2008 Turkish GP

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Sureboss

Sureboss

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The 5th GP of the season is this weekend, it'll be the first race of the year without Super Agurri. Ferrari have to be favourites, and barring the unexpected they should get a 1-2. Which would be a replication of last year's 1-2, with Massa winning.

I'm sure that turn 8 will be the centre of attention.


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I think that it will be Kimi, Massa, Kubica.
 
I'd say it'll be Massa, but its a bit early to say, although if Raikkoinen wins this Massa wont have a chance at the championship, he'll be asked to play a supporting role.
 
As much as I am enjoying the improved performance of BMW, I am a bit disappointed that they and McLaren aren't competing with Ferrari. Its still early in the season, so things can (will!) change, but I don't see the season ending with as much excitement as last year.
 
Very nice track map, Sureshot. Massa took his maiden victory here in '06, and won last year. Can he make the hat trick? Much better opportunities for overtaking, imho. This one should be exciting. Who will Vettel hit next? hehe. I would look for Ferrari 1-2, but I am keen to see what Alonso can do. BTW, Massa's engine will be on race#2, gearbox on race #3. P3-8 should be quite contested. Any bookworms here? I hear Hamilton's book tanked and are practically being given away in U.K.
 
Will the race time be the same as the last one? I'm not sure I'll be able to watch it. :(
 
Slightly earlier - it's +2GMT (my timezone, at last). Unfortunately, I'll watch it delayed by four days, as I have two major exams on Sunday and Wednesday.
 
Massa had best win this otherwise things really will start to go downhill from here on. Massa OWNS this track.

1st: Massa
2nd: Kimi
3rd: Heidfeld
4th: Kubica
5th: Hamilton
6th: Kovalianen
7th: Webber
8th: Barrichello (Congratulations!)
 
Bee
Massa had best win this otherwise things really will start to go downhill from here on. Massa OWNS this track.

1st: Massa
2nd: Kimi
3rd: Heidfeld
4th: Kubica
5th: Hamilton
6th: Kovalianen
7th: Webber
8th: Barrichello (Congratulations!)
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I would have to say that Kubica will beat his teammate. I don't know if Kubica has gotten better or Heidfeld lost some of his speed, but Kubica has consistently done better this season.
 
peterjford
I would have to say that Kubica will beat his teammate. I don't know if Kubica has gotten better or Heidfeld lost some of his speed, but Kubica has consistently done better this season.
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You are talking to Lee B. Davidson. As long as Heidfeld has that beard, Kubica will be #2 in his eyes.
 
thats strange, maybe the map is from 2005? Dont know how many gears they had then.
 
Robin.
Button likes this track doesnt he?
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I think he might be the only one. Don't get me wrong, it's one of two Tilkedromes that isn't a Tilke-drone - the other being Sepang - but to claim you like Istanbul's Turn 8 means you're either stupid or smackig of bravado; Button seems to be the latter. He might be my favourite driver, but he never did bother to hide the theory that racing drivers are, on the whole, a little full of themselves. Maybe that's why he's my favourite driver.
 
I think Massa win this one but I think Hamilton get third.
 
Early predictions:

1st: Massa
2nd: Kimi
3rd: Hamilton
4th: Kubica
5th: Alonso
6th: Kovalianen
7th: Trulli
8th: Heidfeld

Surely the Ferrari is gonna dominate this weekend :guilty: I also am sad not to see SA running one last time here, as they had pulled out of F1 just last week. Hope of another good run from Renault is inevitable, just hope that the engine would last this time around. :ouch: This track is rather boring last year, with little much happening throughout the race, but maybe there is hope for the race to be exciting this time around......
 
Kimi last in Practice 1 with only 3 laps done. Maybe he wasn't bothered..
 
Friday Practice 1:

Code: 
Pos  	No  	Driver  		Team 			Time/Retired  	Gap  	Laps
1 	2 	Felipe Massa 		Ferrari 		1:27.323 		16
2 	23 	Heikki Kovalainen 	McLaren-Mercedes 	1:27.456 	0.133 	17
3 	22 	Lewis Hamilton	 	McLaren-Mercedes 	1:27.752 	0.429 	15
4 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	Renault 		1:28.284 	0.961 	16
5 	16 	Jenson Button 		Honda 			1:28.919 	1.596 	12
6 	8 	Kazuki Nakajima 	Williams-Toyota 	1:29.002 	1.679 	19
7 	3 	Nick Heidfeld 		BMW Sauber 		1:29.024 	1.701 	21
8 	17 	Rubens Barrichello 	Honda 			1:29.068 	1.745 	11
9 	6 	Nelsinho Piquet 	Renault 		1:29.082 	1.759 	23
10 	12 	Timo Glock 		Toyota 			1:29.103 	1.780 	19
11 	11 	Jarno Trulli 		Toyota 			1:29.329 	2.006 	24
12 	4 	Robert Kubica 		BMW Sauber 		1:29.330 	2.007 	7
13 	7 	Nico Rosberg 		Williams-Toyota 	1:29.367 	2.044 	20
14 	20 	Adrian Sutil 		Force India-Ferrari 	1:29.756 	2.433 	23
15 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Force India-Ferrari 	1:29.811 	2.488 	23
16 	10 	Mark Webber 		Red Bull-Renault 	1:30.088 	2.765 	21
17 	9 	David Coulthard 	Red Bull-Renault 	1:30.340 	3.017 	13
18 	14 	Sebastien Bourdais 	STR-Ferrari 		1:30.388 	3.065 	19
19 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	STR-Ferrari 		1:30.426 	3.103 	21
20 	1 	Kimi Räikkönen 		Ferrari 		1:30.732 	3.409 	3

Alonso still up there, but a second behind Massa. McLaren slightly faster than usual, and Toro Rosso are now slowest...

