Next weekend, F1 will have a long-awaited return to the championship, by drivers and fans, specially Brazilian ones: the Turkish GP will happen once again at the Istanbul track.
F1 held seven grand prix at the Intercity Istanbul Park and history looks good for a Brazilian driver. Felipe Massa is the only one to win more than once there, finishing first in 2006, 2007 and 2008, all with Ferrari. McLaren won twice: in 2005, on the first ever GP, with Kimi Raikkonen and in 2010 with Lewis Hamilton. Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel are the other two winners.
Istanbul is one of the few anticlockwise tracks on the 2020 season, alongside Imola and Abu Dhabi. Amongst the more traditional F1 tracks, we also have Interlagos and Circuito of the Americas with that characteristic. The track, with 5.338m in length, has a lap record of 01'24"770, by Juan Pablo Montoya in 2005 with McLaren.
Only three current drivers have raced in Istanbul before: Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Pérez. But the return of the track, designed by Hermann Tilke, was well received by the drivers, that highlighted Turn 8 as a main feature.
The weather may be a defining feature during the weekend, but can also be the reason of doubts. The average temperature is actually quite cold, going from 11,7ºC to 14,8ºC. But the records are more radical, with a lowest of -7,2ºC and a highest of 27,8ºC.
NUMBERS FROM THE 2020 SEASON
One of the championships from the 2020 season is already decided. Mercedes won its seventh consecutive constructors championship in Imola, beating Ferrari's all-time record of six, from 1999 to 2004. It's worth noting that Lewis Hamilton was present in all seven of Mercedes' titles.
And the british driver can conquer his own seventh title in Turkey, tying with Michael Schumacher. Right now, he is 85 points ahead of Valtteri Bottas, with 104 still at stake.
In order to become a seven-time world champion in Istanbul, Hamilton just needs to make sure that Bottas doesn't score eight points more than him. If the Finn wins, he just needs to finish second with the fastest lap extra point.
If at the top the championships are well-defined, down below the situation is quite hot. On the drivers side, Ricciardo is firmly on fourth, with 95 points, ahead of Leclerc with 85 and Pérez with 82. In seventh, Norris is a little more behind, with 69.
On the constructors side, things are even better. If Mercedes and Red Bull are guaranteed first and second, from the third down, all is still for grabs. Renault has 135 points, but McLaren and Racing Point are right behind, with 134. And Ferrari isn't safe in sixth yet. With 103 points, the italian squad has AlphaTauri close, trailing with 89.
