Tag: istanbul park

F1 2021: Turkish Gp Preview – Turkish Delight Beckons

Circumstances may have necessitated the return of Formula 1 to Turkey. However, it’s re-introduction to the Formula 1 calendar delivered a stunning Grand Prix in 2020. So much so that the organizers of the event are trying to secure a ten-year deal for Istanbul Park as part of the Formula 1 world championship.

They will have their work cut out though as in recent weeks F1 has committed to Qatar and Miami. And there are strong rumours too that the championship could return to Kyalami in the not too distant future if the final arrangements can be agreed upon. It does bring into question the length of the calendar and the subsequent strain on team personnel who are already stretch thin. As an example, F1’s season-ending triple header will see teams, in just four weeks, travel from Brazil to Qatar to Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi.

There is more news about the future of F1 as Porsche and Audi are assumed to be close to joining the championship as the 2026 engine rules are finalized. The teams and the sport have agreed to drop the MGU-H which has, in the past, because of its complexity and expense dissuaded manufacturers from committing to F1.

With the future of F1 taking shape there still remains the matter of the 2021 championship. To illustrate how different this year has been Lewis Hamilton ended the 2020 Turkish Gp as the world champion. It’s a far different scenario in 2021 as Hamilton goes into this weekend’s race only two points clear of Max Verstappen. The fact that Hamilton has also scored 85 points less than at the same point last season is another example of how hard the Mercedes driver has had to work.

There’s no sign either that the task will get any easier in the final seven races of the year. In fact, all indications are that the title fight could go all the way to the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi. But then, F1 in 2021 has proven that very little is predictable and that neither Mercedes nor Red Bull will have an easy run into the flag.

Unless things take a dramatic turn, it doesn’t appear that Hamilton or Verstappen will have much support from their respective teammates either. For Sergio Perez there haven’t been nearly enough moments this season where he has performed to the standard of the Red Bull. As such, the expectation that Perez will able to take points off Mercedes, or at least influence their race strategy on Sundays, isn’t especially high.

For completely different reasons Valtteri Bottas too is unlikely to hamper the progress of Verstappen. Though the Finn hasn’t consistently shown great pace this season his loyalty to the team has also been nullified given that he’s been, effectively, fired and replaced with George Russell for 2022. It is this lack of allegiance, as evidenced in Bottas’s lack of defense against Verstappen in Russia, which means that he cannot be fully relied on to ‘take one for the team’.

The Istanbul Park circuit shouldn’t expressly favour either the Red Bull or the Mercedes but, like in 2020, the weather could have a significant impact on the running order. The likes of McLaren and even Ferrari could well have an impact should the forecasted rain make an appearance.

October 4, 2021
F1 2020: Turkish Gp Review – Hamilton, 7 times World Champion

At 2004 Belgian grand prix Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher became a seven times Formula 1 world champion. There was seemingly no end to the Schumacher/Ferrari behemoth and there was certainly no fathomable thought that one day the record could be matched.

Sixteen years later we stand in a moment that has seen Schumacher’s record equaled by Lewis Hamilton. The British drove as brilliantly as he ever has to deliver a stellar race victory in Turkey, which has taken him to an incredible seventh world title.

Mercedes and Hamilton may have ultimately climbed onto the top step of the podium in Turkey but it was far from the straightforward stroll to victory that most have become accustomed too. Saturday belonged very much to Lance Stroll as the Canadian driver snatched a breathtaking pole position in treacherously slippery conditions. His Racing Point teammate Sergio Perez was third on the grid while Max Verstappen was second quickest. As the race settled and Stroll pulled away to the tune of more than a second a lap Seb Vettel emerged in fourth from eleventh on the grid. The Ferrari seemed to come alive in the wet conditions as he easily held of Hamilton for the better part of the race. Meanwhile Valtteri Bottas’s afternoon is best forgotten as the Finn swapped ends at least four times in the race. As if to add insult to serious embarrassment Bottas was also eventually lapped by teammate Hamilton.

A rare mistake from Hamilton allowed Alex Albon and his Red Bull teammate Verstappen through into fourth and fifth with Stroll building a lead of more than ten seconds over the chasing pack after the first round of stops. It was during this phase of the race that Red Bull looked easily the favourites to win the race. Nevertheless, a rash decision from Verstappen to attempt an overtake on Perez around the outside of turn 11 sent the Dutchman into a spin and needing to pit for new intermediate tyres.

By lap 29 it was clear that the Racing Points were struggling with overheated inters as Albon, Vettel, and Hamilton quickly eroded the gap to the leaders. Stroll’s dilemma became greater the more the track dried. However, it wasn’t dry enough for slick tyres forcing just about everyone to fit new intermediate tyres in the second pitstop phase. But as Stroll faded dramatically from contention Hamilton and Perez persevered on the worn inters. But it was Hamilton who clearly had the better pace as he swept into the lead of the race and drove off into the distance.

