New Turkish circuit has testing turns to rank with the best

So what did you make of the first Turkish Grand Prix? As the teams roll up at Monza for this weekend's Italian round of the world championship the buzz is still about parts of that Istanbul circuit.

It was another design from the man responsible for the Formula One racetracks at Sepang in Malaysia and Shanghai. But for my money Hermann Tilke surpassed himself with his latest creation.

Earlier this season I stood on the Sepang track and marvelled at the steepness between turns one and two. But these undulations never come across on the television.

The Turkish track was so hilly you can't help but step up and take notice even watching in front of your TV. It ran anti-clockwise which always raises the entertainment levels. Only two other tracks go that way (Imola and Interlagos), the others are clockwise.

This caused problems for the multi-millionaire drivers, whose necks couldn't cope with the g-force produced by driving on the opposite side. It's a bit like these millionaire footballers who can only use one foot to kick the ball.

There was concern about the wind on the track, and the possibility that wild dogs could get on the circuit. But in the end the star of the show was Turn Eight. That's not much of a name for a show stealer, but this monster of a corner outfoxed a series of drivers in both qualifying and the race itself.