George Russell warns of "brutal" challenge of Istanbul Park's turn eight

Turkish Grand Prix

Russell warns of "brutal" challenge of Istanbul Park's turn eight

The quadruple-apex corner will see forces in excess of five-g

Ewan Gale

Friday 13 November 2020 08:28

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George Russell is one of a number of Formula 1 drivers who believe the strain of the famed turn eight at Istanbul Park could prove to be "brutal" across this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.

The quadruple-apex left-hander was universally loved by drivers and fans alike during the circuit's initial seven-year run on the F1 calendar from 2005 to 2011, inspiring a copy-cat corner at another of Hermann Tilke's creations, The Circuit of the Americas.

Russell, one of 16 drivers on the grid who has never raced at the track in Formula 1, feels the drivers and tyres will be under immense pressure during the weekend.

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"I think there is a lot of character around this circuit and a window of opportunity to overtake," he said.

"It’s obviously a new track for everyone, with some cooler conditions. And obviously the brutal turn eight, it’s going to be interesting to see how the tyres react. I think it will throw up some surprises. Hopefully, we will be there to make the most of it."

On whether turn eight would be easily flat out, Russell said: "It will be on low fuel.

"I say that now, but who knows. It will be very tricky and will need a bit of managing because I think that front tyre is going to get an absolute pounding. Likewise our necks, it’s not going to be easy. So looking forward to that."

McLaren's Lando Norris agreed with Russell's verdict and while he is expecting a difficult weekend, he is also relishing the challenge, suggested the g-forces could be less than those experienced at Mugello.

"It’s hard to describe because there’s nothing you can relate to it, it’s a lot of weight on your neck," he explained.

"Your face wants to go one way but you need to look forward. It’s not easy, but it’s part of F1. It's something I’ve trained for. I look forward to it. It’s going to be a challenge.

"I wouldn’t say it’s super high-g. Mugello was where we saw the highest g-force, but it’s more the length of it and the duration of holding that, which is a bit different to a lot of the tracks. But I’ll be fine."

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has rejected the proposition of using neck-padding to cope with the punishment to be faced at the anti-clockwise circuit due to an old jibe from his father Jos.

Former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo had no such excuse for his dismissal of the protective equipment, expressing his hope that his faith pays off.

“My engineer asked the same question and I laughed him off, so we will see if my confidence spites me," said Ricciardo.

“But I have [been here before], so I can’t say I haven’t. The little asterisk to that is it was a free practice and it was pouring with rain so I’ve never felt the turn eight experience really with full grip conditions.

“In any case, that was nine years ago so I think it’s all going to be pretty new regardless but I’m excited. 2020, a year where we get to compete on another new circuit for most of us on the grid so that’s exciting.”

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