Formula 1 teams took their places at Intercity Istanbul Park and there are only a few days left until the big race. The Turkish GP, which was chosen as the best race of the season last year, is expected to be full of surprises once again, and while there is such a short time left, we wanted to recall the unforgettable events that took place in the Turkish GP with you.
As you know, the F1 Turkish GP was held between 2005-2011 and after a long hiatus, it returned without an audience last year. While the race, which has been added to the calendar again this year, is expected to take a permanent place, let’s take a look at the events that will convince you again why Turkey should be permanent in F1.
Kimi Raikkonen Win, 2005
As you know, the first year of the Turkish GP was 2005. Finnish pilot Kimi Raikkonen, who was sitting in the McLaren-Mercedes seat that season, became the first person to win the Turkish GP by starting from the pole position and maintaining his leadership throughout the race.
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This win was extremely important for Raikkonen at that time, as there was a fierce battle between him and Fernando Alonso, who was sitting in the Renault seat that year. Although the Finnish driver came first in this rainy race, just like last year, he narrowly lost the Formula 1 championship to Alonso in the following races.
Raikkonen broke the record for fastest lap on the track, followed by teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.
Raikkonen, the first leader of the Turkish GP, also made history as the first person to break the record for the fastest lap on the track in the same year. The Finnish driver completed this track in exactly 1:26:797 seconds, in which he turned counterclockwise in his McLaren MP4-20 during qualifying. Later, this record was broken by Juan Pablo Montoya, who was also in the McLaren-Mercedes seat, on race day and Montoya completed Istanbul Park in 1:24.770 seconds.
Two McLarens face off: Hamilton fights Button, 2010
Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button were racing for McLaren in the Formula 1 2020 season. If you’re a die-hard F1 fan, you know how ambitious Hamilton has been on his way to becoming a champion so far. His rivalries with Roseberg before Verstappen continued with Button at that time.
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The fight between Hamilton and Button, wheel-to-wheel, was one of the most talked about events of the 2010 Turkish GP. After this great competition, the names that took the podium were Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, respectively. Jensen Button finished fourth.
Turkish GP broke the record for the race with the most passes in the dry race in 2011
As you know, Intercity Istanbul Park is one of the tracks where not only Formula 1 fans but also pilots love to race. In fact, if you remember, Mercedes Driver Lewis Hamilton declared that the Turkish GP held in 2020 was his favorite race. Thanks to this track, where we saw a lot of action because there was a lot of passing opportunity, the Turkish GP held in 2011 broke the record for the race with the most passes in the dry race.
2020 Turkish GP was chosen as the best race of the season
At the end of the race, the 2020 Turkish GP, where we saw Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel respectively on the podium, was chosen as the race of the year by F1 fans. The other races that followed the Turkish GP, which managed to win the hearts of 33% of those who voted for the races, were the Italian GP and the Sakhir GP.
Schumacher-Alonso’s fierce fight: 2006
As you can see from the video, Schumacher and Alonso, who fought fiercely in the Turkish Grand Prix in 2006, gave F1 fans a very enjoyable time.
The fight between Alonso, who was sitting in the Renault seat at that time, and Schumacher, who was racing for Ferrari, started from the first moment of the race. After seeing the green light, Alonso first chased Schumacher with a very close following distance. At the end of the race, the names that took the podium were Felipe Masa (Ferrari), Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, respectively.
Hamilton hits same record as Schumacher
As you know, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was the winner of the 2020 Turkish GP. Finishing the race with a victory, Hamilton shared the record of legendary pilot Michael Schumacher, who held the record of 91 races at that time with this podium. Hamilton, who also won the Bahrain GP held right after Turkey, thus broke Schumacher’s record.
The successful pilot set a new record in the Russian GP held in the past weeks. Finishing the race in the first position again, Hamilton became the first driver in history to win a total of 100 races.
To watch the interview we made a few days ago with Sadi Hezber, the General Manager of Intercity Istanbul Park, and the tour we dusted the track:
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