18 to 30 May 2010
The purpose-built Istanbul Speed Park is an entirely different technical proposition to the previous race held at Monaco. A modern circuit measuring just over 5.3kms per lap, the Otodrom is a challenging blend of long and short straights, interspersed with eight left and six right-hand corners.

Each turn places different demands on the car and the driver, none more so than turn eight – the notorious triple apexer which is taken at speeds reaching 250km/h and which places between 4 and 4.5g of lateral loadings on the drivers 58 times during the course of the race.

Track Map: Click to enlarge

Turkey also features some interesting gradient changes which, while not upsetting the balance of the car, must be taken into consideration during set-up. Like San Marino and Brazil, Turkey runs in an anti-clockwise direction which creates additional pressures – notably for the tyres, and particularly for the right front, as well as for the drivers’ neck muscles.

Measuring 20m at its widest, and with large braking zones, the circuit also provides plenty of overtaking opportunities which should guarantee a compelling race. The circuit is universally popular with the drivers.

The only downside of the event is that in recent years it has attracted less and less spectators as F1 struggles to captivate the local population which could spell the end of the fixture on the Grand Prix calendar when the current contract runs out.

2009 Turkish GP Images

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Previous Results:

	Year	Circuit	Date	Driver	Team	Laps
5	2009	Istanbul Park	7 June	1 Jenson Button 2 Mark Webber 3 Sebastian Vettel	Brawn Red Bull Red Bull	58 58 58
4	2008	Istanbul Park	11 May	1 Felipe Massa 2 Lewis Hamilton 3 Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari McLaren Ferrari	58 58 58
3	2007	Istanbul Park	26 August	1 Felipe Massa 2 Kimi Räikkönen 3 Fernando Alonso	Ferrari Ferrari McLaren	58 58 58
2	2006	Istanbul Park	27 August	1 Felipe Massa 2 Fernando Alonso 3 Michael Schumacher	Ferrari Renault Ferrari	58 58 58
1	2005	Istanbul Park	21 August	1 Kimi Räikkönen 2 Fernando Alonso 3 Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren Renault McLaren	58 58 58

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