-Istanbul Park will host Formula 1 for 10th time next year, following races held between 2005-2011 and 2020-2021
-Brazil’s Felipe Massa holds record for most wins at Turkish Grand Prix with three, while Lewis Hamilton secured victory in 2020 race to clinch championship
ISTANBUL
Formula 1 will return to Türkiye after a six-year absence, with the Turkish Grand Prix included on the 2027 calendar of the world’s premier motorsport series.
Istanbul Park will host a Formula 1 race for the 10th time next year, following previous stints between 2005-2011 and 2020-2021.
The return will end a long wait for fans, as the 5.3-kilometer circuit in Istanbul once again prepares to welcome the sound of the revving F1 engines.
First added to the calendar in 2005, the Turkish Grand Prix was held consecutively until 2011.
It later returned during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 2020 run without spectators and the 2021 edition held at half capacity.
A total of 12 drivers reached the podium across the nine races held at Istanbul Park, including Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, and Sergio Perez.
Past Formula 1 races at Istanbul Park
Valtteri Bottas won the most recent race in 2021 for Mercedes, while Lewis Hamilton secured victory in 2020, a race in which he also clinched the world championship.
Brazil’s Felipe Massa remains the most successful driver in Turkish Grand Prix history after 9 races, winning three consecutive races for Ferrari in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Hamilton bagged two wins in Türkiye, while Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Bottas each claimed one victory.
Hamilton’s 2020 triumph in Istanbul marked his seventh career title, drawing level with Michael.
Schumacher has the most championships in Formula 1 history. He also won the 2010 race in Istanbul with McLaren.
The inaugural Formula 1 race in Istanbul was won by Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen, who crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 24 minutes, 34.454 seconds while driving for McLaren-Mercedes in 2005.
Massa claimed his maiden career victory at Istanbul Park in 2006 with a time of 1:28:51.082, before repeating his success in 2007 (1:26:42.161) and 2008 (1:26:49.451).
British drivers have pocketed three wins at the circuit. Button won in 2009 for Brawn GP with a time of 1:26:24.848, while Hamilton triumphed in 2010 (1:28:47.620) for McLaren-Mercedes and again in 2020 (1:42:19.313) for Mercedes.
Germany’s Sebastian Vettel also secured victory in Istanbul in 2011 with Red Bull-Renault, finishing in 1:30:17.558 during a season he went on to win the championship.
Notable champions yet to win
However, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso from 2005-2006 and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher never won at Istanbul Park.
Alonso finished second in the first two races held in Istanbul, later placing third in 2007 and 2011, sixth in 2008, 10th in 2009, and eighth in 2010.
Schumacher failed to finish in 2005, placed third in 2006, then returned after a three-year hiatus to finish fourth in 2010 and 12th in 2011.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has also yet to win in Istanbul, finishing sixth in 2020 and second in 2021 for Red Bull.
Colombian driver Montoya holds the fastest lap record at the circuit in Istanbul Park, setting a time of 1:24.770 on lap 39 of the 2005 race while driving for McLaren-Mercedes.
*Writing by Gizem Nisa Demir
