The FIA Grade 1 race track of the Intercity Istanbul Park is Turkey's premier racing venue and the house of the Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix since its inception in 2005. This remarkable Hermann Tilke's design stands on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, at the outskirts of Istanbul, Turkey. According to the opinion of Bernie Ecclestone, the Chairman Emeritus of Formula 1, the Intercity Istanbul Park can be considered "the best race track in the world." Up to 125,000 spectators attend the Formula 1 race, which runs counterclockwise on a trajectory where the combination of dramatic elevation changes and heavy maneuvering produce exciting-to-watch races every single time.
The 3.31-mile (5.32-km) Intercity Istanbul Park road course has 14 corners and several straight segments, providing plenty of passing opportunities and state-of-the-art safety measures in all of its trajectory. The circuit Start/Finish Line is in the middle of the straight in front of the main grandstands. The 90-degree turn number one feels like falling in the abyss, with a deep downhill section extending until the exit of turn number two. The third corner is at a Hillcrest and leads into downhill turns 4, 5, and 6. A short straight comes next, ending in a tight-angle, uphill corner number seven. Then comes the long, carousel-like turn number 8, where drivers can feel the effect of g-forces pulling them to the side. Turns 9, 10, and 11 are all downhill, and after a short climb, racers continue going down in turns 11 and 12. The last stretch of the raceway comes as a left-right-left combination of tight turns, leading into the main straight to close this excellent circuit.