This year’s Turkish Grand Prix will be the last – and no-one in F1 circles is going to be complaining about that. The race never got off the ground with the Turkish authorities running into trouble in the second year of the race for a blatant piece of political propaganda in 2006 when they allowed Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat on the podium and billed him as “the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”. This imprudent political statement was a clear breach of FIA regulations and a $5m fine was imposed on the organisers. Since then the Turkish authorities have sold off the promotion company (to the Formula One group) and the politicians have lost interest. Ticket prices are too high and access is difficult. In 2009 only 36,000 tickets were sold and many of the 130,000 seats were covered in an effort to hide the fact that they were empty. The first race, held in 2005, saw much praise being heaped on the new $150m circuit , which provided F1 drivers with a real challenge but no-one cam to watch and the sponsors were less than interested as the Turkish market has not developed as much as had been hoped.
The Turks are saying that they do not want to continue because the Formula One group is asking too much money.
This gives them an excuse to give up without too much local criticism. The reality is that they should be held to task for managing the whole affair badly.
joeblogsf1 
A shame that we have to lose the track, in preference to drone-a-thons like Valencia. At least Turkey is designed in such a way that the TV cameras can get close to the cars.
It hasn’t produced many stellar races though. Even last year’s supposed “classic” was dull for 48 laps, exciting for two laps, then dull to the end.
By the by, I thought Imola was looking lovely for the finale of GP2 Asia recently…
Such a shame, a great track lost
David Edwards
Fear not, Turn Eight is being recreated in Austin.
Shame really that 1 of the better Tilke tracks is the first to die.
If reports are correct and the terms offered were a doubling of the race fees then clearly Bernie has decided there are better offers elsewhere.
Would Abu Dhabi consider recreating the track in its entirity to host their GP?!
Have to agree with you Joe, a textbook example of how not to promote F1 in a new market.
Shame, as the track itself was well designed, and I think much better than that awful excuse for a track around the docks of Valencia.
How F1 can justify two races in Spain is beyond me.
Well it may very well be the fact that Turkey wasn’t the talk of the paddock or within the various ‘inner’ F1 circles but it’ll be very sad all the same for F1 to lose a fan favourite.
It’s a wonderful flowing track and should be an absolute belter this year with DRS.
@ David Edwards & @ Joe.
Point well made Joe.
A circuit cannot be judged as great for having only one (4 apices) challenging corner. Which in my opinion still has nothing on pouhon at Spa.
More room for staten island now. With Bahrain unlikey to return as well, then Russia will fit in nicely, and if Germany cant sort itself out, then who knows where?
I think that Valencia is up for the chop next. My feeling is that Bahrain will be replaced by Qatar.
These are the economics of F1 today … millions in public money to create a one-day backdrop for a two hour TV show and to put a wad of taxpayers cash in the pockets of the owners of F1.
Bob,
Yes, but it works. This is what people want, so there is no point in complaining about it. If people did not want the racing, then it would not happen.
Rahat…etc
I have no idea what you are saying but good on you for saying it.
Speaking to locals who actually went to the circuit the opinion seemed to be. “Why bother? You just get charged a fortune and can hardly see anything”.
The whole thing was poorly organised, marketed and promoted.
The potential was there, Istanbul alone has a population of between 12 and 15 million people and judging by the number of top of the range Mercs, Audi Q7s and Porsche Cayennes on the roads a sizeable minority are not short of cash.
It should be a lesson to other aspiring circuits, on how not to do it.
Aljo,
Absolutely agree with you!
How are things at the Osterreichring (or whatever it is called this week) these days? Lovliest circuit I ever visited.
joesaward
David Edwards
Fear not, Turn Eight is being recreated in Austin.
on April 22, 2011 at 08:58
It is not just turn 8 that makes Istanbul Park a great place for motor racing, the whole circuit is fantastic. The race last year was a classic and this years is almost certainly going to be a classic too. It is one of the best circuits in the world and it will be missed by the drivers and television spectators.
Rob,
Well, you will have no trouble booking it in the future. Unless the goats invade the place
Its a shame as it is a good track, the races have usually been really good to watch and that long left hander (turn 8-10?) is an amazing corner.
I wish I had known it was the last one I would have looked at getting flights to attend.
anyone remembers what the deal was when French Magny-Cours was dropped? similar to this one – a great circuit without great public attention… or not?
If Bernie wants these places to succeed and be around for 20 years surely you get the punters through the gates first and foremost through good pricing. They enjoy themselves , tell their friends and the thing snowballs and the Turkish tv contract becomes valuable. Bernie doesn’t so he extracts maximum short term dollars and it ultimately fails. Onwards to Sochi
Real shame, I was there in 2009 and I fell in love with that track. TV doesn’t do it any justice.