SouL
odd. cars have 7 gears... yet the track "guide" indicates that cars won't use it?
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It usually makes no sense to take a corner in first gear, on most tracks. Considering most corners are taken above 100km/h, you'd need an awfully long first gear to use it at those speeds - and such a first gear would mean terrible starts and launches from the pits.

On top of that, the map is wrong. The far more recent F1.com map shows cars using 7th gear for an extended period on the back straight.


Also: FIA confirms qualifying-format change.
 
Friday Practice 2:

Code: 
Pos  	No  	Driver  		Team 			Time/Retired  	Gap  	Laps
1 	1 	Kimi Räikkönen 		Ferrari 		1:27.543 		30
2 	22 	Lewis Hamilton 		McLaren-Mercedes 	1:27.579 	0.036 	31
3 	2 	Felipe Massa 		Ferrari 		1:27.682 	0.139 	29
4 	9 	David Coulthard 	Red Bull-Renault 	1:27.763 	0.220 	24
5 	23 	Heikki Kovalainen 	McLaren-Mercedes 	1:27.954 	0.411 	27
6 	4 	Robert Kubica 		BMW Sauber 		1:28.431 	0.888 	29
7 	11 	Jarno Trulli 		Toyota 			1:28.619 	1.076 	29
8 	8 	Kazuki Nakajima 	Williams-Toyota 	1:28.664 	1.121 	27
9 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	Renault 		1:28.681 	1.138 	26
10 	3 	Nick Heidfeld 		BMW Sauber 		1:28.817 	1.274 	31
11 	16 	Jenson Button 		Honda 			1:28.826 	1.283 	28
12 	12 	Timo Glock 		Toyota 			1:28.849 	1.306 	26
13 	7 	Nico Rosberg 		Williams-Toyota 	1:28.907 	1.364 	29
14 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Force India-Ferrari 	1:29.008 	1.465 	35
15 	17 	Rubens Barrichello 	Honda 			1:29.024 	1.481 	22
16 	6 	Nelsinho Piquet 	Renault 		1:29.212 	1.669 	26
17 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	STR-Ferrari 		1:29.462 	1.919 	30
18 	14 	Sebastien Bourdais 	STR-Ferrari 		1:29.630 	2.087 	32
19 	10 	Mark Webber 		Red Bull-Renault 	1:29.633 	2.090 	4
20 	20 	Adrian Sutil 		Force India-Ferrari 	1:30.832 	3.289 	9

The gap between Ferrari and Renault seems like the only constant thing here - around a second in FP1 and FP2. The rest are now closer. Webber had a massive shunt.
 
Whats DC up to?? He was 2.5 seconds faster in session 2 than session 1. Maybe he was running with high fuel but it still seems odd. Probably just a special lap which he wont manage again.
 
Let's get one thing straight- Istanbul Park (the official city this track is located is Ancira, Turkey?) is an amazing course. I've enjoyed how balanced this track is. It isn't like a track that's all second or third gear corners (Brno). It's an even balance of technical and fast. It isn't Monza as far as high speed goes, but it is a greatly competitive track. I even love the buildings in pit lane. I always say it's like an upscale shopping center or a lovely Cathedral or palace. Just an outstanding facility. It's a track that runs counterclockwise (or anti-clockwise). Why it's such a big deal that this track is anti-clockwise is beyond me.

I think this track is full of surprises. You have to pay special attention as to how the turns are structured to succeed here. Turn 1 into Turn 2 has a very short radius that expands into Turn 2, then contracts again at Turn 3. Turns 3 through 5 seem to have similar angles, especially Turns 3 and 5. Turn 9 leads to the really fast part of the track. Turn 11 seems more like a kink than a serious corner. Then you have to slow her down through Turns 12 through 14. You really have to pay attention to the rhythm of the track and then adjust to win. Always loved this course since racing this in games. Good luck to all contenders racing this course.
 
JohnBM01
Why it's such a big deal that this track is anti-clockwise is beyond me.
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Most road courses are clockwise and the drivers necks are much weaker on the right hand side because of this, so when a course mostly has left hand turns (and especially in the case of Istanbul Park’s turn 8 where drivers sustain between 3.5 and 5 Gs for an extended period) they often have a lot of trouble with muscular pain and often at the end of the race you’ll see drivers being completely unable to hold their head (which through a fast turn weighs, what, 25kg?) up through the fast turns.
 

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