Formula One news

Turkish GP chassis preview

The 14-turn Istanbul Park circuit is typical of the modern layouts, typified by the circuits in Bahrain and Shanghai, in that it features an extremely long straight which means top speed is a critical performance factor in determining a good race set-up. Ideally, teams would run more downforce than they are able to, in order to gain time through the high- and medium-speed corners, but the long straight after turn 10 shifts the compromise towards a low-medium set-up in order to achieve competitive top speeds - and to allow the drivers either to overtake, or defend their position against rivals.

The circuit is the newest on the calendar, and still in good condition. The surface is generally smooth and the kerbs are not particularly aggressive. This allows the engineers to use relatively stiff suspension settings and low ride heights to optimise aerodynamic performance, to achieve a good change of direction in the technical portions and to give good stability in the high-speed corners. The only exception to this is in turn 8, where several large bumps can disrupt the car and cause oversteer. Generally, the drivers adjust their line to avoid the bumps, rather than compromising the car set-up to cope with them.

The braking demands of the circuit are not particularly severe in overall terms, but the braking zone into turn 12 is critical as this is the main overtaking opportunity. The drivers must be able to attack this braking event with confidence when battling wheel-to-wheel, while overshooting the corner can be very costly on a timed lap.

The overall energy put through the tyres in Istanbul is close to that seen in Silverstone, and Bridgestone will make available the same combination of medium and hard compound tyres as it did for the British Grand Prix. Teams pay particular attention to the front tyres, and the right-front in particular, as they have a very hard time in the long, high-speed turn 8

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