The highly anticipated Istanbul leg of Formula 1, which is closely followed by motorsports fans and is considered the largest event in the world in its field, is taking place in Istanbul, on November 13-14-15.
As one of the world’s most popular tourist city and the 8th most attractive destination in the world with 15 million visitors in 2019, the city of Istanbul will once again host Formula 1, after a 9-year break. As the 14th race of the season, the Turkish Grand Prix where 20 Formula 1 drivers will participate will take place over 58 laps of the 5,3-kilometer-long Intercity Istanbul Park circuit.
World renowned drivers Valtteri Bottas, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Alexander Albon, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Daniil Kvyat, Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi, Daniel Ricciardo, Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen, George Russell, and Nicholas Latifi will experience the excitement of Formula 1 on the Istanbul tracks for the first time.
Over 2 billion people from 200 different countries are expected to watch Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix that is co-sponsored by Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) and T.R. Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Turkey is one of the leading most popular tracks in the world
Following the practice sessions on November 13 for the Formula 1 World Championship, the qualifying session will take place on November 14 from 15.00 to 16.00. The race will take place on November 15 from 13.10 to 15.10. Istanbul’s spectacular track, which was first introduced to the world in 2005 and is famous for its amazing Turn 8 corner, where drivers drive near the track side 4 times within the same apex, welcomes back three F1 drivers who previously experienced triumphant wins here. Britain’s Lewis Hamilton, chasing the world title for the seventh time, Germany’s Sebastian Vettel who won the world title 4 times, and Finland’s Kimi Räikkönen will race at Intercity Istanbul Park after 9 years. In addition, Sergio Perez, and Nico Hulkenberg who will participate in this race are among the drivers who have participated in previous races in Turkey.
F1 Drivers Already Excited about Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix
The thrill of Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix that is going to take place in Istanbul after 9 years is also felt by the teams that will participate in the race. On one of the tweets Mercedes F1 team posted on Twitter, Lewis Hamilton addressed Formula 1 fans in Turkey and said, “We will miss having you on the track side, but I know that you will all tune in and watch the race from your TVs and I also know that you are as excited as we are for the race. I am very happy to be in Istanbul after such a long time.’’
Daniel Riciardo and Esteban Ocon from Renault team also posted tweets in Turkish from Renault’s Twitter account and shared short videos. In their tweets they said, “Wait for us Istanbul, the highly anticipated noise is back in Istanbul.”
In addition to Formula 1, Turkey has previously hosted many global sports events, including the 2005 Champions League Final, the 2009 UEFA Cup Final, the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship, the 2017 Euro League Final Four, the 2019 UEFA Super Cup and the 2020 WRC Rally Championship in September.
As the vibrant cosmopolitan city of Istanbul gets ready for F1 Grand Prix, the excitement spreads to the streets…
A promotional video was filmed on the historical peninsula of Istanbul for the Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix, which returned to Turkey after nine years. The filming began early in the morning at Sarayburnu coast and continued at Galata Bridge, a historical bridge that spans the Golden Horn which was reopened for visitors in October. Formula 1 cars crossed the bridge in great harmony, almost as if performing a show and mesmerized the people watching. Also, Istanbulites showed great interest in Aston Martin Red Bull Racing car, one of the teams participating in the race, as the car toured the streets of Sultanahmet district, the heart of historic old Istanbul.
About Turkey
Situated in the Mediterranean and connecting two continents, Asia and Europe which are separated by the famous Bosphorus, Turkey is a unique destination that welcomed approximately 51.7 million tourists, last year. The country that has always been a hub for cultural interaction and home to varying climates inspires the visitors today with its history, nature and gastronomy that reflect the diversity of civilizations for centuries. Located at the crossroads of cultures, Turkey has a distinctive understanding of art & fashion which is the synthesis of tradition and modernity and its extremely dynamic shopping & entertainment life also attracts the visitors from all over the world.
For more about Turkey please visit: www.goturkey.com
