JULY 30, 2020

Turkey GP venue says 2020 F1 race talks confidential

Operators of the former F1 circuit in Turkey have admitted they are in a "confidentiality agreement" regarding talks about a 2020 race at Istanbul Park.

Operators of the former F1 circuit in Turkey have admitted they are in a "confidentiality agreement" regarding talks about a 2020 race at Istanbul Park.

We reported this week that the Turkish government has announced that the venue "continues to work for inclusion on the Formula 1 race calendar for 2020".

With a popular Hermann Tilke-penned layout, Istanbul Park hosted grands prix between 2005 and 2011, and was thereafter taken over by a company called Intercity.

"We have been carrying out the work of bringing Formula 1 back to our country with great desire and care since 2013," Intercity confirmed on Wednesday.

The circuit operator said those efforts stepped up from 2017, when the project was personally endorsed "by the presidency" of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Our negotiations with the Formula 1 management continue uninterrupted, so that we can host Formula 1 races again," Intercity added.

"We would like to state that we are at a stage where we cannot share the details due to our confidentiality agreement with Formula One Management."

Istanbul Park does not currently hold either a Grade 1 or Grade 2 FIA license.

(GMM)