Istanbul Park is a challenging mix of long and short straights, interspersed with eight left and six right-hand corners. However, as one of the few anti-clockwise circuits on the calendar, it is its left-handed corners that dominate, none more so than the triple-apex Turn 8.
Turn 8 is one of the longest corners of the season lasting a full eight seconds and 600 metres from corner entry to corner exit, at a top speed of 270 km/h while subjecting drivers to an average lateral force of 4.3 g, peaking at 5.2g. For 58 laps. To make the corner even trickier, there are several large bumps which can disrupt the car. In practice, the drivers adjust their line to avoid the bumps, rather than compromising the car set-up to cope with them. For those who do get it wrong, there's an enormous asphalt run-off to save the worst of their blushes.
Turkish Grand Prix
Top speed:
315 km/h (190 mph)
Average speed:
222 km/h (138 mph)
Time at full-throttle:
63%
Time under braking:
10%
Gear changes per lap:
42
Tyre compounds:
soft/hard
Tyre wear:
medium/high
Brake demand:
medium
Downforce level:
medium/high
Turkish Grand Prix
In order to post a successful lap time, good car balance is essential to cope with the number of 180-degree corners that reward good handling. Then there's the slow left-right-left sequence at the end of the lap that leads the cars back onto the pit straight. This is the turn the drivers have to focus on above all others as this is where most overtaking takes place. The run down to Turn 12 is made up of two straights divided by the high speed Turn 11 which is taken in sixth gear. Ideally, downforce would be dictated by the high- and medium-speed corners, but this long high-speed stretch shifts the drivers towards a low-medium package in order to achieve competitive top speeds, either to overtake or defend their position. This high speed sector also results in the engines being at full throttle for around 16 seconds and approximately 67 per cent of the lap is spent at full throttle, a figure that is well above average. Cooling, however, is not such a problem as the low speed sections are short and spaced out around the circuit.
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Turkish Grand Prix
Key Points:
Turn 8 - Extremely fast, sweeping left-hander with four apexes – the right line is key but there is also the issue of the car bottoming as there are a lot of bumps
Turns 12 - Located after the long straight, Turn 12 provides the best chance to overtake
Turns 13 and 14 - A very demanding combination of turns that are key to maximising top speed on the finishing straight.
