Formula 1 has confirmed the Turkish Grand Prix will return to the championship calendar from 2027. Istanbul Park secured a five-year deal with the sport running through 2031, following a new agreement between Formula 1 and Turkey’s Ministry of Youth and Sports. The Turkish Automobile Sports Federation will serve as the official delivery partner for all future events. F1 Turkey last raced in 2021, ending a run that produced some of the most memorable moments in the sport’s modern era.
The circuit itself earned its reputation fast. Istanbul Park joined the F1 calendar in 2005 and immediately drew praise from drivers and engineers alike. The 5.33 kilometre layout runs anticlockwise, which already makes it unusual. Furthermore, the dramatic elevation changes and the multi-apex Turn 8 corner demand a level of commitment that very few circuits anywhere in the world can match. Former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone once called it the best race track in the world.
Nine races took place at Istanbul Park across two spells, making F1 Turkey one of the more storied venues to leave the calendar. The circuit returned again in 2020 and 2021 as a replacement during the pandemic. Across those nine editions, the Turkish Grand Prix produced a variety of winners, multiple title-deciding moments, and one race that went into the history books for its sheer volume of pit stops.
The complete list of Turkish Grand Prix winners tells its own story. Kimi Raikkonen won the inaugural race in 2005 for McLaren. Felipe Massa then dominated the event, winning three straight races in 2006, 2007 and 2008 for Ferrari, all from pole. Jenson Button took victory in 2009 for Brawn GP. Lewis Hamilton won in 2010 for McLaren, and Sebastian Vettel claimed the 2011 race for Red Bull, a contest that produced 82 pit stops, a dry race record that still stands.
The 2020 edition stands apart from everything else. Heavy rain combined with a freshly resurfaced track that Pirelli had no data on created near-impossible conditions throughout the weekend. Hamilton started sixth and produced one of the defining drives of his career for Mercedes. Consequently, that victory sealed his seventh drivers championship and put him level with Michael Schumacher’s all-time record. Valtteri Bottas, currently racing for Cadillac in 2026, won the final edition in 2021, making him one of only two active drivers to have taken victory at Istanbul Park.
The announcement triggered immediate excitement across the F1 community. Formula 1 now reaches more than 19 million fans in Turkey. Instagram followers are up 25 percent year on year, and YouTube views have risen by 107 percent. The return also makes strong commercial sense, with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort leaving the schedule at the end of 2026. The Belgian and Spanish Grands Prix will rotate biannually from 2027. Turkey fills that gap and joins Portugal as the second returning race confirmed for next season.
The exact date for F1 Turkey 2027 within the calendar has not yet been confirmed. However, logistics point toward a second-half slot, most likely sitting ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as F1 heads east. The full 2027 calendar is expected to be published later this year. For a circuit that delivered nine memorable races across two decades, the wait for its return already feels too short.
