NOVEMBER 28, 2002

Thanksgiving in Turkey

The supporters of the Turkish Grand Prix are getting very excited at the moment, following a visit to Istanbul by Hermann Tilke, the architect who designs Formula 1 circuits these days. Tilke visited the proposed site for a Turkish Grand Prix and told the locals that it would be fine.

The supporters of the Turkish Grand Prix are getting very excited at the moment, following a visit to Istanbul by Hermann Tilke, the architect who designs Formula 1 circuits these days. Tilke visited the proposed site for a Turkish Grand Prix and told the locals that it would be fine. This was taken by some to mean that the site had been given official approval. The only problem with this is that Tilke is not an FIA official and has no such power. The Turks will probably get a Formula 1 race in the future if they can get the financial package necessary together and conclude a commercial deal with the Formula One group of companies. They will then have to build a suitable race track (with Tilke's help) and this will then have to undergo a series of inspections before being cleared to hold a Grand Prix. The Formula One group will also take into account all the local infrastructure to ensure that the area is capable of hosting a Formula 1 race (although this seems to have been forgotten when they last inspected the region around the race tracks in Austria and Magny-Cours).