TURKISH GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
The 2008 FIA World Championship proceeds to Istanbul next
week for round five of the season and the fourth Turkish Grand
Prix on Sunday 11 May. Located on the Bosphorus Strait, which
acts as a gateway between Asia and Europe, Istanbul is renowned
for it’s traditional versus modern dichotomy and provides
for one of the most culturally diverse destinations on the
calendar.
A relative newcomer still having only made its debut in 2005,
the Hermann Tilkedesigned Otodrom is a lesser known proposition
than last week’s race at Barcelona, but its state of
the art facilities put it on a par with Bahrain and Shanghai
from a driver, team and fan perspective. With two more points
added to its Constructors’ total following Kazuki Nakajima’s
seventh place in Barcelona, the AT&T Williams team will
continue in its pursuit of points-paying finishes to fortify
its position in the Championship.
Nico Rosberg
I’m looking forward to Turkey. It was our strongest
race last year in terms of pace in comparison to the front
runners so I think we can do well there. The circuit itself
is great and it should suit our car. We’ve spent some
time analysing our performance in Spain, where we took the
wrong set-up direction with the car in the opening sessions.
We’ve learnt from that mistake so we should definitely
take a step forward next weekend. I’m looking forward
to it.
Kazuki Nakajima
I’m not particularly familiar with Turkey’s circuit,
but I did race there last year in GP2 and liked the track
so hopefully I can do a good job for the team in my debut
there in an F1 car. I will try my best to get a good result
and score some more points. Sam Michael, Technical Director,
Williams F1
Istanbul’s Otodrom has a couple of overtaking opportunities
per lap and a good mixture of high, medium and low speed corners.
The circuit has a great layout and always produces something
exciting during the race.
The Turkish Grand Prix normally takes place in August, when
it’s always really hot. With the race falling earlier
this year, though, the temperatures are likely to be much
cooler which will have an impact on bodywork configuration
and tyre selection. Downforce is some way off the maximum
level because of the long straights, so car set-up is arranged
around that. Bridgestone will bring the harder compound tyres
to Turkey, mainly due to the long and heavily-loaded left
hander of turn eight, a corner which sees the cars and drivers
experience the longest period at such a high lateral load
of any track on the calendar. The majority of the teams will
most likely opt for a two stop strategy in Turkey.
The purpose-built Istanbul Speed Park is an entirely different
technical proposition to the previous race held at Barcelona.
A modern circuit measuring just over 5.3kms per lap, the Otodrom
is a challenging blend of long and short straights, interspersed
with eight left and six right-hand corners. Each turn places
different demands on the car and the driver, none more so
than turn eight - the notorious triple apexer which is taken
at speeds reaching 250km/h and which places between 4 and
4.5g of lateral loadings on the drivers 58 times during the
course of the race.
Turkey also features some interesting gradient changes which,
while not upsetting the balance of the car, must be taken
into consideration during set-up. Like San Marino and Brazil,
Turkey runs in an anti-clockwise direction which creates additional
pressures - notably for the tyres, and particularly for the
right front, as well as for the drivers’ neck muscles.
Measuring 20m at its widest, and with large braking zones,
the circuit also provides plenty of overtaking opportunities
which should guarantee a compelling race next Sunday.
STATS & FACTS
KEY RACE DATA
RACE DISTANCE / LAPS 5.338kms / 3.317 miles. 58 laps = 309.396kms
/ 192.250 miles
RACE START TIME Local: 15.00, BST: 13.00
2007 FASTEST LAP K Raikkonen, Ferrari: 1:27.295
2007 POLE SITTER F Massa, Ferrari: 1:27.329
2007 RACE WINNER F Massa, Ferrari
PIT-STOP SCHEDULE
1 stop: Laps 27 - 33
2 stops: Laps 12 - 15, 33 - 37
3 stops: Laps 6 – 12, 20 - 27, 37- 45
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