The circuit features fourteen turns - eight lefts and six rights - with plenty of gradient change as the track is built on four different ground levels. An unusual feature is that the lap runs anti-clockwise, joining Interlagos in Brazil as the only circuits currently on the
F1 calendar to do so. The circuit provides the drivers with a real challenge, with the cars reaching speeds of up to 330kph along the two main straights.
The facilities at the circuit are as impressive as the race track. Seating capacity at Istanbul Park is 130,000 with 25,000 of those in the main grandstand, and parking is available for 12,000 cars. Dominating the circuit's skyline are two seven-floor towers built at either end of the paddock for VIPs and the media.
THE WINNER?
Perhaps the question here should be: Who needs to win? Should we assume that the winner is likely to come from either the
McLaren or
Ferrari camp, both teams’ drivers are set to have different reasons for wanting to win come Sunday.
For Hamilton and Alonso, victory is more than just victory – it is a potential changing of the guard (if it hasn’t already changed…) Both want to win to boost their title hopes, but at the same will hope to prevail in a clear head-to-head, something they haven’t really had a chance to do this year for various reasons.
Raikkonen and Massa meanwhile need a win to maintain their contact in battling for the drivers’ title having lost more ground to leader Hamilton in Hungary. However, the F2007 is predicted to be very strong on a fast circuit such as Istanbul Park and if their dominance at Magny-Cours and
Silverstone is an indicator, Ferrari could well be the team to beat come race day, potentially making Hamilton and Alonso’s inter-team rivalry look somewhat foolish.
LAST SEASON:
Having scored his first podium nine races earlier,
Felipe Massa took his career plaudits to a new level in Turkey when he scored his first ever victory from under the nose of
Michael Schumacher – and he probably had
Fernando Alonso to thank for that.
