Turkey’s Istanbul Park circuit will return to the Formula One calendar from 2027 for at least five years, the Turkish presidency announced on Friday, marking the culmination of Turkey’s years-long campaign to return to the sport. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially announced the deal at an event in Istanbul, alongside F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

“The return of the Turkish Grand Prix to the Formula 1 calendar is a victory for Turkey’s passion and belief in sport,” Erdogan said. “The Formula 1 races to be held at Istanbul Park for at least five years will both support Istanbul’s leading position in the world and demonstrate to the world that our country is the safe haven of its region.”

The circuit on the Asian side of Istanbul is popular with drivers and fans but last hosted a race in 2021 as a stand-in during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also hosted Grands Prix between 2005 and 2011, as well as in 2020 when Lewis Hamilton won the race to clinch his seventh world championship, equalling Michael Schumacher’s record.

While Turkey continued negotiations to return to the calendar after that event, momentum slowed from 2022 onwards, partly due to the tens of millions of dollars needed to secure a deal that competitors, such as Qatar, were able to finance. However, in 2024, Can Bilim Egitim Kurumlari AS, part-owned by F1 tyre supplier Pirelli’s Turkish branch chairwoman Lale Cander, earned rights to operate the Istanbul Park circuit for a 30-year period for some $117.8m.

Under the deal, the new operators were tasked with bringing F1 back in a long-term deal by 2026, but the talks, carried out jointly with the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED), stalled. In February, Domenicali confirmed that Istanbul Park was close to a return to the calendar in rotation with an existing race and that the number of races in the season would still be capped at 24.

Source: www.aljazeera.com