2008 TURKISH GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
The Turkish Grand Prix at the Istanbul Speed Park marks the
next stop on the 2008 Formula 1 calendar.
The race was introduced to the sport in 2005, with the inaugural
race won by the team. The event takes place at the Istanbul
Speed Park in the Tepeören - Tuzla area near Istanbul,
on the Asian side of the Bosporus river.
Following his accident at the Spanish Grand Prix, Heikki
Kovalainen will be required to pass the mandatory FIA fitness
checks, which are required after any concussion, before participating
in the race. These will take place at the Istanbul circuit
on Thursday 8th May.
LEWIS HAMILTON
Following a solid result in Spain, what are your
thoughts ahead of the Turkish race?
"Qualifying was surprising close in Spain, both at the
front of the grid and in the midfield. Whilst there are clear
chances to overtake at the Istanbul Speed Park, it is going
to be vital to qualify well. The balance of the car felt good
in Spain, and this is really key at Turkey because of the
high speed corners. You need to have a stable balance to be
quick through them, such as turn three. You also need a very
stable car through turn eight, to ensure you conserve your
Bridgestone Potenzas and that you are able to carry speed
through there. This section of the track is key as you can
gain a lot of time."
Turkey is one of the anti-clockwise races, can you
outline any impact this has on the driver and the Bridgestone
Potenza tyres?
"On the tyres, the issue is more turn eight. This is
where tyres can suffer on the track and you have to be careful
to ensure you don’t scrub them. The anti-clockwise direction
doesn’t really have an effect. The majority of the tracks
we race at during the year are clockwise, so it is inevitable
that the right side of your next gets stronger. As a result,
you do need to prepare the left side of your neck a little
bit more to make sure that it doesn’t weaken over the
course of the race weekend. I have spent some time doing this
with my trainer since Spain so it shouldn’t be a problem."
Do you enjoy racing at the Istanbul Speed Park?
"I do, it is a fantastic circuit. It is quite demanding,
particularly through turn eight, but it provides a good challenge.
I always look forward to the race and hope to improve on last
year’s result. I also hope to have Heikki alongside
me for the race so we can get a good joint result for the
team, I know he has a final check at the track on Thursday
so we will have to wait and see until then."
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
It is a few days since we last caught up with you,
how are you feeling now?
"I am feeling good, the stiffness in my neck has pretty
much gone and I have been back training. I left Spain on Thursday
and went back to Finland, where I have spent some time working
with the team doctor at our facility there on ensuring I am
fit for the race. Initially during the week we were doing
some light training before starting on my full programme just
before the weekend. Lewis will also be here over the weekend
doing his training before the race. Next stage for me is the
fitness test at the track in Turkey on Thursday with the FIA.
I can’t wait to get back into the car and race with
the team next weekend, but at the end of the day that decision
is out of my hands, the FIA will make it based on safety grounds
only."
After an accident of that scale, do you have any
doubts about getting back into a Formula 1 car?
"None whatsoever, I want to get back racing as soon as
possible, since the accident at Barcelona it has been my only
focus. Everyone involved in the sport, the FIA in particular,
is always working on improving safety for the drivers, but
Formula 1 is a risky business. You know that as a driver,
but you don’t think about it. If you worry about things
like that, you lose focus; I guess it is just not in my psyche."
Can you talk us through the famed turn eight at the
Istanbul Speed Park?
"Turn eight is made up of four corners, one corner after
another just turning left, left, left and left, with four
apexes. To get it right you have to hit one apex, then just
lift a little bit at the right point and then you can go full
throttle again for the next. It is not easily flat out, but
it is almost flat out and the line is so crucial, that is
one reason why it is so challenging and drivers like big challenges
so I guess that is why we enjoy it so much. Also, it compresses
in the middle of the corner, it dips a little bit and the
car quite easily bottoms out. This is why you sometimes dust
coming from the bottom of the car."
The circuit is also known for its elevation changes,
is this something that has an impact on set-up?
"It is definitely one of the circuits that has more up
hills and down hills, also there are some apexes that are
on the brown of the hill and are blind. There are also parts
of the circuit that are very flat, so it doesn’t have
a big effect on the set-up as it would be too much of a compromise.
It does mean you pay attention more to your driving lines
and trying to maximise when you go on the power over these
hills, trying to maximise your own technique. Going over the
crest of hills is the same as in a road car, you get that
sensation with your stomach, but you get used to it as you
do more laps over the course of the weekend."
What is the track like for overtaking?
"Its good, it has a number of places with straight line
speed going into some slower corners and this means there
are opportunities to overtake. I think the best place is at
the end of the back straight. It is very long and you can
outbrake."
MARTIN WHITMARSH, CEO FORMULA 1, VODAFONE McLAREN
MERCEDES
What is the latest situation with Heikki, his car
from Barcelona and the car for Turkey?
