it was a far shorter race in GP2 with lower downforce. In F1 machinery, Lewis hasn't demonstrated the ability to conserve his tyres at Istanbul, so although he has a lot of pace there, he's always going to be at a disadvantage over a race distance
@headless, i was saying that Istanbul is a pretty average track except for turn 8
I think in a way, it's fair to say the Istanbul is average bar turn 8. But when you think about it, few tracks have that special and unique corner. The drivers do really enjoy Istanbul as a track, and many do call it a real drivers track. I think Istanbul is above average for a track, because the layout really works. You have the first sector which is a series of tricky medium corners. Then turn 8 itself. Then the end of the circuit has given us some great battles. I remember last year with Hekki, he had some great action going on. A driver can overtake into turn 9, but it's easy for the other guy to come right back down the pit straight, which has led to some good racing. Plus it's anti-clockwise, to all together I think it comes together and it's the best circuit that Herman Tilke's designed.
I think Massa's dominance has shadowed this tracks real potential, and I think this year we really could be on for a great race.