), Bahrain and Shanghai (China) F1 circuits. However, Tilke is probably most famous for his radical overhaul and re-design of the Hockenheim racing circuit in Germany and the A1-Ring in Austria. Although Tilke's trademark design is a long straight followed by a hairpin turn, allowing for easy overtaking maneuvers, he did not include this characteristic in the design of the Istanbul Park circuit. In fact, drivers who have seen the design of the circuit feel that overtaking may be quite difficult at this new circuit.
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