the best corner in Formula One


There are a number of contenders for the title "the best corner in Formula One". There is the roller-coaster switchback ride of Eau Rouge at Spa, the almost flat-out right handed flick of Copse Corner at Silverstone or the equally challenging 130R at Suzuka.
However most drivers will tell you that, despite its relatively unassuming name, Turn 8 at Istanbul Park circuit is the ‘the big one'. They love it.
Circuit designer Hermann Tilke often draws criticism for his "Tilkedromes". Critics complain that in the late 1990s he created a series of look-alike tracks, each of which produced dull races.
However, when in 2005 Istanbul Park hosted the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix the track proved to be a winner with the drivers. The anti-clockwise design unashamedly copies some of the great corners at other tracks in the world. The first three corners are identical to the Senna-S combination at Interlagos. However Turn 8 is unique.
The ultra-long, quadruple apex corner is entered at more than 300km/h, at which point the drivers sustain a cornering load of over four times the force of gravity for 8.5 seconds, equivalent to 12% of the lap. The 640 metre-long curve is the longest corner of the season. In comparison, 130R at Suzuka and Copse at Silverstone both have a duration half that of Turn Eight and even the 470m-long Parabolica at Monza is 25% shorter.
So was the legendary Turn 8 created by accident or design? I was able to ask the question of Hermann Tilke when I interviewed him earlier this year.

"It was designed" says Tilke. "Its speciality is its elevation. 2-dimensional wise the complete curve is already interesting and within the curve itself four elevation changes have been implemented which results in a "wave" effect and that makes it unique and is very difficult to drive."
Something which Tilke did not forsee in the track design was the effect that the corner has on tyre degradation. The loads and heat generated by the right front tyre on Turn 8 means that driver finesse is as important as pure speed in Turkey.

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