Ferrari’s good pace was underlined by Charles Leclerc who charged into third place in the final few laps of the race. The Monegasque driver challenged Perez for second but failed to make the move stick and ran wide at turn 12. The mistake allowed Vettel, easily one of the best drivers of the day, into third while a disappointed Leclerc finished fourth. Carlos Sainz delivered an excellent drive into fifth for McLaren as Verstappen and Albon had to be content with sixth and seventh overall. Lando Norris made it a double points score for McLaren in eighth as pole-sitter and early race leader Stroll trundled home in a disappointing ninth. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo scored the final point on offer in tenth.

The Turkish grand prix, its exceptionally slippery track surface, the wet weather and an on point Lewis Hamilton combined to deliver an unforgettable race. Eventually, Hamilton recovered from being a pitstop behind, wore his intermediate tyres down to slicks and won the race by a staggering 30 seconds. After fourteen seasons in the sport and 93 wins it was brilliant a drive as Silverstone in 2008 or Hungary in 2013 or Germany 2018. And there’s no sign that the motivation or the hunger is waning.

The perennial ‘who is the greatest of all time’ debate is sure to carry on. Is it any of Fangio, or Lauda, or Senna, or Schumacher? Or is it Lewis Hamilton? The answer is startlingly easy. It is none of them and all of them. In each of their respective eras these giants of the sport have defined Formula 1. There is no singular greatest driver of all time for the simple fact that all of these monumental achievements merit respect and reverence. Not least of all are the immense feats of one Lewis Hamilton. We are all indelibly privileged to bear witness to this greatness.

November 16, 2020
F1 2020: Turkish Gp Preview – Return to Istanbul Park

If you are a fairly new fan of Formula 1 you may not be all that familiar with the Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey. The anti-clockwise circuit, designed by Herman Tilke, was first introduced in 2005. Due to the worldwide pandemic it makes it’s re-introduction to the calendar for the first time since 2011.

F1 has moved on a fair bit since the last Turkish grand prix. Aside from the worldwide pandemic making short work of the official race calendar much has changed in the sport that never sleeps. For one 2011 would have seen the sport in the thick of the Red Bull and Seb Vettel period of domination with Mercedes trundling around as nothing more than midfield contenders. There would be no inkling of a Max Verstappen nor a Charles Leclerc let alone the suggestion that Vettel himself would pull up stakes and swop Red Bull for Ferrari red. The turbo-hybrid era too was still a few years off as in 2011 F1 cars were still being pushed around the circuits of the world by a screaming V8. Heck not only was Lewis Hamilton still a McLaren driver but he had just one championship title under his belt.

Along with Malaysia’s Sepang circuit the 5.3 km Turkish circuit is widely regarded as some of track designer Tilke’s best work in F1. Turn one is akin to Brazil’s Senna S and has been compared to Laguna Seca’s corkscrew albeit with a slightly less dramatic dip. The famed turn 8 is a quadruple-apex left-hander that truly tested not only the prowess of an F1 car but also the commitment of the driver. In 2020 the once fearsome turn 8 will be far easier to negotiate for the modern F1 car. In fact, the expectation is for the cars to blast flat out around turn 8. Nevertheless, the circuit does present several overtaking opportunities and DRS too will have a bigger impact, especially when used on the back strait.

The first race in 2005 was won by then McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen. One year later a 19-year-old Vettel made his F1 debut in a 2006 practice session for BMW Sauber. 2006 was also the year in which Felipe Massa earned his first pole position and race win and proceeded to take three wins in a row around the Istanbul Park. A few years later in 2010 Vettel, now at Red Bull, would dramatically crash with teammate Mark Webber.

It is very much a foregone conclusion that Mercedes go into the weekend as the favourites for victory. Last time out at Imola has already seen the team claim a record-breaking seventh constructor’s title and this weekend presents the first opportunity for Hamilton to clinch a seventh driver’s championship title.

The permutations are straightforward for Hamilton too. Currently, the six-time champion holds an 84-point lead over teammate Valtteri Bottas with a maximum of 104 points still on the table. Hamilton needs only to finish ahead of teammate Bottas to be crowned world champion. Bottas, as the only driver able to ‘challenge’ for the title, must outscore Hamilton by eight points to move the fight for the championship on to the next race. Stranger things have certainly happened in the past. However, barring unreliability it is difficult to imagine that Hamilton won’t leave Turkey as a seven times world champion.

November 11, 2020