F1: Turkish Grand Prix Back on the Agenda?

[Chris]

Remember the Turkish Grand Prix? Well, irrespective of your answer to that question, it looks like the gears have been set in motion to see it's return in the coming years and possibly as early as next season.

The new Moustache-laden-Bernie-Ecclestone, Chase Carey, has been meeting with the President of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, and according to Autosport, a deal has been agreed to in principle, but nothing has been signed yet.

The Turkish Grand Prix circuit was previously on the F1 calendar from 2005 to 2011 and quickly became renowned as one of the best tracks of the season. Despite being designed by the (in)famous Hermann Tilke, the track itself is a masterpiece for Grand Prix racing resulting in a highly satisfying experience for the drivers, and great racing for the fans.

The track's signature feature is undoubtedly the incredible "Turn 8". A flatout, quadruple apex left-hander in which cars would routinely reach in excess of 280km/h. With these new breed of F1 cars having vastly more power and downforce, this would truly be a sight to behold.

But, as ever questions must be raised as to the ethics regarding the host nation. This is yet another example of Formula One racing in a country with horrendous records of human rights abuse and tin-pot dictators (Erdogan is a proper nutjob) - among other things - simply for the purposes of profit. Others include China, Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi. All places that are simply on the calendar for the money, rather than the circuit quality or demand for F1 in their respective nations.

In the latter stages of F1's first venture in Turkey, it was painfully apparent that the attendance figures were a complete flop as inflating ticket prices combined with the ever deteriorating state of the country resulted in races with more mechanics in the pit lane than spectators in the grand stands.

Whether or not this will be a success remains to be seen, but we await in scepticism. What do you think? Is Formula One returning to Turkey a good idea? Sure, the new cars will be spectacular around what is admittedly a brilliant track, but do the off-track politics cast too large of a shadow over the event as Formula One yet again delves into dictatorship nations?

 

[oorjit07]

While agree with your inclusion of Azerbaijan as a profit only race, China, Bahrain, and Abu Dhabi are places with a huge interest in motorsports, contrary to what Europeans believe ( that they are the only ones with motorsport).

 

[Nick Gregory]

While I like the track, and do miss it from the calender, I'm not sure if the current state Turkey is in right now would be a good place for a Grand Prix.

 

[ASTE/ Gorace]

fabulous great track with turn 8 , why not a come back after bisness politique....
wait and see

 

[Dirk Steffen]

It is a good track, I am looking forward seeing modern F1 on it - love the elevation changes on this one.

As a side note, no matter of anyones opinion (including my own) I believe it is best to exclude politics from the general content of a dedicated motorsports site, especially when comments are embedded within an article by a staff member, as correct or generally accepted they may be.

Other forums have a special corner (call it the bar or coffee corner, … or paddock chatter, …) within their forums where ANY topic goes, including politics.
I believe this serves the purpose of openly commenting and discussing on this much better.

 

[Roccoveer]

maybe..fast circuit with a great 3 apex corner..amazing. i really hope that this circuit could come back next year

 

[Chris]

It is a good track, I am looking forward seeing modern F1 on it - love the elevation changes on this one.

As a side note, no matter of anyones opinion (including my own) I believe it is best to exclude politics from the general content of a dedicated motorsports site, especially when comments are embedded within an article by a staff member, as correct or generally accepted they may be.

Other forums have a special corner (call it the bar or coffee corner, … or paddock chatter, …) within their forums where ANY topic goes, including politics.
I believe this serves the purpose of openly commenting and discussing on this much better.

Whilst I would normally completely agree with you, in this case the political situation at the heart of this is so overarching that it's impossible to ignore it.

 

[Rustoocas]

I want to ask you: why are you using tag named politics in here? Is politics word part of motorsports?

 

[eljueta]

Whilst I would normally completely agree with you, in this case the political situation at the heart of this is so overarching that it's impossible to ignore it.

