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Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix Preview

Aug 26, 2007 - 10:28 AM

August 26, 2007 
Istanbul Racing Circuit 
Istanbul, Turkey 
Race 12 of 17 in Grand Prix Series

Laps: 58 
Track length: 3.316 miles 
Race length: 192 miles

Lap Record: Juan Pablo Montoya, 1:24.770 (2005)


DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Fernando Alonso (Spain)
Team: McLaren 
2007 Points: 73 (2nd)

Finished fourth at the Hungarian Grand Prix and now trails
rookie teammate and points leader Lewis Hamilton by seven
points; won the Grand Prix of Europe to climb within two points
of Hamilton; has finished in the top five in nine of 11 starts
this season; finished seventh at both the French and Canadian
Grands Prix; placed second at the Santander British Grand Prix
and was runner-up to Hamilton at Indianapolis; won at Monaco and
ran third at hometown Spanish Grand Prix; stormed to an easy
victory at Malaysia and registered a second-place finish in his
McLaren debut at Australia, finishing 7.2 seconds behind Kimi
Raikkonen; finished second to Felipe Massa a this race a year
ago.


Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
Team: McLaren 2007 
Points: 80 (1st)

The points leader won the Hungarian Grad Prix and now leads
teammate Alonso by seven points; finished ninth at the Grand
Prix of Europe; took third in back-to-back races at the British
Grand Prix and Magny-Cours, after making history at Canada where
he became the first black driver to win a Formula One race;
followed that victory in Canada by winning the United States
Grand Prix; placed second in four consecutive races prior to his
back-to-back wins; rookie sensation has burst onto the circuit
by storm, running third at Australia and placing second at
Malaysia, Bahrain, Spain and Monaco; finished 18 seconds behind
Alonso at Malaysia and is first rookie in series history since
1964 to capture podium finishes in his first three races; also
is the first black driver in series history; has finished among
the top five in all but one start this year.


Nick Heidfeld 
Team: BMW Sauber 
2007 Points: 42 (5th)

Finished third in Hungary following consecutive sixth-place
finishes over the previous two races to remain fifth place in
the points standings; still seeking first win of the season;
opened the year with three consecutive fourth place finishes at
Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain; had best race of the season at
Canada where he finished second; forced to retire at Spain and
the United States Grand Prix; has six top-five finishes in 11
starts this year; finished 14th in this event last season.


Felipe Massa (Brazil)
Team: Ferrari 2007 
Points: 59 (4th)

Finished 13th in Hungary to drop back to fourth in the standings;
had climbed up to third with a runner-up finish at the Grand
Prix of Europe after slipping to fourth following a fifth place
finish British Grand Prix; is 21 points behind Hamilton and
leads Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen by just a point; was
runner-up to Raikkonen at Magny-Cours; also was black-flagged at
Canada; ran third at Indianapolis and Monaco after capturing
two straight checkered flags at Bahrain and Spain; finished
fifth at Malaysia; kicked off his campaign with a sixth place at
Australia; has eight top five finishes in 11 starts this
season; won this race last season.


Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)
Team: Ferrari 2007 
Points: 60 (3rd)

Finished second at Hungary to jump ahead of teammate Massa in
the standings; retired from the Grand Prix of Europe after
consecutive checkered flag wins at the British Grand Prix and
Magny-Cours; dropped to fourth in the standings behind Massa;
his three wins tie Alonso and Hamilton for the most on the
circuit this season and he has eight top-five finishes in 11
starts; finished fourth at Indianapolis and fifth at Canada;
struggled to eighth place at Monaco and retired due to
electrical problems at Spain, dropping him from first to fourth
in the standings; had a dazzling debut with new team Ferrari,
capturing the checkered flag in the season opener at Australia;
joined Ferrari after spending the last five years with McLaren;
retired from this event last season.


2006 Top 10
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 1. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari 
 2. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Renault 
 3. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Ferrari 
 4. Jenson Button, Great Britain, Honda 
 5. Pedro de la Rosa, Spain, McLaren-Mercedes 
 6. Giancarlo Fisichella, Italy, Renault 
 7. Ralf Schumacher, Germay, Toyota 
 8. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Honda
 9. Jarno Trulli,Italy, Toyota 
10. Mark Webber, Australia, Williams-Cosworth


Past Champions
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2006  Felipe Massa, Ferrari 
2005  Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren-Mercedes