Turkish Grand Prix Preview
This weekend sees the Turkish Grand Prix and gives Formula 1 a chance to move on from the controversial end to the Monaco Grand Prix. Mercedes have drawn a line under the incident after assurances that from the FIA that the safety car procedures will be looked into at the next World Council meeting so now it is up the action on track to remind fans of why they love this sport. It is not for protracted legal techncalicalities but rather because of the enjoyment everyone gets from seeing a full blooded racing car in action on a challenging circuit. It is quite fitting than that the Turkish Grand Prix is next up on the calander.
The Istanbul Park Circuit
Designed, as per usual, by German circuit architect Herman Tilke this fast and flowing track just outside of Istanbul is different to any of his other other creations. While many of the “Tilkedrome” circuits are bland and relativily feature less Istanbul is a great circuit with undulations and fast sweeping bends. Indeed while most of Tilke’s creations have left a lot to be desired as far as ultimate challenge to the drivers this one has what is now regarded as Formula 1’s most difficult corner. The triple apex Turn 8 is an immense test of a drivers precision, nerve and ability.
With the cars spending in the region of six seconds in the Turn 8 complex per lap it is clear that this is an area where there is lots of time to be gained or lost. In the race though it is not that simple as Lewis Hamilton has found out countless times. The tyres face maximum load through here and as a result if a driver pushes too hard the tyres wear at an exceptional rate. Even with the current super hard tyres that drivers have consistently managed to nurse through races-Alonso completed all but one lap in Monaco on a single set-this section could be one of the few faced this year that causes serious wear problems for teams and drivers.
Apart from Turn 8 there are a series of off camber turns throughout the lap with Turn 1 consistently causing havoak in races and Turn 4 also having the ability to catch unwary drivers out on cold tyres at the start of races. The ending section of the lap is quite tight and twisty and stunts some of the flow created from the majority of the lap but it is here that pole position will be sorted and this section is therefore crucial for the results of Sunday’s race. Drivers brake into Turn 12 from the region of 200 mph and then have to shuffle the cars through the last two turns where consistently we see good laps fall apart in qualifying.
Weather for this weekend’s Grand Prix
While changeable weather has been the norm this season, with the threat of rain hanging over almost every race weekend so far there are no such worries ahead of this weekend. Clear skies are expected on Saturday and Sunday with temperatures in the high twenties. Friday is expected to cloud over ahead of the afternoon session but even so temperatures should be quite high. The wind can be a factor through Turn 8 with gusts affecting the aerodynamic balance but wind speeds are expected to be quite low and the overall the weather will be very favourable for the performance of the cars.
Statistics ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix
This circuit has been dominated in the past by Felipe Massa who has taken three wins from pole position. The Brazilian will need to recapture that form if he is to stave off the rumours of him losing his drive. His team have cooled on him considerably this season with rumours of Mark Webber or Robert Kubica linked to replacing him. Massa has said that he is not comfortable in the car right now and has been solidly beaten by his teammate Alonso throughout the season but did show some signs of life in Monaco. With this being one of the circuits that he has traditionally excelled it will be of crucial importance that he can beat his teammate if he is to end rumours of his departure from the red team.
This race was first run in 2005 and won by then McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen from pole position. Last year was the first race not won from pole, Jenson Button beating Sebastian Vettel en route to his world title. Historically Turkey has had a high finishing rate with over 85% of starters seeing the chequered flag and close racing has been the norm with an average winning margin of seven seconds.
What can we expect from this weekend?
The expectation is once more for Red Bull to stretch away at the front of the field. Webber has dominated the last two weekends with pole positions and race wins so the main question ahead of this weekend’s race is whether his teammate Vettel can get his performances on a par. The team claim he was hampered by a damaged chassis in Spain and Monaco so this race will give us an understanding of just how much that issue affected the young German.
Top speed has generally been rewarded by fast lap times and strong finishes around this track so this should be a great opportunity for McLaren and Ferrari to utilise their F-ducts and hopefully bring the fight to the Red Bull team. Outside of the main contenders Force India have historically been very fast down the straights so this could be another race weekend where Adrian Sutil performs well.
Last season Brawn GP left Turkey knowing that they no longer had the fastest car on the grid as Red Bull moved past and started to show their true potential. It is only now that the Milton Keyes based team have shown just how good they can be and there is little to suggest that they will be caught anytime soon. It would be brave to bet against another Red Bull win and with Mark Webber in such strong form if would be tough to bet against the Australian making it a hat trick of victories.
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