TURKISH FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX

What a result - a 1-2 finish for McLaren!!!

My hotel offered a shuttle service for 30 lira each way which seemed reasonable - till I was told by a useful Scottish lad and his Dad, that there is an air-conned bus service running from the Blue Mosque, which was about 5 mins walk away from my hotel. The buses were very regular and not packed, everyone had a seat. Very well organised and only 5 lira each way!

Give yourself plenty of time though as the track is a good hour and half away and there are many toll roads along the way where traffic can be very bad, missed most of Qualifying as bus took over 2 hours due to back log at toll booth.

There is plenty to watch at the track and facilities were good and clean. Food and drink is expensive, bottle of coke 20 lira (£8!) and Hotdogs 15 lira.

They opened the gates to let us on the track as they presented the trophies which was a fantastic experience! And then could roam free up and down the pit straight -saw Petrov in his garage, as all other drivers celebrating inside!

Silver seats - 8 very good viewing of the pit straight and corners...great view of Redbull smash! Can also see down into the garages too so get a good camera with zoom.

Atmosphere was great in our seat as full, although there were many other stands (Turn 8) which were empty.

I'm sure you'll have a great time - just allow plenty of time to get there!

Our 1st F1 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Advise taking binoculars or good zoom camera as tv screen quite small and tricky to work out whats happening without.
Also small brolley to protect from the sun as its very hot. Water and beer quite expensive but that I presume is usual for F1. We took in water and couple of beers each day and got through ok

The race was very interesting, the shuttle buses to the race circuit were very fast and the best solution for people, situated in the city of Istanbul.

Top service, Top experience and a great weekend thanks

facilities at the track were average i say that because the toilet facilities were some of the best ive had at a race track, however food and drink was limited and very expensive for what it was i mean £5.00 for a bottle of coke £7.50 for a beer and £7.50 for a hot dog/kebab by fare the most expensive and worst food ive had at any GP. The officials at the track were rubbish for example no one vreally checked our tickets we just walked in and they put a band on our wrist needless to say when i got to my seat on race day someone was in it and very reluctant to move and there was no official on the stand to get involved and when he did move he stole someone elses seat. Just before the strat of the GP people including the guy who was in my seat were stood up or sitting in the walkway on the stairs now usually there is someone telling people not to stand or sit on stairs and to get to their seats but no people seemed to be able to do as they wish hense the view for the first corner was limited. Great race track but probably the worst overall weekend at a GP ive had and ive been to most of the eurupean GPs.

We had an overall fantastic weekend at the Turkish Grand Prix. Our seats were fantastic, in Silver 1, we were on section 221, where you can see all of the pit straight and the first corner easily. Food and drink at the track was over priced at 15 lira for a beer, 10 for a water and 10 for a sandwich, BRING your own food and drink. We stayed at a hotel fairly near the track, but it was still difficult to get back after the race on the sunday, even 2 hrs after it finished. Will definately go again.

Having read some of the other reviews I would like to add a further comment.
The prices of food and drink at the track were expensive. There was one stall that sold a decent hamburger and chips for 15 try (7.5 euro).

The shuttle bus service we founmd terrific. We got the bus at Sultahment on Fiday, Sat., and Sunday. We never had to wait more than a few minutes to board and the bus to head off to the circuit. The return was absolutely great. There were plenty of buses waiting for us as we left the cct. Again we walked up to the bus, boarded almost immediately and were whisked into the centre of Istanbul. The cost 5 try single ( 2.5 euro ) for 50 kilometre journey was really reasonable.

The efficiency of entrance and exit to and from the track was excellent. No delays whatsoever.

Great w/end. A credit to the Turkish organisers.

Marmac. Ireland

Great w/end Seats in gold just before the 1st corner. Brilliant. Completely covered so no sun burn.

The whole experience was fantastic, from initial booking of the tickets, receiving them well in advance, and then finding out we had some of the best seats in the house (I requested "somewhere near the back" and we had back row tickets, perfect!)

Connections to and from the city by bus were relatively painless, even at the end of race day we were back in the city within an hour of the race finishing (and it's 50km away), and the information on the book f1 website was again fantastic.

Top tip to anybody thinking of going to the Turkish GP - book accomodation on the Asian side of the city, it's much quicker than trying to get across from the European side (and cheaper / less tourists). The busses run from Kadikoy and that area is also good for some evening entertainment so I would look there (we stayed a few kms away and just used taxis to and from the area and busses for the GP).

