The circuit covers over 2.2 million square metres near Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, close to the O-4 motorway linking Istanbul to Ankara. The track is 5.338 km long with an average width of 15 metres, ranging from 14 to 21.5 metres, and runs over four different ground levels. The start/finish straight exceeds 650 metres. The circuit features 14 corners, with the sharpest carrying a radius of just 15 metres, and can accommodate approximately 125,000 spectators, including a main grandstand with 25,000 seats.
The anticlockwise direction creates sustained left-handed loading on drivers, most intensely through the circuit's most celebrated feature: Turn 8, a fast sweeping corner with four successive apexes. Nicknamed "Diabolica" by some observers in reference to Monza's Curva Parabolica, Turn 8 draws comparisons to Eau Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps and 130R at Suzuka. The high lateral loads sustained through Turn 8 accelerate tyre degradation and have made the corner a defining element of races held at the circuit. Tilke subsequently incorporated similar multi-apex geometry into Turn 3 at the Sochi Autodrom and Turns 17 and 18 at Circuit of the Americas.
Turn 1, a sharp downhill left-hander immediately after the front straight, has been nicknamed the "Turkish Corkscrew" by comparison with the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. Both the 2006 Formula One and MotoGP races featured multiple incidents at this corner. A kink in the middle of the back straight, superficially resembling Eau Rouge, is informally referred to as "Faux Rouge."
The first Turkish Grand Prix was held at Istanbul Park in 2005. The race ran continuously until 2011, when the event was discontinued following financial disagreements. During those seven seasons, the circuit produced notable results: Felipe Massa won three of the nine editions, Lewis Hamilton took two victories, and Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Kimi Räikkönen, and Valtteri Bottas each won one race.
Istanbul Park returned to the Formula One calendar in 2020 after a nine-year absence, and again in 2021 as a replacement for the cancelled Singapore Grand Prix due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The Turkish Grand Prix is scheduled to return to Istanbul Park from 2027 as part of a renewed arrangement.
MotoGP competed at Istanbul Park for three consecutive years from 2005 to 2007. Marco Melandri won both the 2005 and 2006 Turkish motorcycle Grand Prix, while Casey Stoner took victory in 2007. Following Ecclestone's acquisition of the venue's management rights in 2007, MotoGP was removed from the 2008 calendar and did not return.
Istanbul Park hosted rounds of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, GP2, the World Touring Car Championship, the Le Mans Series, and the Porsche Supercup during its active Formula One years. The Superbike World Championship raced at the circuit in 2013. The FIA World Rallycross Championship held the World RX of Turkey at Istanbul Park in 2014, 2015, 2024, and 2025, using an area to the outside of Turns 12, 13, and 14.
Between 2007 and 2011, Ecclestone held managing rights to the circuit. The Turkish company Intercity operated Istanbul Park from October 2012 to March 2024. A tender process in April 2024 awarded operating rights to Can Bilim Eğitim, but those rights were cancelled by an administrative court in December 2024. In June 2025, the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) was granted operating rights for at least ten years, prompting the circuit to be renamed TOSFED Istanbul Park.
Istanbul Park is widely regarded as among the finest examples of Hermann Tilke's design work, standing apart from other purpose-built circuits of the same era through its varied elevation changes, multiple circuit levels, and the distinctive demands imposed by its anticlockwise layout. Turn 8 in particular has attained near-legendary status among drivers and fans. The circuit's intermittent presence on the Formula One calendar reflects the financial difficulties that have repeatedly threatened major events in Turkey despite the venue's strong sporting reputation.