Formula 1: Turkish Grand Prix
by Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
It has been announced that Formula 1 will return to Türkiye in 2027 after an absence of six years.
The Turkish Grand Prix will be staged on the Istanbul Park circuit and will run until at least 2031.
Incidentally, this is the racetrack on which Lewis Hamilton achieved his record-equalling seventh world drivers' title in 2020.
Türkiye hosted a grand prix from 2005 to 2011 before dropping from the schedule, although it returned for two years in 2020-21 when Formula 1 needed venues to fill the calendar during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The addition of Türkiye to the Formula 1 calendar in 2027 does not mean that the grand prix will expand to more than 24 races.
The event will slot in as contracts for other races expire or move to a rotational basis.
This news not only represents a sporting coup for Turkey but is also a political one!
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
