The 2007 Turkish Grand Prix was the twelfth race of the 2007 Formula One season. Won by Felipe Massa, it was held from 24 to August 26 at the Istanbul Park in Istanbul. It was the third time a Formula One race had been held here. The two previous winners of the race were Kimi Räikkönen in 2005 and Massa in 2006, both of whom race for Ferrari in 2007.
It came following considerable controversy after the 2006 event, where the organisers were fined $5,000,000 for political bias, due to their choice of Mehmet Ali Talat to present the winner's trophy. Talat is President of the Turkish Cypriot state, which is not an internationally recognised government. This was seen by the governing body of Formula One as having compromised their neutrality.
Lewis Hamilton came into the race with a 7 point lead over McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso after Hamilton's controversial victory in the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix. McLaren led Ferrari in the constructors' championship by 19 points despite not being allowed to score points in Hungary. However, the Ferrari had looked strong in recent weeks, and their two cars ultimately dominated the race from start to finish, Massa and Räikkönen taking first and second places respectively. A late puncture dropped Hamilton to fifth place and cut his championship lead over Alonso to five points.
During the press conference following the race, Massa commented that "the Istanbul Park was the track where he made his career turn-around, and finally began winning races." He also praised the track as well as the city.
Read more about 2007 Turkish Grand Prix: Championship Standings After The Race
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