Istanbul is an amazing city but the main problem in the infrastructure to and from the track, a relatively new motorway is in place but the sheer volume of traffic makes it a hot, sweaty nightmare to navigate.
Even though the promoters have some culpability they were on the wrong end of some inconsiderate scheduling decisions.
Shame.Maybe it’s didn’t manage good but it was great track. Specially turn 8.I worked in the opening 53(exit of the turn 8) and it was unbeliviable experience.F-1 getting political every year.It’s big loss.
No kidding. When is someone going to realize the ticket prices are too high for the show provided?
I guess Turkey doesn’t feel they get the $200 million boost to the economy that F1 supposedly brings. Bad job by everyone involved with this although since Bernie got his money and some suckers in Texas lined up, he doesn’t care.
@LeighJW
The Oesterreichring / A1-Ring was recently reprofiled and called the…. Red Bull Ring.
I believe it will hold DTM and some other small formulae this year.
I thought Bernie just loves these ludicrous dictatorships…I’m disappointed there is no talk about how the Turkish people got shafted.
This April 2011 a swiss reporter teams making a reportage about the 2022 FIFA World Cup was held 10 days long in Qatar without any explanations.
Certainly the best place in the Gulf to host a Grand Prix !
Shame. I can understand why it didn’t catch on, but it was a great track.
At least Turn 8 is going to be saved, but still sad.
Couldn’t they move the circuit to Budapest ? It’s not that far away …
Joe, while I get that the race lacked atmosphere for the attendees (and clearly there weren’t many) this is another track that before all the artificial ‘racing’ aids came into being, offered the opportunity for a race, and the good drivers took it. Magny Cours always gave the courageous the oppurtunity to overtake, but the media contingent always decried the ‘back of nowhere’ nature etc and moaned that it was not a good track.
As someone who is on the other side of the world, and in the majority of F1 viewers (i.e. watches on TV) I couldn’t care less about the area the track is in, or whether the hotels and restaurants surrounding it are rubbish, or non-existent.
Both these tracks produced good racing. It really bugs me when the insiders/journos complain about the locale, and forget that the majority of people just want to see a good race, on a good track.
The circuit for me is the second best right after Spa. It has great elevation changes, the Turkish cork screw and the famous turn 8. It is a crying shame to loose this track and see F1 stay in Hungary, Barcelona and Valencia. TV viewers don’t care if the seats are full and what it feels for the F1 circus, they just want a great track that produces good racing. Seen with that glasses Istanbaul Park has done a premium job over the years.
Tracks come and go but it’s when greats such as Imola are lost that it bothers me. I’ll be sorry to see the back of the the circuit, but can’t say it’s a huge loss. Of all the Tilke tracks, Istanbul Park is one of the 2 I actually like (Sepang is the other), but turn 8 lives on at least in austin and 1 & 2 were a rip off of Interlagos.
The crowds there did seem to be getting steadily smaller, as was China. But last week was a great example of how getting the ticket prices right can make a huge difference. It was great to see, and hear, 91k at Shanghai. The race fees obviously make it a fine balancing act for the promoters, but if you charge too much people will stay away, especially in emerging markets. They seemed to get the fans in at Korea and I recall it being mentioned at the time that they had priced the tickets with the view of attracting a healthy crowd. So hopefully the message will sink in. Did I hear £9 for weekend admission in Sepang? When it’s that cheap for the tickets, who cares if the flight is a little more expensive!
I just pray that the next track to go is Valencia. That place really does suck monkey balls.
We tick off the countries bailing on our sport as if it’s meaningless. Melbourne want it off their books, France dropped it, so to Canada for a while, Japan is struggling with it, Germany as well, Spa dropped it too. When the sport is only in it to get a return for their shareholders and will prostitute itself to the highest bidder regardless of the long term impact you have big problems. Please Rupert buy this gig before the greedy capitalists take it beyond the point of no return. I know Rupert brings another set of concerns but he will be more focused on the fans than Bernie ever will be, as more fans mean more revenue for his business.
Larry,
Only a few noisy people in Melbourne make a fuss. France could not afford it because the race track was in the wrong place and the government is too busy looking up its own bottom. Canada had tobacco problems and Japan is doing fine. The sport is doing fine. You really do need to look at things a bit more closely.
