Renault drivers Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo can’t wait to try “impressive” Istanbul Park at this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix.
The race is making a one-off return after nine years off the calendar and is the last of five new circuits to feature on the revised 2020 calendar in the wake of Covid-19.
Of the current grid, only five have previous F1 experience at Istanbul Park, including Ricciardo… sort of.
“I can’t wait for Turkey. I’ve only done one session there in Free Practice 1 in 2011 and it was in the wet, so if it’s dry, it’ll basically be a new track for me,” he explained.
“It’s an awesome circuit and a lot of fun to drive. It’s going to be pretty cool in a modern Formula 1 car with some fast corners and long periods of time on the throttle.”
The Turkish track is still widely considered as one of Hermann Tilke’s best designs mixing both a tough single-lap challenge while also providing plenty of race-day action.
“I think it will provide good racing as overtaking should be more straightforward [than Imola],” Ricciardo added.
“I think it’s a pretty complete circuit, so I’m certainly looking forward to that.
“I think full beans around there is going to be awesome. Turn 8 is a great corner, but so is Turn 1, the downhill, unsighted left. It’s really cool!”
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As for teammate Ocon, Istanbul Park will be a completely new experience but he knows the reputation the circuit, and its most famous corner, has.
“I watched all the races when I was younger, and it looks a very impressive track,” he commented. “I remember some awesome racing moments there such as Michael and Fernando at the finish line on the last lap in 2006.
“It has some very cool corners and it’s a fast and busy lap. It should be exciting in these modern cars. Turn 1 is a downhill corner and it’s quite blind approaching it. There are a number of medium to high-speed corners, and it all flows nicely.
“Then there’s Turn 8, the triple left-hander. It looked an impressive corner in the old cars, and I think this year it’s going to be even better. I can’t wait to give that a go.
“Usually on fast tracks, we have decent speed, so I think it’s going to be an awesome one to drive and to race with overtaking definitely possible on the straights.”
