TURKISH FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX

Great weekend overall in Istanbul. Only downsides, transport to track and small crowds.

We found it all went smoothly , our hotel arranged shuttle to and from curcuit think puplic transfer lookeb busy

The race view was perfect but the organisers had to offer much more things to the spectators (water,food,shadow e.t.c.). The facilities where fair good...

Great tickets and good price, one sugestion I met a guy who had bought tickets else where and his company told him how to get to the track (I knew as I had ben before) but there was a lot of confused people in Istanbul and having been to a number of GPs abroard it is a comon problem and would be a big help
Will be back next year

I have been to every European circuit over the last 20 years and without a doubt the view from T1 was by far the best. Entire pit straight in view, plus pit lane exit, plus last 3 garages. As it was so hot we watched the Porsche Super Cup race on race day sitting UNDER the grandstand and this was a much better view than we had at Valencia last year when we paid £350 for Gold just to see 50 metres of tarmac!! Access rating only 2 as the circuit is 50 miles from Istanbul centre and can take hours to get to/from, and its not cheap unless you use the 'green bus'. Facilities rating only 3 because once inside the cost of food and drink is extortionate - dearest I've come across at all the F1 circuits. That said there's no question I'd go again (unlike Valencia which I would never visit again)

Well organised. Wheather was excellent. Information of transport connections, which we got from travelling agency was not quit right.

To Whom It May Concern,

I just wanted to say a big thank you to Paul Deasson, who helped us book our tickets for all his effort and assistance. Our seats on Turn 1 was in an amazing location and view had an amazing view of the race. All our requests were met, and we were extremely satisfied with the service we received from Paul and also your company as a whole.

Many Thanks!

Lynne & Greg

Poorly attended Grand Prix did have an impact on the atmosphere. View from the start line was good but you can only see one stretch of the track as view across the circuit blocked by the hospitality block. Facilities were ok but limited food and drink options. Getting in and out of the circuit by a couple of foot bridges in 35 degree heat was grim.

The TV screen is too small, the rows below were obscured by bushes, so that the order of the cars and other information can not be read. Parking places - the T5 parking was free but we were forced to park 1 mile away; buses around the circuit: just a couple and very crowded, no reliable, so that we walked back to the parking, in the sun. No fun. Access from circuit: it took another 2 hours to get off the circuit to the motorway on Sunday after the race (there are no more than 3 miles). No fun at all.

Good value for money seats, we were sitting at the 1st corner and could see into the brawn gp pit. Seen lots of action esp in the support races.
The grandstands were extremely empty esp on the fri and sat. At other track(spain,usa,silverstone,monza) you can access any grandstand on fridays. I think they should defo do this with Istanbul.

There are lots of food stalls but horrendously expensive! £5 for a small bottle of cola and £7 for a can of beer! what a rip off! we took food and drinks all 3days.
The toilet facilities are plentiful and very clean.

We enjoyed the F1 drivers autograph session on saturday,great!

There are buses that run from the centre of istanbul by the sophia hagia+taskim from 7am-2pm race weekend.They take around 1 hour to the track but on the way back the traffic is horrendous all 3 days and takes 2-3hrs!!!

We had a fantastic time but wont return for the GP as the bus journeys were too long+hot! Shame there are no hotels near the track.

No wonder the Turkish F1 GP is losing money and not attracting local crowds or many foreign fans. While the track itself is brilliant for drivers and as a racing spectacle for fans (on TV), the rest of the event is a disaster. The circuit is more than 50 kms out of the city and the traffic is appalling. It can take between two and four hours to get there or back from the city. While the government put on a bus service for fans, that was supposed to be at a fixed price, it seemed to be run by Basil Fawlty. While the pick-up points were easy to reach, the buses left when they liked. The drivers were rude and spoke no English. They put the price up for no reason and without warning. Instead of leaving the circuit when their bus was full to return to the city, the drivers hung around - often for up to 30 mins - trying (unsuccessfully) to tout for standing-room passengers. More than once the drivers appeared to be lost going to or coming from the circuit. The food and beverage range at the circuit was very limited, Western and outrageously expensive. Security was either over the top or completely lax and haphazard. One day you could take newspapers into your grandstand, the next you couldn't. One day you could take cans or bottles of coke or water into your grandstand, the next day you couldn't, but you could take cans of beer and smoke in the stands. Neither the security guards or the ushers spoke English. The merchandise was markedly more expensive than any other circuit. Despite the expected heat, only the main grandstand is covered. There is precious little seating or cover to use when not in your grandstand seat. The ticket prices are OK for foreigners, but the locals I spoke to said they were too expensive. Out of 10 grandstands, only four had people in them. Six were closed. Only the main grandstand was any where near full. The two silver and two bronze stands that were open were no where near full. On the plus side, the free shuttle bus around the circuit was very much appreciated, but usually overcrowded. However, Istanbul is a fabulous place, especially the Old City, and the people are great. My experience of the city itself was the complete opposite to all race related activites. My advice ... forget the race, just visit Istanbul and the rest of Turkey - until Bernie & the organisers get the facilities and support for patrons and fans right.

General admission ticket holders did tend to struggle finding out where to go to get into the circuit, there were no signs for general admissions. The shuttle buses were great as there were one every minute to where you needed to go around the circuit. I would recommend this circuit to anyone!

Good access, dropped off by taxi right outside. We go to a different circuit every year so it would always help if advice on how to get to a circuit were provided. The race itself was boring as we know, but seats and seat position were superb so no fault there at all. We requested start line with high seats and got them, perfect. Facilities were good because the circuit is new, but there was a very small F1 village, but what was there was OK.

This GP was very well organised with excellent facilities,clean toilets and plenty of ice cold Turkish beer. We sat on turn 1 (silver 1- T1)which are not the best viewing seats but a great touch by the Turkish organisers to open the gates and allow all the fans onto the track at the end.This track ia also very easy to get to from Istanbull (which is a fantastic city to stay) by cab (£30.00 each way) or shuttle bus. I have been to many grand prix and this is my favorite will be going back next year. Book F1 provided a superb service yet again , Well done !

The local buses laid on were very good value at 4.5TL each way. They left from the car park opposite the Blue Mosque. The F! bus time table was avail on line but the exact locations were poorly indicated.

F1 is amazing racing, completely different feelings than watching it on TV.

Great service for the tickets and good seats in the stand. It would have been nice to have a map of the city for pick-up points for the buses that ran to the circuit as they are a lot cheaper than shuttles / taxis. Also an idea of what you can see from each stand would be good as it's hard to tell from a flat map - maybe a photo from each stand on the website. Circuit was easy to get around and taxi took us right to the gate on Saturday but everything seemed expensive in the circuit, paying about £7 for a hot dog. Sun screen, shade, packed lunches and bus travel are essential but a great weekend.

My first Grand Prix and I really enjoyed it! Silver 1 T8 is next to the last corners of Turkish track and it's a good place to see some action. The circuit is about 80km from the Istanbul center so the best way to get there are special public transport buses: 5 YTL/person single.

That was really great F1 race in Istanbul

Take your own food and drink to the circuit as the trackside prices are astronomical and the choice is fairly limited.