I said a long time ago that Qatar will replace Bahrain. You should pay tribute to your sources Joe
The irony of the matter remains the same: hosting an F1 race gets next to nothing for the circuit owner while FOA continues to pocket an incredibly large portion of the revenues earned; literally at the cost of the circuit owner! This stage-manged show called F1 refuses to operate on todays terms and realities. Its time that the circuit owners formed their own association and demanded a fair revenue-sharing model just like the F1 teams did so in the past.
Dear all.
Joe- re: Melbourne- one of the noisy people in Melbourne is the Lord Mayor- and, he was questioning whether it made sense from the angle of cost/benefit. Interestingly, he is a member of the Liberal party, (the Australian Tories), same part as the newly elected Victorian Govt. Ron Walker, who heads up the Victorian Events mob is, or was, also a Liberal. (From memory, he was Federal President, certainly, he was on the Federal Exec).
Perhaps the man is only grandstanding, who knows, but, I was surprised, given that the GP’s move to Melbourne was the work of a previous Liberal Govt, and, they generally don’t take potshots at their own.
As to the sport doing fine. Well, certainly, the business of f1 is.
Cheers
MarkR
It’s a shame – Istanbul is a great circuit. I’d much rather than under-attended races at good circuits than packed crowds at bland venues like Magny-Cours. It’s just a shame that the one circuit Tilke got right (okay, the second circuit after Sepang) should slip away like this. Especially with all those elevation changes.
All is not lost, though. Tilke copied Turn 8 for Austin. And it’s said to be harder than its parent – downhill, off-camber and getting increasingly faster with the minimum allowable run-off (though Tavo Hellmund says that if he had his way, there would be no run-off at all).
The ticket price situation makes me sad. I’ve been going to F1 races since 1957. Montreal is an easy drive and I used to go every year; no more. $325 for the cheapest seats is absurd. GA used to be pretty good but that has all gone and it’s basically dishonest that they still sell those tickets.
I hope Austin is better, but am not getting my hopes too high.
I know it’s been said, but I have to reiterate it. Shame that what most people would consider to be the best Tilke track out there (the only good Tilke track IMHO) is the one we lose.
I know from a local sense Turkey was/is a failure. No local support and empty grandstands are never a good thing. That said, I for one will be sad to see it go. The upside is I get a GP next year, bring on Austin and it’s replica of Istanbul’s epic turn 8.
Aye, i’d have to agree with many of the other posters here Joe. Even though Turkey may not have been the best attended GP, the track itself was done quite well by Herr Tilke. Saddened to see it go, but hope that the footprint will be repeated elsewhere.
Joe, I’d like your opinion on why F1 still uses Brazil.
The track is always in very poor condition. Bernie went on the warpath about Silverstone, which was perfectly acceptable to operate at, yet Brazil has no negative comments from him.
Every year there is some drama/security/thefts there. How long before someone gets killed by the local criminals?
OXO
Because it is the only track in Latin America
Too bad for Turkey, but this settles the situation for next year’s North American races. Austin the first weekend of June, then my home race 7 days later… I’m already planning my trip to Texas…
it indeed is a shame for the sport, because even though istanbul park is not a historical venue and does not have the background like the giants such as monza, spa, monaco and so on, it took attention and respect from lots of fans. a great whole circuit, and it looks like none of the authorities give a damn thing in here. it’s slipping away, and probably no chance to come back.
but, the last group of people is to blame here are the fans. security acts like you are a beggar, the ticket prices for the ‘nothing but dust grandstands’ or general admission as it’s called are quite ok. but the vending area is yelling ‘let me see the hands you poor f1 fans, this is a robbery!’. even the little tiny water bottles that can’t help the dehydration of a bug are sold for a price like 3 pounds. slices of pizzas which are thinner and smaller than an f1 winglet plus a so-called-cold-drink is sold for 15 pounds. merchandise apparels are indeed have high price for the local fans and if you don’t pass on the papers for the grandstands you wont have the chance to keep in touch with the circuit via big giant screens, because the only thing you can observe is the beautiful sides of that screen which makes an exact ninety degrees with you.
advertising is below zero, all the government bodies have better things to concern about, the press is nothing but a chain between the ankles, but it is always the fans. and it will keep like that. it’s always fans, not even orientalist modern authorities making their funny jokes.
(p.s: for the dearest joe saward, it’s not the goats that will invade the track, camels. yeah, like in the cigarettes.)
Hey Guys,
Can anyone tell if you can buy tickets for the Turkey F1 direct from the circuit on race day? Also can you purchase just Sundays race day? I’ve noticed online that only 3 day passes are available……
Am travelling over from Australia and would love some feedback…
Go Webber!!