Turkish GP ‘needs government support’ for return

2013 F1 calendar

Posted on

| Written by

The Turkish government needs to provide financial support for a race at Istanbul Park if the Grand Prix is to return to the calendar.

Chairman of the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) Demire Berberoglu said they are making “every effort” to restore the race to the calendar for 2013 and beyond.

“Everybody knows that what is needed for its presence in the Formula One race calendar for 2013 and following years is a guarantee and approval of the required budget at the government level.”

“This will develop according to the prime minister’s decision.”

F1 last raced at Istanbul Park in 2011 before the race was dropped from the calendar. The FIA has left a slot on the 2013 F1 calendar for an event to take place of the postponed Jersey Grand Prix.

2013 F1 season


Browse all 2013 F1 season articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

10 comments on “Turkish GP ‘needs government support’ for return”

  1. Even if they get the support from the government, they need to make sure to educate the local people and the rest of the world that there is, actually, a race in Turkey.
    It’s a beautiful, colorful different culture, while the economic conditions are great, but previous years nobody knew about the race – ask any local guy about the presence.

  2. Hope they make it. It’s a cracking racetrack this one…

    They have the chance to make it work this time.

    1. yep i love this twisty circuit, the only problem I see is that it is quite far away from Istanbul and maybe a bit expensive for the locals.
      But unlike it has been said above, Turkish people loves motorsports and have a good knowledge about it.
      @kiril-varbanov said “educate the local people[…] that there is a race in Turkey”. Well, they are aware of it mate, maybe those who loves it, stand 1000 km from the circuit (Turkey is a big country). Educate is not the word!

  3. Turkish Sports Minister Suat Kilic has told reporters that the government will not pay for a GP:

    “If it wants to, the private sector can bring Formula One,” Kilic was quoted as saying by the Dogan news agency.

    “But there is no question of us paying the cost of the rights which have been proposed to a private company to bring Formula One.”

    “Our government paid $13.5 million a year to the organisers for five years for the rights. In exchange for that, all the income went to the organisers, so the state did not get any benefit from it,”

  4. Based on what the circuit’s new lease-holders have been saying, I was under the impression that they already had government support.

  5. Why would the government pay for a race if it is only there for 2013 as the FIA are waiting for New Jersey in 2014. Russia is also on the radar for 2014 so it probably would mean Istanbul and another track would be dropped in 2014.

    1. @foleyger Or the calender just gets longer..

      1. Or something else gets dropped.

  6. How can they get government support? There is virtually no other Turkish involvement in F1. I imagine that would be quite hard to justify to the tax-payer…

    That said I would LOVE to see it come back.

  7. The Turkish Grand Prix is “unlikely to go ahead” according to Bernie Ecclestone Speaking to Austria’s Kleine Zeitung newspaper. He also said “At the moment I think that we will have only 19 Grands Prix. That would not be a big problem for F1”.

    You can say a lot about Mr Ecclestone, but at least he’s good at creating attention! I personally think there will be twenty races in 2013.

Comments are closed.