The Turkish Grand Prix made its Formula One debut in 2005 at an all-new purpose-built circuit just outside Istanbul. The 5.338km track was designed by Herman Tilke, the man behind the new circuits in Malaysia, Bahrain and China.

The circuit features fourteen turns – eight lefts and six rights – with plenty of gradient change as the track is built on four different ground levels. An unusual feature is that the lap runs anti-clockwise, joining Interlagos in Brazil as the only circuits currently on the calendar to do so. The circuit provides the drivers with a real challenge, with the cars reaching speeds of up to 330kph along the two main straights.

“The track layout is excellent with a challenging combination of long straights, tight hairpins and the very high-speed turn eight,” points out Jenson Button. “The changes in elevation also contribute to making it a fun circuit for the drivers. There are some really good overtaking opportunities at turn one and turn three where I gained a place in the race last year. You also have a chance at passing into turns nine and twelve. To get a really quick lap around this circuit, you really need to consciously push hard all the way round and use the track's camber to your full advantage.”

Rubens Barrichello is also excited about the venue: “I have been very impressed with the Istanbul circuit over the past two years and we have seen some exciting races there. The track is fairly challenging from a driver’s point of view as it runs anti-clockwise which is quite unusual and physically tough, and also the undulations are quite extreme which can make your lap quite exciting. The highlight for most drivers is the high-speed triple apex turn eight.”