While I agree, there are many other GPs in countries where the situation is equally bad if not worse. Ethics never got in the way of Formula 1 sadly. If it did, we would have like a 6-race calendar.

 

[Chris]

I want to ask you: why are you using tag named politics in here? Is politics word part of motorsports?

Please see Post #7

 

[shimon.ifraimov]

who cares about turkish grand prix, bring back germany!!!!!

 

[Nox]

So, talking purely F1 here and putting aside politics (if that's possible) for the moment, it seems odd to return to a circuit in a market that wasn't interested in the sport. It used to be commented that the attendance was rather poor. Still, from a TV perspective it'll be nice to see a race there again, it's not a bad track.

 

[Deleted member 113561]

Would love to see the track back ... love the layout

BUT for political reasons I heavily advise against it ...

 

[JoãoBessaM]

I want to ask you: why are you using tag named politics in here? Is politics word part of motorsports?

When did you get the impression that politics are not part of motorsports.

All management and political stuff aside, is it a good track to lap on? Yes. Is it a good track to race on? No. Please refer to the Alonso - Schumacher battle there to see what I mean.

 

[Yusuf Macit]

While I like the track, and do miss it from the calender, I'm not sure if the current state Turkey is in right now would be a good place for a Grand Prix.

Stop bringing this up every time. You can be sure it will be great to have it back in Istanbul again. Turkey might have political problems just like EVERY other country. On the other hand, there are some countries with equally bad conditions where Grand Prix's are held. These sort of problems are all around the world. The only thing i am worried is that when Istanbul Park is back on the agenda, i am afraid not many people would be interested in this sport. There is no where near enough love for motorsports in Turkey. And i would hate to see those empty seats, almost disrespectful to the sport. As a Turkish person, a simracer and a motorsports fan, i am very eager to have it back, but as @Nox mentioned earlier it is solely terrible for the F1 market.

 

[Andrew Harper]

who cares about turkish grand prix, bring back germany!!!!!

You have my friend. The Malaysian Grand is being dropped and Germany is taking it's place. From what I've read the deal is done it's as usual down to the money side now.

 

[Andrew Harper]

i would hate to see those empty seats

My thoughts as well. Great track, one of my favourites, but it was painfully apparent how empty the grandstands were for the last few years. Hopefully that will be sorted, either by promotion, cheaper prices, etc.

 

[Coffer]

Whilst I would normally completely agree with you, in this case the political situation at the heart of this is so overarching that it's impossible to ignore it.

It is absolutely easy to ignore it. Just be upfront and say that you choose not to, since that's fine too.

When did you get the impression that politics are not part of motorsports.

When did you get the impression that they are? At worst it's a matter of degree - it takes something very serious like Bahrain 2011 to even consider that point, and Turkey's situation is nowhere near that right now.

Please refer to the Alonso - Schumacher battle there to see what I mean.

One battle means nothing, as it was entirely down to Schumacher being very bad at turn 8. Don't just conveniently ignore the good McLaren battles.

So, talking purely F1 here and putting aside politics (if that's possible) for the moment, it seems odd to return to a circuit in a market that wasn't interested in the sport. It used to be commented that the attendance was rather poor. Still, from a TV perspective it'll be nice to see a race there again, it's not a bad track.

Yeah, it does seem weird, almost as if they're trying to cater to the very vocal online fans. As much as they matter, the vast majority of them are not Turkish or considering going to the Turkish GP, thus making the event difficult to justify financially.

 

[Omer Said]

Stop negotiating with such dictatorial countries and focus on historic European tracks!

 

[Coffer]

Stop negotiating with such dictatorial countries and focus on historic European tracks!

You'll probably find that they have no interest, especially financial, in hosting F1 races right now. If F1 is to stop relying on such races (many of which even take place on tracks that, in modern times, are equal or better than said historic tracks - Bahrain has been very good every single year since the addition of DRS), it needs to sort out its own glaring problems, and Liberty are a long way away from doing that at the moment.