Here are all the facts and statistics you need to know from the previous eight races held at Istanbul Park ahead of Formula 1’s return to the circuit for the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix!
TURKISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS
Eight previous Formula 1 races have been held at Istanbul Park. From those seven races there have been five different winners.
Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton are the only drivers to have won multiple Turkish Grands Prix. Massa won the event in three consecutive seasons in 2006, 2007 and 2008, while Hamilton won the race in both 2010 and 2020. Massa’s three wins mean that Ferrari are the most successful team at the circuit, while McLaren are the only other team to have taken multiple wins at the event. Mercedes are the most successful engine manufacturer at the track, with four wins.
Brazil, Britain, Finland and Germany are the only nations to have taken a victory at Istanbul Park. Brazil and Britain lead the way with three wins apiece. Felipe Massa took all three of Brazil’s wins, while Lewis Hamilton (2) and Jenson Button (1) share Britain’s three wins.
Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull are the three teams to have taken 1-2 finishes at Istanbul Park. Ferrari did so in 2007, McLaren did so in 2010 and Red Bull did so in 2011.
Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the largest win margin at the Turkish Grand Prix. He took victory in 2020 with a margin of 31.633 seconds. The smallest win margin at the circuit was for Felipe Massa in 2007. He won the 2007 race by just 2.275 seconds.
From the eight races at Istanbul Park, the average win margin has been 10.005 seconds.
All but one Turkish Grand Prix has been won from the front row of the grid, the exception being Lewis Hamilton’s win from sixth on the grid in 2020. 2009 and 2010 are the only other races at the circuit which were not won from pole position.
ON THE PODIUM
Ten drivers have finished on the podium at the Turkish Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso has had the most podium finishes at Istanbul Park, having finished in the top three on four occasions.
Ferrari have taken the most podium finishes of any team at Istanbul Park. They have finished on the podium on eight occasions, twice more than McLaren. Red Bull, Renault, Brawn GP and Racing Point are the other teams to have finished on the podium at the Turkish Grand Prix.
British drivers have had the most podium finishes in Turkey, with drivers from the nation recording five top three results.
From the 2021 grid, Fernando Alonso (4), Kimi Raikkonen (3), Lewis Hamilton (3), Sebastian Vettel (3) and Sergio Perez (1) are the drivers who have previously finished on the podium at the Turkish Grand Prix.
Eleventh is the furthest back grid slot from which a podium finish has been recorded at Istanbul Park. That was for Sebastian Vettel, who finished third in the 2020 race.
The 2006 Turkish Grand Prix is the only race at Istanbul Park where all of the top three starters have gone on to finish on the podium. There is yet to be a race at the track where the top three have finished in the order in which they started.
TURKISH GRAND PRIX POLESITTERS
Five drivers have taken pole position at Istanbul Park. Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel are the only drivers to have taken multiple poles at the circuit. Massa has taken the most poles, with three. Kimi Raikkonen, Mark Webber and Lance Stroll are the other drivers to have taken pole at the circuit.
Ferrari and Red Bull are tied for most poles at the circuit, with three apiece. McLaren and Racing Point are the only other teams to have taken pole position for the Turkish Grand Prix.
Massa’s tally of three poles means that Brazil are the most successful country in qualifying at the track. Germany is the only other nation to have taken multiple poles at the circuit.
Felipe Massa is the only driver to have taken consecutive pole positions at the circuit. He took poles in three successive seasons between 2006 and 2008.
Both Ferrari and Red Bull took their three poles at the circuit in three consecutive years.
Sebastian Vettel holds the record for the largest pole margin at the circuit. He set the fastest time by 0.405 seconds in qualifying for the 2011 Turkish Grand Prix.
There is only one Istanbul Park race at which pole position has been decided by less than a tenth of a second. That was in 2007, when Felipe Massa took pole by 0.044 seconds.
From the eight previous Turkish Grands Prix, the average pole margin at Istanbul Park has been 0.224 seconds.
SUNDAY STATS
The Safety Car has made only two appearances at the Turkish Grand Prix, in 2006, due to Vitantonio Liuzzi stalling on the racing line, and in 2008, due to a collision between Giancarlo Fisichella and Kazuki Nakajima on the opening lap. There was a single Virtual Safety Car period in the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.
The 2020 Turkish Grand Prix was the first rain-affected race at Istanbul Park.
Kimi Raikkonen has set the most fastest laps at Istanbul Park. He set the fastest lap here in 2007 and 2008, and is the only driver to have taken the fastest lap on multiple occasions at the Turkish Grand Prix.
The fewest number of cars to finish a race at Istanbul Park is fifteen. It happened in both of the first two races at the circuit. The highest number of cars to finish a race at the circuit is 22 in 2011, which is also the highest finish rate at the track (96%).
In total, 172 cars have entered a round of the World Championship at Istanbul Park. Of those, 142 have reached the chequered flag.
There has been only one DNS recorded at Istanbul Park. That was for Timo Glock in 2011, who failed to start the race due to gearbox issues.
There is yet to be a red-flagged Turkish Grand Prix and every race at Istanbul Park has run to its scheduled distance.
In total, 464 Grand Prix racing laps have been completed at Istanbul Park.
CHAMPIONSHIP GLORY
In 2020, Lewis Hamilton became the first driver to win the title at the Turkish Grand Prix. He led the title race by 110 points after the race – the largest championship lead held after a race at the circuit.
Jenson Button in 2009, Sebastian Vettel in 2011 and Lewis Hamilton in 2020 are the only drivers who have won the Turkish Grand Prix and the World Championship in the same year.
2011 is the only year in which the Turkish Grand Prix polesitter has gone on to win the title in the same season.
The driver leading the championship after the Turkish Grand Prix has gone on to win that year’s title on five of the eight occasions that the event has been held. Lewis Hamilton failed to convert his lead into a title victory in 2007, Kimi Raikkonen failed to do so in 2008 and Mark Webber failed to do so in 2010.
McLaren are the only team who have failed to win the Constructors’ Championship despite leading the title race after the Istanbul Park race. They failed to do so in 2007 and 2010.
Mercedes had already won the Constructors’ Championship ahead of the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix. That’s the only time that a title has been decided before the Istanbul Park round of the championship.
