Teams drove their equipment from their European factories to the track for each race weekend, part of the journey completed by boat, with the exception of the 2020 race.
The inaugural 2005 Turkish Grand Prix was a challenging event, with many drivers spinning off throughout the weekend due to the nature of the circuit, particularly at Turn 8. Juan Pablo Montoya ran wide at Turn 8 with two laps to go following a tangle with the Jordan of Tiago Monteiro, allowing Fernando Alonso to take second place behind winner Kimi Räikkönen of McLaren-Mercedes. The fastest race lap was set by Montoya in 1:24.770. That battle for position had a significant bearing on the World Championship as it headed towards its conclusion.
Felipe Massa took his first pole position and victory at Istanbul Park in 2006, leading from start to finish for Ferrari, ahead of Alonso and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. A spin by Vitantonio Liuzzi brought out the safety car, forcing both Ferraris to pit on the same lap. The fastest race lap was set by Schumacher in 1:28.005. The podium ceremony was attended by Mehmet Ali Talat, introduced to television viewers via captions as the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — a state recognised only by Turkey. The FIA announced it would investigate the incident as a possible breach of political neutrality. The identity of the trophy presenter had been left until the last minute, leaving the FIA no time to veto the choice. The matter concluded with a 5 million dollar fine, later reduced by half.
Massa won again in 2007, starting from pole position and claiming his second consecutive victory. During the post-race press conference he said that Istanbul Park was "the track where he made his career turn-around, and finally began winning races." The fastest race lap was set by Räikkönen in 1:27.295. Massa completed a hat-trick in 2008, again starting from pole, finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who had passed him during the race despite the two-stopping Massa's advantage over three-stopping Hamilton. The fastest race lap was again set by Räikkönen, in 1:26.506.
Jenson Button won the 2009 race for Brawn GP, with Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing completing the podium. Button also set the fastest race lap, a 1:27.579. In 2010, Hamilton of McLaren took victory, followed by teammate Button and Webber of Red Bull Racing. Webber had started from pole position and was leading before colliding with teammate Vettel.
Vettel won the 2011 event for Red Bull Racing ahead of teammate Webber and Fernando Alonso of Ferrari. The race was noted for recording the greatest number of pit stops and overtaking manoeuvres in a dry Formula One race at that point in history. In 2011, the race had been in doubt because Bernie Ecclestone sought to double the hosting fees. Ecclestone later confirmed it would remain on the calendar for that year, with the calendar expanding to twenty races following the addition of the Indian Grand Prix. On 30 July 2011, it was announced that the Turkish Grand Prix would not appear on the calendar from 2012 onwards, due to a failure to agree on the annual hosting cost. The organisers claimed the hosting fee was too high; Ecclestone attributed the race's lack of profitability to poor promotion. On 9 January 2013, the Turkish government declined to approve a deal that would have returned the race to the calendar in 2013, as it required 13 million dollars of a projected 20 million dollar total cost to come from state funding.
The race returned to the calendar in 2020 as a replacement event amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the weekend held between 13 and 15 November 2020. The race weekend was affected by a newly resurfaced track that Pirelli had not been able to test or bring appropriate tyres for, compounded by heavy rainfall that worsened an already slippery surface. Lance Stroll of Racing Point took pole position in wet conditions. Hamilton, starting sixth, took the lead in the middle stages and won the race, claiming his seventh world title and equalling Schumacher's record.
The Turkish Grand Prix returned again in 2021, initially brought in as a replacement for the Canadian Grand Prix. It was briefly postponed due to travel restrictions from Turkey imposed by the British government, with the Styrian Grand Prix taking its place before the Turkish Grand Prix was re-added to replace the cancelled Singapore Grand Prix. The 2021 race was won by Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes, who started from pole position and led most of the race.
In April 2026, Formula One Group reached an agreement with the Turkish government for the Turkish Grand Prix to return to Istanbul Park for at least five seasons, from 2027 to 2031.
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