The Turkish GP races at Istanbul Park will return to the Formula 1 calendar from 2027. The organizers signed a five-year agreement, helped by direct support from the Turkish government. Everything indicates that the Turkish GP has taken the last free spot on the F1 calendar for the 2027 season.
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For several years, Turkey has been trying to return to Formula 1 permanently, and now it has finally succeeded. Liberty Media announced the signing of a five-year agreement for the 2027 – 2031 seasons – Source. The announcement took place in Istanbul, attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the head of the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) Eren Üçlertoprağ, FIA head Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and Liberty Media head Stefano Domenicali. During the press conference, Yuki Tsunoda performed a demonstration run through the surrounding streets in an old Red Bull car. I mention all this because contracts are rarely announced with such fanfare; usually, it’s a press release or a simple press conference. Turkey had been trying to return to F1 for several years, but lacked funds. The two previous operators of the Istanbul Park circuit were obliged to sign an agreement with F1, but they failed. Since June 2025, the circuit operator has been the local motorsport federation, which is why the full name of the circuit is currently “TOSFED Istanbul Park”. Thanks to the support of this federation and mainly government support, the necessary funds were raised to finalize the agreement with Liberty Media.
The Istanbul Park circuit will return to Formula 1 after a six-year break. The history of Formula 1 races at Istanbul Park and in Turkey in general is short. The first race at this venue was held in 2005, and subsequent ones took place annually until 2011. No further contract was signed then due to financial reasons, and the race disappeared from the F1 calendar for several years. The Turkish government stopped contributing money to the necessary license fee, and the promoter was unable to finance it alone. Turkey returned to the F1 calendar for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, with annual agreements signed under very preferential terms. These were the times of the coronavirus pandemic, a completely different situation. Turkey was unable to remain on the calendar permanently then.
During previous F1 visits to Turkey, there wasn’t much interest from local fans, but that may change now. Liberty Media reported that there are 19 million F1 fans in Turkey, with over 7.5 million followers of F1 profiles on social media coming from the country. F1 recorded a 25% increase on Instagram during the year and 107% on YouTube. There are significantly more fans there than before; we will see how this translates into ticket sales. The circuit has large grandstands with 125,000 seats; they were even larger before. I don’t have specific data for the entire history, but I don’t think the F1 grandstands were ever truly full.
At the moment, we do not know the exact date for the Turkish GP in 2027. Personally, I expect that for logistical reasons, September might be the date, at the end of the European part of the season.
Istanbul Park is one of Herman Tilke’s best designs, one of my most favorite circuits. The track is flowing with several challenging corners, including the famous Turn 8. There are several good overtaking spots, and there have been several historical moments for F1 during the races in Turkey. This time I have one doubt, because this venue will not be ideal under current regulations. There are few heavy braking zones, but several fast corners and flowing sections. Cars with high downforce from 2020-2021 performed best there; current cars have significantly less. Additionally, there’s the issue of the power unit, for which this will not be a good venue for energy recovery.
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Update 25.04.2026. The circuit will be modernized before F1’s return, with new grandstands, for example, and a modern karting track next to it. F2 and F3 races will also take place during the F1 visit. Unofficial rumors suggest that Turkey will also want to return to the MotoGP calendar in the near future. Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, extremely popular in his homeland, now rides there.
Announced and possible changes in the Formula 1 calendar in the coming years
The announcement of the agreement to host the Turkish GP means that the calendar for the 2027 season has been completed. Current regulations limit the maximum number of races to 24 per year. After the 2026 season, the Dutch GP at Zandvoort will leave F1 – they made this decision themselves. From the 2027 season, the Belgian GP and the Barcelona-Catalunya GP will occupy one slot in the schedule, as organizers have entered into rotational agreements with Liberty Media. In 2027, F1 will feature the Belgian GP, and in 2028, the Barcelona-Catalunya GP, alternating until 2032. This freed up two spots on the calendar, as all other circuits have longer agreements. Last December, it was announced that the Portuguese GP at the Algarve International Circuit signed an agreement for the 2027 and 2028 seasons (details). Today, however, a much longer agreement for the organization of the Turkish GP was confirmed. I am positively surprised that Liberty Media exchanged two European races for two other European races.
The vast majority of circuits have multi-year agreements to host F1 races, and several serious candidates are emerging. Liberty Media therefore has a problem of riches. I wouldn’t be surprised if they push to extend the calendar to 25 races per season; just a few years ago, that was the limit in the regulations. If the teams agree, it can be done. Currently, candidacies from South Korea (details), Thailand (details), and Argentina (details) are seriously vying to host an F1 race. There have also been various proposals from Africa for several years, but concrete details are still lacking there. If no one suddenly withdraws from an agreement, a free spot will only appear on the calendar in 2029, replacing the Portuguese GP, which not coincidentally signed only a two-year agreement.
In the further future, in 2028 or 2029, the host of the Saudi Arabian GP will change, as a new circuit, the Qiddiya Speed Park Track, is being built there. According to the plan, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit will then drop out of F1, but it is not ruled out that Saudi Arabia might want to have two races. In Saudi Arabia, financial problems have arisen in recent weeks due to the war between the USA/Israel and Iran, and certain projects have been halted, but the city of Qiddiya is by no means threatened. Construction work there is advanced.
A detailed breakdown of the length of all circuit contracts for hosting Formula 1 races can be seen at this link.
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