Istanbul Park
Turkish Grand Prix
Is Istanbul Park Good for Racing?
The 2021 race makes a good case for it. Lewis Hamilton set the fastest qualifying time, dropped to 11th with an engine penalty and still worked his way up to fifth on a damp track. At the front, Valtteri Bottas had to pass Charles Leclerc on lap 47 to take the lead back.
Most of that passing happens at Turn 12, the biggest braking zone on the lap, at the end of the back straight. Turn 1 gives a second chance, but only to a driver who’s already alongside as the road drops away.
Istanbul Park
Strategy Factors
2021 Turkish Grand Prix
What to Look Out for at the Turkish Grand Prix
The surface is the unknown. It’s felt different on each recent visit, and nobody can say yet how Istanbul Park will behave in October 2027, a return that still depends on FIA homologation.
Rain has been the other constant. Both recent races ran in the wet, and Hamilton won in 2020 on intermediates that had done 50 laps. Pole converted once in those two races. There’s no published pit loss for the current surface either, so the long runs in practice will be the first real guide to strategy.
Corner guide covering the blind Turn 1, the four-apex Turn 8, Turn 9's exit and the Turn 12 braking zone.
Promoter page with the 2027 date, pre-registration status, nine past races and the 2027 to 2031 agreement.
Official 2027 event page with the 5.338km circuit specification and Montoya's race lap record.
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Insider · Issue 23
01 · The Last Race
Singapore by Salary
Pos
Driver
Pts
Salary
1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
25
$70m
2
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
18
$34m
3
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
15
$3.4m
4
Lando Norris
McLaren
12
$30m
5
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
10
$13m
6
Insider+
7
Insider+
Our Take · Insider+
What Each Point Now Costs Red Bull
Turkish Grand Prix Tire Strategy
Pirelli has struggled to read this track. It brought the three hardest compounds, C1 to C3, in 2020, and drivers couldn’t get them warm. For 2021 it went softer with C2 to C4 and later admitted the choice was too aggressive.
Rain made the 2021 race an intermediate-tire race. Esteban Ocon ran all 58 laps without stopping and finished tenth, the first full race distance without a pit stop in 24 years. In the dry, the long load through Turn 8 gives the track its name for rapid tire wear.
C2 to C4 nomination, the water-blasting, Bottas's credited pole, Ocon's no-stop run and Hamilton's grid penalty.
C1 to C3 nomination, the late resurfacing and low grip, and Hamilton's 50-lap intermediates in the wet.
Istanbul Park Sector by Sector and Corner by Corner
Speeds, gears and braking points below come from Lewis Hamilton‘s 1:22.868 lap in 2021 qualifying, the fastest of the session and the last F1 qualifying here. A 10-place grid penalty for a new engine meant Valtteri Bottas started from pole and is credited with it. Hamilton was at full throttle for 66% of the lap and braked for 12.4 seconds across six braking zones. The slowest point was 85 km/h at Turn 12.
FastF1 timing data for Lewis Hamilton's 1:22.868 fastest lap, used for the speeds, gears, braking points and sector figures
Romain Grosjean on Turn 8 and the load on the neck
Turn 12 as the place for overtakes and the comparisons with Spa, Interlagos and Laguna Seca
History of Istanbul Park
Istanbul Park was built in under two years and lost F1 over money after 2011. It first came back as a pandemic stand-in, and it’s now on a longer deal.
Construction and opening dates, the Turn 8 and Faux Rouge corners, the 2011 exit and later operators.
Supports the circuit's history timeline and layout changes across its two Formula 1 spells.
How Much Does Istanbul Park Cost?
Istanbul Park cost at least $150m to build, according to a 2006 report, although F1's own circuit guide gives $40m. No hosting fee has been published for the five-year return that starts in 2027. The deal is with the Turkish Presidency and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and TOSFED's president credited "unwavering state support". The first spell ended after 2011 when the organizers said the fee was too high.
How Much Did Istanbul Park Cost to Build?
At least $150m, according to a Grandprix.com report from 2006, written while the circuit was new. Formula1.com's current circuit guide gives a much lower $40m. Hermann Tilke designed the track at Akfırat, about an hour east of Istanbul, work began in 2003 and it was ready for the first Turkish Grand Prix in August 2005. The circuit was resurfaced just before the 2020 race, a job overseen by Tilke's engineering firm, and the cost of that work was never published.
What Is the Turkish Grand Prix Hosting Fee for 2027-2031?
It hasn't been published. F1 announced the five-year deal on April 24, 2026, with Turkey's Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Turkish Presidency, and with the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) as delivery partner. No one gave a figure, but TOSFED's president said the race came back "thanks to unwavering state support". That's a change from the first spell, which ended after 2011 when the organizers said the fee was too high. No fee was published for the 2020 and 2021 stand-in races either, held when the private operator Intercity ran the circuit.
The $40m build figure, work starting in 2003 and the first race in August 2005
The 2027-2031 deal with the ministry and the Presidency, TOSFED's role, the state support quote and no published fee
The Turkish contract to 2031
The 2020 stand-in race at Intercity Istanbul Park
The 2020 resurfacing overseen by Tilke Engineers and Architects
How Much Are Turkish Grand Prix Tickets?
Ordinary prices for 2027 haven't been released, so the last published ones are from 2021. That year three-day general admission cost €37 ($42) and the top seat in the covered Main grandstand cost €415 ($473). Other grandstand prices aren't listed. The only 2027 figure is a reseller's non-binding hospitality reference of €3,499 ($3,990). The 2021 entry price is below every current race, including China at $72 and Monza at $144, but ticket sellers expect 2027 prices to be higher.
Istanbul Park and Turkish Grand Prix Questions
Istanbul Park’s Turn 8 is a long left with four apexes, similar to the multi-apex bends of the old Nürburgring. Drivers carry more than 5g through it over a bumpy surface, so the car has to stay settled under a heavy load for far longer than in a normal corner.
Fresh asphalt laid two weeks before the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix gave so little grip that drivers couldn’t get heat into their tires. Before 2021 the surface was water-blasted to roughen it up, but Pirelli had already picked its compounds by the time it found out.
Istanbul Park has hosted nine Turkish Grands Prix, seven in a row from 2005 to 2011 and two more in 2020 and 2021 when the pandemic reshaped the calendar. The October 1-3, 2027 race would be its tenth. The last of the nine, in October 2021, was won by Valtteri Bottas.
Juan Pablo Montoya set the Istanbul Park lap record of 1:24.770 for McLaren at the first Turkish Grand Prix in 2005. Neither of the recent races got near it, and Valtteri Bottas’s fastest lap in 2021 was 1:30.432, set on the final lap.
The Turkish Grand Prix was last run over 58 laps of the 5.338km Istanbul Park circuit, a race distance of 309.396km. Bottas took 1:31:04.103 to cover it on a damp track in 2021. F1 hasn’t published a lap count for 2027 yet, so those figures are the historical benchmark.
Istanbul Park cost at least $150m to build, according to a Grandprix.com report from 2006, although Formula1.com’s circuit guide gives a lower figure of $40m. Hermann Tilke designed the track at Akfırat, about an hour east of Istanbul. Work began in 2003, and it held the first Turkish Grand Prix in August 2005.
No fee has been published for Turkey’s return. The five-year deal for 2027-2031 was signed with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Turkish Presidency, and TOSFED delivers the race with what its president called “unwavering state support”. The first spell ended after 2011 when the organizers said the fee was too high.