Why Istanbul could produce another slippery challenge for F1

There are many corners that have gone down in Formula 1's folklore with significant adjectives attached: 'famous', 'fabulous', 'fearsome'. Few come from the modern additions to the ever-expanding calendar.

For Eau Rouge, Peraltada or Parabolica you can add 'evocative' to the descriptive cliche list. But that's only because they have proper names, something seemingly eschewed in current track construction.

Now, though, F1 is heading to another distantly familiar venue, which has a corner that has gained all the right adjectives despite its utterly uninspiring name.

During Istanbul Park's initial seven-year stint on the F1 schedule, its 'Turn 8' complex understandably grabbed attention. This bumpy, four-apex, 'sweeping' section severely tests the drivers. As Istanbul Park is an anti-clockwise layout, it placed tremendous stress on their necks throughout this high-speed, left-hand 'blast'.

This weekend's Turkish Grand Prix will be F1's first since 2011, after the track dropped off the calendar as the organisers baulked at the escalating race-hosting fees. The layout is identical, save for a new surface, which was only completed in the past three weeks.

In the nine years that have passed since Sebastian Vettel won the most recent Turkish GP for Red Bull, a handful of categories have passed through. European Truck Racing made a sole visit in 2012, World Superbikes came a year later, then World Rallycross for its first two seasons. Largely, Istanbul Park has been used for regular trackdays, plus additional local Caterham racing and Renault Megane and Clio Cup events.

Now, though, the faster, bigger, 'monstrous' F1 machines are in town, ready to test Turn 8 with all their packed-on downforce. This is likely to have a big impact on the 'challenge' of the sequence.

"It's one of those tracks which is very technical but fantastic to drive and puts a lot of demand on the car," says McLaren technical director, James Key. "Particularly at Turn 8 with that famous multi-apex corner, which will be flat-out in these machines.

In 2011, the pole position time was a 1m25.049s, while the race lap record stands at 1m24.770s, from Juan Pablo Montoya at the inaugural 2005 event. That is very much under threat in 2020, but there are a few factors to consider when it comes to predicting how things will play out versus previous Turkish GP races.

For a start, the last race essentially came at the start of the Pirelli era, and the high-degradation proceedings that were desired for 2011. But that Turkish GP came in for a barrage of criticism.

Isola says the brand-new asphalt at Istanbul is "less severe than we were expecting", so perhaps not as coarse. But it was the slippery surface oils that wreaked such havoc at the Algarve Circuit and this weekend, temperatures are set to be even lower

It was a four-stop affair, with 79 overtaking moves - up from 27 in 2010. The 'fragile' tyres were combined with the new-for-that-year DRS, which led to what Autosport called "a race that lacked clear narrative".

Now, Pirelli's rubber is generally more durable, even if it still needs significant tyre management. So, don't expect four stops (Vettel could have got away with a 'paltry' three stops in 2011, but Red Bull risked losing his win if a late safety car exposed his spent rubber in the closing stages), and in any case the tyre manufacturer has brought its hardest three compounds to use this weekend.

"For tyres, we expect Turkey to be a challenge in terms of energy loads, which is why we have shifted the allocations towards the harder compounds," says Pirelli's motorsport boss, Mario Isola. "Just as we did in Portimao."

Two races ago, F1 rocked up in Portugal and found a 'fearsome' track featuring 'fabulous' evaluation changes (something Portimao shares with Istanbul, although the Turkish venue's drops and climbs aren't quite as steep). But it had also been recently resurfaced, which, allied to low temperatures all weekend, caused considerable consternation for the pack.

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It was "like an ice rink", said Alex Albon, whose Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen surmised: "We are just sliding and having these weird moments where the car breaks away. If you just go into a corner slightly faster, suddenly there's just zero grip. So, I have to say at the moment I don't like it very much."

Isola says the brand-new asphalt at Istanbul is "less severe than we were expecting", so perhaps not as coarse. But it was the slippery surface oils that wreaked such havoc at the Algarve Circuit, where the drivers locked up and slid their way through practice and qualifying, with the race then featuring those dramatic early laps in the spitting rain. This weekend, temperatures are set to be even lower and there are no support categories to lay down additional rubber and clean up the racing line.

"[The harder tyres and resurfaced track] could lead to low grip and a tricky car balance, as it did in Portugal," says Renault's chief race engineer, Ciaron Pilbeam.

F1 could therefore experience something similar this weekend, which may yet preserve Turn 8's mystique.

But Istanbul also has another reputation to uphold - its recent run of team-mate wars. This season is the 10-year anniversary of Vettel and Mark Webber's 'infamous' clash in the 2010 race, which also featured a 'thrilling' subsequent battle between Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, who went on to win.

A year later, the then-McLaren team-mates were at it again, hindering their chances as they abused their tyres out of reasonable shape early on in Vettel's race of atonement. That event also featured Renault drivers Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov coming to blows in the final corners (with the former nearly forced into the pitlane and both left gesturing pointlessly). This sequence should feature overtaking this weekend, coming at the end of the track's main straight, and the pessimism regarding overtaking last time out at Imola should be reduced here.

F1's intra-team dynamics deserve particular attention this weekend.

At Williams, George Russell needs to bounce back from his embarrassing safety car crash at Imola, where team-mate Nicholas Latifi impressed. The Haas drivers are out for themselves given they will soon be out of the squad, while Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi will have to make the best of their inevitably split strategies to reach the points again.

AlphaTauri has a pair of drivers shining in 2020, but only one with a confirmed contract for 2021. The Renault team-mates are unbalanced in terms of points and podiums, while there's not a lot to split Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris at McLaren. Racing Point really needs Lance Stroll to get back on terms with Sergio Perez's consistent points-scoring, while Ferrari must hope Vettel can do likewise with Charles Leclerc.

At the head of the field, Albon's fortunes will, as ever, be contrasted with Verstappen at Red Bull, with decision time on Albon's future now firmly in sight.

And finally, at the new constructors' champion squad, Hamilton can become a seven-time world champion, unless Valtteri Bottas can keep his faint hopes alive for another race.