Istanbul Park, described by Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone as “the best race track in the world”, is the venue for the 2008 Turkish F1 Grand Prix and our two leading partners, Betfair and Sky Bet, are spicing things up by offering free bets throughout the race weekend. The racetrack only opened in August 2005 and has fast become a favourite for many of the drivers due to the mixture of fast sweeping turns and viciously sharp corners, the sharpest of which has a radius of just 15m! Turn number 8 is particularly hazardous, a sweeping 163mph turn that actually has four apexes and has caught out many drivers in the three races held in Turkey this far.

The Turkish GP is also one of only three circuits in this year’s calendar to run it’s 58 laps anti-clockwise. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa will be hoping to make it a hat-trick of victories having won there in 2006 and again in 2007 but his Finnish team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, also has a good record in Istanbul with a first and a second in his three appearances and surely will be gunning for glory in front of the 155,000 capacity crowd.

Betfair and Skybet will be offering a huge array of betting options before and during the race including the driver who achieves pole position, the driver who records the fastest lap (a record held by Juan Pablo Montoya set in the opening race in 2005) and which manufacturer will be most successful over the weekend. The free bet offers will be valid throughout the weekend’s race proceedings.