Formula 1 blasts off in Turkey
This weekend will
come alive in Turkey as the Formula 1 circuit berths in the country.
Red Bull leads the way in the drivers’ standing, having taken the last
two podiums in Monaco and Catalunya races through Mark Weber, who is
joint top with Sebastien Vettel but has more race wins.
Turkey is maybe the only country to have a paragraph about sport written into its Constitution.
Article 59 of the
Constitution says, “The State takes measures to develop the physical
and mental health of Turkish citizens of all ages and encourages the
spread of sports among the masses. The State protects successful
athletes.”
This weekend’s race
will be a blast as other teams get set to rein in a charging Red Bull
team led by Mark Weber and Sebastien Vettel.
Wrestling versus racing
Much of Formula 1
technology is all about reducing the car weights, but in Turkey, they
like heavy; the heavier the better. The history of sports in Turkey is
replete with weightlifters and not cars. Naim Suleymanoglu is a Turkish
World and Olympic Weightlifting champion, with three Olympic gold
medals, seven World and six European titles to his name, picking up 46
world records on the way. He is one of a handful of lifters to “clean
and jerk” three times his own bodyweight.
Whether F1 will
attract the same kind of adoration as wrestling remains to be seen and
this weekend will do a lot to answer that question.
Meanwhile Felipe Massa of Ferrari believes Ferrari can come good in Turkey. He said on Reuters:
“I believe we can bring a good car,” he said. “I think if everything works perfectly, we can have a competitive car.
“It’s a great
pleasure for me to be a small part of these 800 grand prix for
Ferrari,” he added. “I will try my best to go to Turkey to fight for
the victory, to have also a nice celebration about these 800 grand
prix.” It will be the lift off for the little Brazilian driver if he
wins in Turkey and a timely boost for the Ferrari cars that have fallen
short in the main races this season.
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