Fri 05 June 2009
Friday Practice 1 01:00 - 02:30
Friday Practice 2 05:00 - 06:30
Sat 06 June 2009
Saturday Practice 02:00 - 03:00
Qualifying 05:00
Sun 07 June 2009
Race 06:00
The Race
Turkey made its debut on the Formula One calendar in 2005 with an all-new purpose-built circuit in Istanbul. The spectacular 5.378 kilometre track was designed by famed German architect Hermann Tilke, the man behind Sepang, Bahrain and Shanghai, and features 14 turns - eight lefts and six rights - with the cars reaching speeds of up to 330 km/h.
An unusual feature of the venue is that the lap runs anti-clockwise, making the Turkish Grand Prix one of only two races on the calendar to do so ( Brazil being the other). It possesses a wide variety of corners - including the notorious multi-apex Turn Eight - and while perhaps not as technical as, say, Shanghai, it definitely provides the drivers with real challenge.
The character of the circuit is further enhanced by plenty of gradients - the track is built on four different ground levels. There may be fewer obvious overtaking opportunities than at some other Tilke circuits - it doesn't feature the long straights followed by tight hairpins that characterise the likes of Sepang and Shanghai - but the potential for a driver under pressure to make a mistake here means no shortage of passing.
As you'd expect from a new venue, spectator facilities are impressive - organisers knew they had to rival the very high standards set by Bahrain and China. Seating capacity is around 130,000, with 25,000 of those in the main grandstand, and parking is available for 12,000 cars. Dominating the circuit's skyline are two seven-floor VIP towers at either end of the paddock.
Track Stats
Laps 58
Circuit length 5.338 km (3.317 mi)
Race length 309.396 km (192.250 mi)
Most wins (drivers) Felipe Massa (3)
Most wins (constructors) Ferrari (3)
Lap record: 1:24.770 (Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren, 2005)
2008 Results
Pole position
Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:27.617
Podium
1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1h 26m 49.451s (213.808 km/h)
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +3.779s
3. Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari +4.271s
Fastest lap
Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:26.506
Previous Winners
2008 Felipe Massa Ferrari
2007 Felipe Massa Ferrari
2006 Felipe Massa Ferrari
2005 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes
Weather
Thu 14:40 Brightening skies and rising temperatures are predicted this weekend as the FIA Formula 1 World Championship moves to Turkey for the seventh round of the 2009 season.
The expected mid-week dip in the weather occurred today, as a band of cloud and rain moved across the area from Bulgaria and Greece. A thunderstorm advisory has been issued for Istanbul this evening, but any showers will quickly die away as the cloud and rain spreads east.
As we move towards the race weekend, conditions will improve dramatically as an area of high pressure moves up from north Africa, spreading across the country during the event - giving increasing temperatures in strong sunshine.
On Friday, clear skies and occasional scattered cloud will return to the Istanbul region. The practice sessions will take place in pleasant conditions and a maximum temperature of 27 degrees Celsius.
Saturday and Sunday see the high pressure becoming more prominent, with a guarantee of wall-to-wall sunshine and temperatures becoming very warm - 30 degrees for qualifying and up to 32 Celsius for the race.
In summary, a hot and dry weekend is to be expected.
Synoptic trend
The week begins with a large area of high pressure extending north into Turkey from North Africa. On Wednesday, conditions will become less settled for a time with the arrival of a weak low bringing patchy rain late on Wednesday and into Thursday. Friday will see high pressure steadily building from the south again, improving conditions throughout the weekend.
Detailed forecast
The build-up to the practice sessions this week will be punctuated by showers and some patchy rain late on Wednesday and through most of the media day on Thursday.
Friday will see conditions improving, with some patches of cloud and good spells of sunshine. Temperatures will be on the rise again following the midweek wobble with the rain, with a predicted maximum of 24 degrees Celsius.
On Saturday and Sunday the improvement will continue, with increasing amounts of sunshine, little in the way of cloud cover and rising temperatures - heading towards 30 degrees for the race.
The track temperature will of course increase throughout the weekend with the improving weather. For the last three years at this circuit, the asphalt temperature has been 17 or 18 degrees higher than that in the air. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect track temps to peak at around 41 degrees on Friday, rising to 45 Celsius on Sunday for the race.