Formula 1 listens to drivers and water-blasts Istanbul Park for Turkish GP

Last year's race was an interesting one, but the drivers in Turkey complained about the lack of grip on the Istanbul Park circuit. Max Verstappen was one of them when he spun when trying to overtake Sergio Perez (then working for Racing Point). The Dutchman said at the time that it was the least fun race of his career, Lewis Hamilton called it "terrifying."

Water spray

The Briton will be pleased to hear that work has been carried out to improve grip ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix. After not being used after 2011, new asphalt was laid in 2020, but in combination with the rainfall, this only made the problems worse. For this year's race, the circuit was water-blasted, something that should improve grip considerably.

Michael Masi explains to Autosport.com why water radiation was chosen: "We've seen this used regularly in Singapore, where public roads are regularly resurfaced because of the movement. That's what happened there, along with a few other changes." Singapore is indeed a street circuit with normal traffic racing across it for the rest of the year.

Drivers must not whine

Ross Brawn commented after last year's race in Turkey that he enjoyed the difficulty of the track: "I understand the drivers weren't happy with the overall grip level, but it was a consequence of the late decision to race there as the calendar was revised to respond to COVID-19. I think sometimes drivers need to remember that it's a race of who crosses the line first, so, although the grip levels weren't high, it was the same for everyone. and challenging surface like we had this weekend wasn't bad. It showed the talent of the driver to the limit."