I would not hesitate to use book f1 again - thanks for a great experience!

First class service and seats were brilliant, great view, would deff recommend the stand and using bookf1. Will use again next year as plan to go to a different race.

Many thanks to BookF1 as I asked for, and got, the highest seats in the grandstand, which gave the best view.

Bronze 2 does give a great view of many parts of the circuit - of course you need your binoculars. One downside, however, is the TV screen, which is pretty far away.

Hi everyone, i am from Turkey. I want to give you some advices. The Cheapest Platinum Ticket In TURKEY so you should buy it. The weather is so hot if you sit platinum covered area. Food and drinks very expensive so bring your food, drink and umbrella for general admission.

Very poor facilities at the track compared with Hungary and Monza. Had to walk miles to toilets and the poor catering. Many stands empty. They should have offered cheap upgrades to make more money!

Silver 8 is so much better than silver 1. Cab to the circuit from Istanbul is around £40.00 . Beware a can of beer inside will cost you £7.50. I really loved it this year great atmosphere in stand 8 and such a good view, block 175 is excellent. Many thank again to book F1 for providing the exact seats i requested and special thanks to Marie for all her help. So silver 8 back row block 175 you wont be disapointed , and its completly full. Will return next year for the 3rd year running and istanbul is so cool

Great weekend, fantastoc seats (Bronze 2) Track prices for beer, food etc very expensive but you can take your own in.
Would definitely go back!

Firstly, a big thanks to book F1 who got the exact (I mean exact) seats that I asked for, fantastic job. Receiving tickets was smooth and they arrived a few weeks before departure.
The track and facilities are all new so toilets and access were superb. Get the bus from Istanbul (Sultanahmet square) for 5TL, it's crowded but it's cheap and you won't get there much quicker in a cab. Coming back there may be a wait of about 30 minutes to get on a bus, but there are plenty and you've a good chance of a seat. The buses stop opposite the grandstands and main entrance. This is the best served GP that I've been to and one that I would go to again.
Don't consider staying near the track, there's so much to do in Istanbul particularly around Istiklal Caddesi day and night.
Turkish food is average so don't expect any culinary delights but there are good restaurants so seek them out.
Maywood hotel is good, near Sultanahmet and near the Bosphoros too.
In the words of Arnie "I'll be back!"

Good

The BookF1.com booking was faultless, the facilities at the track were mainly behind the main stand and to get to the stand that we were in you had to leave the track and walk around, it would be better if you could have access between the stand areas without leaving the circuit. The screens could do with being bigger as although we could see the race action the position and comments could not be seen, and the commentary through the speakers could have been a bit louder, it may sound a bit moany, but we had a great day.
Thanks Dave

If you're looking for a Grand Prix weekend with ease of access, large crowds, atmosphere and cheap beer then book else where. If however you're a cheap Grand Prix weekend in a cultured city and can tolerate a bit of travelling then Istanbul is the place to go.

The Crowd - I actually enjoyed the smaller crowd. There were very few ques and it was really easy to 'chill' with out the hustle and bustle of a packed crowd, although natuarally it lacked some atmosphere.

Getting to the track - I was really wary of this as the circuit is about an hour & a half from Istanbul centre. However, the shuttle bus's that were provided ran from a few different locations, were regular and very cheap (5 lira). Be prepared to spend at least an hour and a half each on the bus each way though.

Food/Drink - Expensive. £7 for a beer, and £5 for a sandwich.

The Circuit - We sat at turn 9 which is a down hill straight into an up hill chicane. Not much over taking, but a unique view.

Istanbul - Taksim was the place to go for bars and nightlife, and there are several bars and restaurants along the harbour which were great to chill out at.

Overall - I would definitley go again. The hotel, race tickets and flight worked out at around £320 each - cheaper than most Silverstone tickets alone. The weather was hot, and Book F1 were really helpful with their information, particually Paul Deason.

Excellent position and value for money if you are a genuine f1 addict - not much action other than the actual race, just a couple of support races - a bit of a letdown after Silverstone and the red arrows etc! Also, no shade on the grandstand - other than underneath it!!!

Overall, the best value for money ticketwise and an excellent view of the track, but rather a subdued atmosphere compared with the European circuits.