Istanbul Park

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What is a lap of Istanbul Park like?

Istanbul Park runs anticlockwise and has 14 turns, eight left and six right, laid out over four different ground levels in the Tuzla district on the Asian side of Istanbul. Turn 8 is a 640 m, multi-apex left-hander that takes up about 12 percent of the lap; in 2011 it took about 8.5 seconds, and it is often compared with Eau Rouge and 130R. Turn 1, nicknamed the 'Turkish Corkscrew', is a sharp downhill left-hander straight after the start-finish straight; in 2021 the two DRS zones were on the main straight and the back straight, though DRS was never enabled in that wet race. Designed by Hermann Tilke and opened in 2005, the Grand Prix layout has not been altered; the track hosted Formula 1 from 2005 to 2011, returned in 2020 and 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the calendar, and is due back from 2027 to 2031.

Lap length

5.338 km

Turns

14

Direction

anticlockwise

Downforce

High

Longest straight

720 m

Elevation change

46 m

DRS zones (to 2025)

2

Character

Balanced (about 39% of the lap is cornering)

Layout described

Grand Prix circuit (5.338 km, 14 turns), unchanged for every Formula 1 race held there: 2005-2011, 2020 and 2021

Sources for the checked facts (13)

• formula1.com/en/latest/article/formula-1-returns-to-turkeys-istanbul-park-from-2027-as-par
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_Park
• formula1.com/en/racing/2021/turkey
• ferrari.com/en-EN/formula1/articles/turkish-grand-prix-2021-preview
• formula1.com/en/latest/article/turkeys-turn-8-taking-on-one-of-the-most-challenging-corner
• f1technical.net/news/6759
• autosport.com/f1/news/61644/turkey-preview-quotes-williams
• f1grandprix.motorionline.com/en/f1-gp-turchia-due-zone-drs-allistanbul-park/
• fia.com/sites/default/files/2021_turkish_grand_prix_-_preview.pdf
• formulaonehistory.com/circuits/istanbul-park/
• redbullracing.com/int-en/circuit-scout-istanbul-park
• formula1.com/en/latest/article/tech-tuesday-how-bad-weather-foiled-hamilton-and-mercedes-s
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Grand_Prix

Map, character and grey values are approximate (measured from a GPS trace). Report a correction.

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Does pole position win at Istanbul Park?

The pole sitter has won 5 of 9 races here (56%). Across all circuits since 1950 the pole sitter wins 44% of races. The winner started from the front row (P1 or P2) in 8 of 9 races (89%) and from the top three in 8 (89%). Lowest grid position to win: 6th, Lewis Hamilton in 2020.

Where the winner started, every race at this circuit. Pole sitter means the driver who set the fastest qualifying time (first on the grid where no qualifying data exists); a grid penalty can move the pole sitter back, and that race still counts for them. Compare every circuit.

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How are races at Istanbul Park won?

Since 2010

4 races; winners made 1 stop in 3, 3 or more in 1; first stop at a median lap 13 (23% of the race)

1994 to 2009 (refuelling)

5 races; winners made 2 stops in 5; first stop at a median lap 19 (33% of the race)

Lap times over the years

All races at Istanbul Park