Classic Turkish Grand Prix highlights

The Turkish Grand Prix has had only a short history but the four races hosted by the Istanbul Park track have provided plenty of drama.

As a preview for this weekend's race, where Brawn's Jenson Button is chasing a sixth win in seven grands prix this year, our pick for our classic Formula 1 series is the inaugural event in 2005.

This was the only race in Turkey not won by Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who triumphed in the succeeding three grands prix at a track that, despite its novelty, is already a firm favourite among the drivers.

Designed, like so many of the new generation of modern F1 tracks, by Bernie Ecclestone's favoured architect Hermann Tilke, Istanbul Park stands alone in terms of quality.

To a large extent this is to do with the land that was chosen to build it on. While the tracks in China and, to a lesser extent Malaysia and Bahrain, are on largely flat land, Turkey's makes the most of the hilly terrain on the eastern side of the Bosphorus.

In that, it follows the grand tradition of great F1 tracks such as Spa-Francorchamps and the old Nurburgring.

While no-one in their right mind would class Istanbul Park in that company, its twists and undulations still provide a demanding challenge for today's grand prix cars and their drivers.

And its crowning glory is the stupendous Turn Eight, a 165mph left-hander with four apexes that puts the drivers' neck muscles through perhaps their stiffest test of the entire season.

It has also proved to be a key corner in the races held in Turkey so far. The highlights are linked below, and available on the red button from 0830 BST on Wednesday morning, although space restrictions on Freeview because of the French Open mean it will only be available on satellite and cable.

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Watch short highlights of the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix
Watch short highlights of the 2007 Turkish Grand Prix
Watch short highlights of the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix

In 2005, McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya appeared to be cruising to a comfortable second place behind his dominant team-mate Kimi Raikkonen when he ran into trouble at the corner with two laps to go.

At the end of the previous lap, the Colombian had been hit from behind while lapping the Jordan of Tiago Monteiro. Obviously, it is a backmarker's duty to keep out of the way of the front-runners, but in this incident Montoya had not helped himself by cutting back in front of the Jordan in the braking area.

The two cars cannoned off the track and while Montoya was able to rejoin without losing a place, he now had the Renault of world championship leader Fernando Alonso breathing down his neck.

And, turning into Turn Eight for the first time since the collision, Montoya found his car, damaged in the collision with Monteiro, did not have the downforce it had previously.

On the limit at 160mph-plus is hardly the best moment to discover this - and Montoya ran off the track, allowing a grateful Alonso through into second place, thus limiting the damage Raikkonen, his closest rival, was able to do to the Renault man's already substantial championship lead.

Turn Eight was to be a feature in the outcome again in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, Lewis Hamilton appeared on course for third place behind a Ferrari one-two when his McLaren's front left tyre exploded through the corner in the late stages of the race, demoting the Englishman to an eventual fifth and team-mate Alonso to third.

Initially, this looked like bad luck, but it turned out that Hamilton's oversteer-biased driving style was to blame - it asks more of the front tyres, particularly the loaded-up outside one, than other drivers, and his style, combined with the demands of Turn Eight, had overworked it.

This characteristic also hampered Hamilton's hopes of beating Massa last year. Now alive to the problem, if unable to solve it, McLaren had to put Hamilton on an unfavourable three-stop strategy to ensure his tyres lasted.

It livened up the early stages of the race, with Hamilton, lighter on fuel, challenging Massa, and even passing him at one stage. But it was an illusion, and he had to settle for a valiant second.

Whether this problem afflicts Hamilton again this year remains to be seen. Either way, it is likely to be a side issue, as McLaren, lacking downforce, are not expected to be contenders in Turkey this weekend.

The battle for victory is likely to be fought out between Brawn, Red Bull and Ferrari - but will that fabulous corner have a part to play again?

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