After a Russian Grand Prix with a wet plot twist at the end, Formula 1 travels to Turkey to return to the Istanbul Park circuit, which has been added to the 2021 calendar in order to compensate for the cancellation of the Singapore event.
In 2020, the Turkish Grand Prix turned out to be a real challenge for teams and drivers, due to both the recently resurfaced track and the weather conditions that made the lack of grip on the track even worse, turning the Grand Prix into a race on ice.
The forecasts for this weekend are similar to those of last year’s Grand Prix, with rain expected to start on Friday – but the asphalt has recently been cleared through the use of high pressure water blasting which should partially solve the problem of the lack of grip by making the track rougher. Pirelli has also chosen to bring a softer range of tires compared to 2020, when they had instead opted for the harder range due to the lack of data on the circuit which has only recently returned to the calendar.
For this weekend, therefore, the Hard tire will be the C2, the Medium the C3 and the Soft the C4. This should ensure that the drivers have better grip levels on a track that is not very abrasive, but which already demonstrated remarkable levels of track evolution last year. The softer compounds also offer more possibilities to see different strategies in the race – even in the rain to add a touch of much needed unpredictability.
The first sector is characterized by a straight at the start which leads to one of the thorniest braking areas of the circuit, to approach Turn 1 which is blind; Turns 2 and 3 follow uphill, both blind and fast changes of direction, with Corners 4 and 5 slower. However, it is in the second sector, first in Corner 7 (uphill, fast) and then finally in Corner 8, that the magic happens: long, fast and bumpy, with four crucial points, Corner 8 is perhaps one of the most beautiful on the calendar. There is a strong temptation to take it fully, but also a high risk on a track that is too smooth – a turn that is felt by the drivers in cars with lateral forces up to 5 g sustained for about three to four seconds. In fact, Corner 8 alone represents 12% of the entire circuit with a distance of 640 meters.
From Turn 8 you go down again to Turn 9 and then 10, in quick succession, which start the fastest section of the circuit (broken by Turn 11, which is taken in full). The third sector ends with a series of slow corners, with 12 preceded by another important braking zone, and then narrow 13 and 14 to close – to return to the main straight.
Due to the lateral forces acting on the cars, but especially on the tires, a loaded set-up is the most favorable solution on this circuit, since it would allow a greater level of grip on the asphalt. If we add the unknown of rain, we can certainly expect to see heavily loaded wings this weekend.
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The Russian Grand Prix ended with a victory (number 100) for Lewis Hamilton, and an unexpected second position for Max Verstappen, who started from the back of the grid and took advantage of a good strategy in the last chaotic laps when everyone was surprised by the rain.
The gap between the two title contenders is only 2 points, with Hamilton in the lead for now; However, Mercedes remains aware that, after having replaced Valtteri Bottas’ Power Unit for two races in a row, they already know that soon the same penalty will also have to be taken by Hamilton, but not in Turkey, unless Hamilton’s engine show signs of issues.
However, for Carlos Sainz it will be the turn to start from the bottom of the grid at Istanbul Park: starting this weekend the Spanish driver will therefore be able to take advantage of the update already fitted to Charles Leclerc’s SF21 in Russia. Although the results on paper do not prove it (due to the chaotic finish), the work of the engineers from Maranello paid off in the race for Charles Leclerc, who immediately felt a step in power on the engine – although only in this Qualifying session for the Turkish Grand Prix will the Ferrari upgrade be able to best express the new top speed.
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