Istanbul Park has a new operator. But the condition is the return of Formula 1 – F1sport.cz

Will Formula 1 return to Turkey? Istanbul Park has a new tenant. However, the contract states that he must agree with F1 to return to the country.

Istanbul Park is located in Istanbul, but it is not a city ring. We can find it in the Asian part of the city, about 30 kilometers from the Bosphorus. Formula 1 raced on it from 2005 to 2011. Then Istanbul Park returned to the calendar somewhat unexpectedly in 2020 and 2021 as one of the alternate destinations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently met with the president of the FIA, fueling speculation about F1’s return to the country. Actually, it’s not even speculation. Turkey is making no secret of its efforts to bring the queen of motorsport back to Istanbul.

Yesterday it was confirmed that Istanbul Park has a new operator. The contract with Intercity ended and Can Bilim Eğitim Kurumları A.Ş became the new operator.

This is no surprise as the company was the only bidder. In fact, it is Cam Holding, which has a relatively large portfolio of activities – it is engaged in energy, tourism, logistics, owns Istanbul Bilgi University, or runs a hospital in the east of Turkey.

There is a condition in the contract that the new lessee must get F1 back to Turkey. According to the Turkish media, he only has one month to sign an agreement with F1. Otherwise, the contract will end. Turkey believes that F1 could return to the country in as little as two years.

If Can Holding reaches an agreement with F1, the $117.8 million contract will run for 30 years.