F1: Turkish Grand Prix Back on the Agenda?

[Peter Hooper]

I would love to see this track back on the F1 calendar purely from the point of it being a fantastic track. It's long been one of my favourites both from a real world and virtual point of view. Turn 8 is one of those unique sections among F1 circuits, well among any circuit for that matter and it would be great to see these new cars take it on

 

[dragob]

On the positive side: this is the most accessible GP for me, the track is 7 hours drive from my home and i've already visited it twice.
On the negative: the recent (foreign) policy of Turkey (Erdogan) is not very neighbour-friendly.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

how many terrorist attacks did we have in Turkey last year? and people seriously want to stage a big international sports event there? There will be more police than fans. I distinctly remember the empty grandstands the last time around, painful. Especially so, since the track is really fun (at least it was in race07) and also fun to watch. Absolutely split here, love the track but other aspects seem rather negative atm. However, by the time this becomes reality, many factors may have changed, so, still open-minded here.

 

[mister dog]

I wonder if he'd call the F1 drivers crusaders or Nazi's too...

 

[Frank]

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.

I think the political problems in Turkey are a lot different than you see anywhere else, especially how the Turkish administration targets certain European countries, to be even more precise, countries that have a huge amount of F1 followers. So it does make me worried, as Turkey goes more against other countries than the other countries with troubles, they are usually more inland.

However I went to the Turkish GP in 2005 and it was an absolute blast, so I would really love to see it back there. But like Chris mentioned, the political issues within Europe might cause issues.

 

[SunBro]

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.

As a fellow turkish, i wholeheartedly agree. The last time it was held, the amount of empty seats was a complete disgrace to the sport and the economy has only gotten worse since then. As much as i'd love f1 to come back here(the circuit is really good for any type of motorsport, and i'm absolutely not saying it because i live here) i do not want f1 to be ridiculed like this. Those empty seats would only discourage drivers and teams, let alone big wigs.

Oh and dude, don't f**king get me started about erdoğan. Just... don't.

 

[Hash_V8]

This is 100 per cent political, erdoğan will throw barrel loads of cash at F! at a time traditional circuits are crying out at the F1 bills, so F1 is just a side show for erdoğan to use for his own agenda, namely a tool for EU sponsorship/entry,but I guess that tactic beats threatening europe with refugees and organizing mass Turk nationalist riots in the heart of europe, Im not at all for these GPs being held in dictatorships, where often slavery is often still active let alone human right abuses, to me F1 going to these places is a small way of legitimizing these horrible leaders/goverments on a world scale.

 

[Karl S.]

The claim of some people that politics should be excluded when discussing the possibility of a Turkish Grand Prix race is more than a little bit naive, especially considering the fact that Turkey already has a history of mixing politics and Formula 1.

2006 Turkish Grand Prix

The podium display after the race caused controversy when winner Felipe Massa received the trophy from Mehmet Ali Talat, who was referred to as the "President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus." This breakaway area of the island of Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey. The government of the Republic of Cyprus filed an official complaint with the FIA, the body governing the Formula One world championship. After investigating the incident, the FIA fined the organizers of the Grand Prix $5 million on September 19, 2006.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_...play_becomes_international_political_incident

 

[MoerasGrizzly]

I d like to point out that F1 never had a problem with running in dictatorships. Spain, Portugal and Brazil all were dictatorships when F1 ran there, and as much as I adore Johannesberg South Africa was all in on Apartheid whilst F1 was there. I get the sentiment, but F1 never gave a ****.

 

[Erwin Greven]

Charlie Chan: "When money talks, few are deaf" And F1 had never hearing problems. It still hasn't.

 

[Karl S.]

Here's an interesting info tidbit I found on reputable Formula 1 journalist Joe Saward's blog. According to him F1 had conversations with as any as 30 promoters, who are interested in hosting races in the future. A Turkish Grand Prix does not seem to be too high on Formula 1's priority list. Joe Saward is paraphrasing a statement by Sean Bratches, who is the managing director of commercial operations of F1: "(...) when asked about Turkey he did suggest that it would be unwise (...) to buy land in Turkey, on the basis that there might be a race there one day."

Source: https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2017/04/19/notebook-from-paris-in-the-spring/

 

[rubaru]

I'd like to throw in a more current affair that Apartheid in SA or the dictatorships of Spain and Brazil, and show that current F1 doesn't care about political climate.
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/azerbaijan

 

[Captain Jhon]

BRING BACK THE FRENCH GP INSTEAD!

 

[rubaru]

That's 2018