"Heikki is fighting fit. Our team doctor has kept an
eye on him during the week both in Spain and then at the Kuortane
Sports Institute in Finland and there has been no development
of any secondary symptoms so everything is positive on that
front. Before traveling to Istanbul, we will organise a full
neurological examination for Heikki with our specialists in
Finland as a matter of course. He will then have the mandatory
FIA evaluation on Thursday at the circuit, which is a routine
neuro and physiological test completed after any concussion.
Of course we have a plan in place should the FIA request Heikki
sits this race out, as at all Grands Prix, but we have a race
driver who is naturally impatient to get back out there and
this is the aim of the team. That said, we will fully respect
the decision of the medical professionals, they are the specialists.
On the car front, Heikki’s car from Spain was transferred
back to the McLaren Technology Centre arriving lunchtime on
the Monday following the race. Every part was immediately
quarantined whilst the forensic analysis into the cause of
the incident is completed. This is usual practice and some
components may be salvaged in due course. In the meantime,
the spare chassis that was in Spain is in the process of being
built into a complete MP4-23, which Heikki will race, all
being well, in Turkey. Some of this work took place in Spain,
some back at base and some more in Turkey. Istanbul is a very
challenging location for the team, as it is not a traditional
European race or a flyaway. The majority of the equipment
travels to the event by ship, taking much longer to get there
and, naturally, to come back. The race team equipment, including
the cars departed for Turkey directly from Spain, this includes
the spare chassis just mentioned. A new spare chassis will
be sent to Turkey directly from the McLaren Technology Centre."
The Istanbul Speed Park tends to be quite a demanding
circuit on tyres, what are your expectations in this area
for the race?
"The circuit has actually some terrifically demanding
corners, and it is therefore positive that we are coming away
from Barcelona where the MP4-23 was very strong in high speed
corners. If you can have a well balanced car through high
speed corners then you can be kinder to the tyres. So we have
every reason to be optimistic that we will be able to preserve
our Bridgestone Potenzas at this track. A key part of the
practice sessions is understanding the conditions we find
when we get to the track, we will be very careful in these
sessions to analyse, working together with Bridgestone, tyre
wear and degradation with representative race fuel loads".
Has the team been focusing on any particular areas
of development prior to this race, what is required from a
car to be quick here?
"Given the challenging nature of the circuit, we have
come away from Barcelona with some confidence for the high
speed corners, but we also come away knowing that we have
areas where we need to strengthen the car. The tighter, more
twisty parts of the Circuit de Catalunya were certainly our
Achilles heel during the race weekend, and there has been
a lot of analysis and study of that as we endeavour to strengthen
our car in that area."
NORBERT HAUG, VICE PRESIDENT, MERCEDES-BENZ MOTORSPORT
How is Heikki Kovalainen doing following his accident
in the Spanish Grand Prix on 27th April?
“Heikki was really lucky, and we were too of course.
The MP4-23’s safety cell prevented the outcome from
being worse, as did the safety barriers at the race track.
This accident might have had more serious consequences, had
it not been for the FIA and the teams working intensively
and continuously on improved safety standards over the past
14 years. The medical teams at the racetrack and in the hospital
did exemplary jobs as well as the marshals. Heikki and the
team want to thank all of them. Heikki didn’t have any
injuries; however, he did have a headache. One day after the
accident, he was released from the hospital in Barcelona.
First he took time to recover, and now he is preparing for
the next Grand Prix in Istanbul. Before that he of course
has to undergo the medical check by the FIA. It is not so
important that Heikki will take part in the next race; it
is important that he will be racing again when he will have
fully recovered.”
Prior to Barcelona, it has been the opinion of experts
that on this track the real balance of power would become
obvious and that the team which is in front in Barcelona would
remain in front for the rest of the year. What is your opinion?
“Barcelona as the first Grand Prix of the European season
and, with its challenging track layout, is definitely a yardstick
for the following races. In qualifying, we missed pole position
by less than three tenths of a second; however, we carried
a little more fuel and therefore more weight. Anyway, even
with the same fuel load we wouldn’t have been fast enough
to beat Ferrari. Since winning the season opener in Melbourne,
our car has improved gradually and has become significantly
faster. Unfortunately, we didn’t score all possible
points, neither in Melbourne, Malaysia, Bahrain or Barcelona,
mostly due to self-induced mistakes and this is the reason
for the gap to the top of the rankings, after Ferrari had
scored only one point in Melbourne. Our aim is to improve
further over the next few races, however it is possible the
Turkish Grand Prix might be a challenging race for the team.”
How do you evaluate the chances of Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes in the Turkish Grand Prix?
“We didn’t really shine here in the past, and
also this time we are not the current benchmark. The team
wants to score as many points as possible, but after three
consecutive wins Ferrari obviously arrive here as the favourites.”
VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES STATISTICS
Lewis Heikki Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Race Starts 21 21 635
Race Wins 5 0 157
Pole Positions 7 0 134
Points 129 44 3211.5
Podiums 14 2 418
Fastest Laps 2 2 137
ISTANBUL SPEED PARK INFORMATION
Circuit Length 5.338km / 3.317 miles
Race Distance 309.356km / 192.233 miles
Laps 58
Number of Corners 14
Inaugural Race 2005
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