Preview of the Turkish Grand Prix

On the occasion of each Grand Prix this season, Motorsinside.com offers you a glimpse of the Grand Prix by revisiting the events that have marked its history as well as some information – sometimes not very useful – about the host country. This weekend, let’s focus on Turkey and its race.

IT HAPPENED IN ISTANBUL

It was in 2005 that Turkey opened up for the first time to Formula One by hosting a Grand Prix, which Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren) would win ahead of Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren). The Colombian driver distinguished himself twice during that weekend. First, in the race, just two laps from the finish, when his MP4-20 went straight at turn 8, thus offering second place on the podium to a Fernando Alonso who wasn’t expecting it. Then, on the timesheet, since his fastest lap in the race (1’24”770) was 2”027 faster than Kimi Räikkönen’s pole position and still remains the circuit record today. This gap is largely explained by a regulation that forced drivers to qualify under race conditions, thus with the fuel required for the first stint.

This was also Nick Heidfeld’s last race for Williams, as he missed the end of the season due to an injury, before joining BMW in 2006.

In 2006, a young German driver was about to make his first laps in Formula One by participating in testing with BMW: Sebastian Vettel. He had posted his best time at 1:29.964, earning him 8th place just behind the other BMW, driven by Nick Heidfeld. The race, won by Felipe Massa, was marked by a spin from Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) at the first corner, causing a series of collisions, with Kimi Räikkönen and Tiago Monteiro (Midland) being the main victims. Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) engaged in a memorable battle for 2nd place, right up to the final corner. The podium ceremony was marred by a diplomatic scandal, as Mehmet Ali Talat, in charge of presenting the trophy to the winner, was introduced as the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which only the Turkish state recognizes, leading to a 5 million dollar fine for the organizers.

Felipe Massa was set to double the stakes in 2007 before tripling them a year later. For the first time, in 2008, the Turkish Grand Prix took place in the spring. However, it was held without Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson, as the Super Aguri team had officially—and permanently—withdrawn from Formula One. Rubens Barrichello made history in F1 by surpassing Ricardo Patrese’s record, starting in his 257th Grand Prix. The race was marked by a strategic difference between Ferrari (2 stops) and McLaren (3 stops) and by a spectacular accident between Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) and Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) at the first corner, where the Italian literally flew over the Japanese driver’s car.

In 2009, Sebastian Vettel secured his 3rd career pole position in Turkey but lost all the benefits by going wide in turn 9, giving Jenson Button the lead of the race, which he would not relinquish—almost, only yielding to Webber for one lap between pit stops. The Briton recorded his sixth victory in 7 races in Turkey and the last of his season as the future World Champion.

Last year, the race was obviously marked by the collision between the two Red Bull drivers, then under threat from the two McLarens, on the 40th lap. While Webber managed to save 3rd place on the podium, Vettel had to walk back to the garages as the McLaren drivers fiercely battled for first place before being ‘calmed’ by their team. It was during this Grand Prix that Vitaly Petrov recorded what remains his only Fastest Lap in Race, on the 57th lap, at 1:29.758.

IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO FOLLOW THEM

Even if doubts still linger regarding Ferrari’s ability to provide him with a car capable of competing for victory, this Sunday in Tuzla, Felipe Massa remains the undisputed and undeniably unmatched master, should the Turkish adventure in Formula One not continue beyond 2011, as some reports suggest.

Indeed, Felipe Massa secured 3 pole positions and as many victories between 2006—which is also when he recorded his first pole and his first victory in the world championship—and 2008. The native of Sao Paulo led 43% of the laps in Turkey since Formula One started racing there. Even better, the Brazilian almost always outperformed his teammates in the race, including in 2010 when he finished ahead of Fernando Alonso. The only exception was in 2005, when Felipe Massa was still with Sauber. He was brilliantly qualified in 8th (while his teammate Villeneuve started from 16th place), but Massa lost his wing in the first corner after a collision with Nick Heidfeld. After climbing back from 20th and last position to 11th, just ahead of his teammate, he was forced to retire on the 28th lap due to an engine failure.

The Brazilian also holds the best average starting grid position (4.33) ahead of Lewis Hamilton (5.75) and Fernando Alonso (6.17). He particularly enjoys counter-clockwise circuits since, in addition to his 3 Turkish victories, he has 2 wins in Brazil (not counting the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, which he was leading before giving up the first place to Kimi Räikkönen). Similarly, 7 of his 15 career pole positions were achieved on counter-clockwise tracks.

Also worth watching, the tires… The famous turn 8 of the Tuzla circuit is a real nightmare for the front-right tire, which is subjected to significant loads (up to 5 G for the driver). For example, during the first edition, both Williams drivers were forced to retire after each puncturing the right rear tire twice in less than 30 laps. Pirelli recently conducted tests at the Istanbul track with more resistant tires (but also more challenging to heat up) before deciding to continue the approach from the start of the season, using the hardest tires in their range (with silver and yellow stripes). Jenson Button recently stated that the Turkish Grand Prix would be a critical test for the tires.

TURKEY IN FIGURES

Turkey is the 18th most populous country in the world with nearly 74 million inhabitants (the 6th in F1) and the 37th largest in terms of area (the 5th in F1) with 783,562 km². Although only 3% of its territory is located in Europe, 17% of its population lives there.

Economically, Turkey is the world’s leading exporter of hazelnuts and dried fruits and the largest producer of boron, holding 65% of the world’s reserves. On a European scale, Turkey is the leading manufacturer of televisions and the top producer of chemical fertilizers. In 2010, the growth rate was 8.9%, and the unemployment rate was 10.5% in September 2010.

But to learn even more about Turkey, we invite you to discover the mystery number. You have until the start of the Grand Prix to figure it out by asking us questions—to which we can only answer yes or no—and by avoiding the use of search engines. However, a first clue: the mystery number has no connection with F1 and even less with Turkish porcelain.

The mystery number of the Turkish Grand Prix is 2