5 famous Turkish Grand Prix moments in F1 history

Istanbul Park is set to make its comeback to the F1 calendar, signing a five-year deal that sees it return to the schedule from 2027 onwards.

Formula 1 last raced at the circuit in 2021, when Valtteri Bottas won from pole for Mercedes. There have been just nine editions of the race so far, but the Turkish Grand Prix has thrown up plenty of memorable moments…

Webber and Vettel collide in intra-team feud

The Turkish Grand Prix joined the calendar in 2005, but it was the race in 2010 that had one of the most memorable moments.

Red Bull team mates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were duelling for the title at the time, locked together on the same points heading to Istanbul. The Australian grabbed pole in Qualifying, and led off the line from Lewis Hamilton.

But when Hamilton dropped back after a slow pit stop, Vettel was released into second place and went on the attack. He made a move on his team mate down the straight, but the two collided well before the corner, with Vettel spinning off with a rear wheel puncture.

“I’m going home, **** you,” was the feisty message from Vettel as he gestured towards his team mate in the wake of the crash.

Many fans still debate to this day who was at fault, with the on board cameras showing both moved slightly towards each other. While the majority seemed to lay the blame slightly more at Vettel’s door, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko was much more inclined to blame Webber.

In the end the German had the last laugh, picking up the first of four Drivers’ titles with Red Bull.

More intra-team battles at McLaren

The 2010 Turkish Grand Prix supplied non-stop action, with Jenson Button and Hamilton getting in the act as well. Those two found themselves running first and second after the Red Bulls clashed, with Hamilton leading his team mate.

Both were told to slow and save fuel, but crucially Button was not given a target lap time. As such, he decided his team mate was fair game and lined up a move on the race leader.

“If I back off, is Jenson going to pass me or not?” Hamilton was heard asking on the radio – and he soon got his answer. The duo ended up running side by side, with Button nipping through in the final corner.

But Hamilton was able to slipstream his way back in front down the main straight, and he held onto that lead to record his first win in Turkey.

Hamilton suffers tyre dramas

All the way back in 2007, Hamilton was compiling a very memorable debut season – one that saw him challenge for the title all the way to the last race, going toe to toe with two-time champion Fernando Alonso en route.

Arriving in Turkey with the championship lead, Hamilton out-qualified his team mate but could do nothing about the Ferraris, who were strong at Istanbul Park.

Hamilton was heading for a podium though, which would have extended his lead – until a puncture derailed his entire race. He managed to limp back to the pits and still finished in the points, but the moment enabled Alonso to get by and thus reduce his deficit in the Championship.

There were many pivital moments in 2007 that decided the title – and Turkey was definitely one of them.

Championship rivals for the 2006 title

Alonso was also involved in the action back in 2006, when he was fighting Michael Schumacher for the title. Those two were slugging it out for the podium places, after Felipe Massa took the win.

While Massa was cruising to victory, Alonso and Schumacher were working much harder for their points. The Spaniard was ahead but was ailing, with Schumacher crawling all over the back of his Renault.

But the German great could not find a way through, Alonso slamming the door shut again and again. Around the last corner, Schumacher pulled across and it was a drag race to the line – with Alonso holding on to second place by mere inches.

Hamilton seals his record-equalling title

Turkey formed part of a re-jigged calendar in 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing plenty of schedule changes. But one driver who will remember the first trip back to Istanbul Park since 2011 fondly is Hamilton.

He was chasing a record-equalling seventh World Championship title, but started only sixth – Lance Stroll starting on pole for the first time in his career. But in a chaotic race that started in the wet, Hamilton was able to rise back up through the field.

Hamilton avoided plenty of spinning cars, then pitted only once as most of the field stopped twice, and made his very worn intermediate tyres last to the end to take both the victory and the championship.

His team mate and rival for the title Bottas had a nightmare of an afternoon, spinning six times in what underlined just how tricky conditions were in Istanbul.

While Stroll could count himself slightly unlucky after leading for much of the race, with car damage the cause of his extra pit stop that dropped him down the order, there was simply no denying Hamilton at the end of one of his most famous drives.