Grid Crasher looks forward to this weekend’s GP

After the predictable procession in Spain a fortnight ago, we move on to Turkey. A few facts, figures, notes and fearless predictions for you:

Felipe Massa (pictured) is going for his third win in a row in Istanbul. On current form, the only man who can stop him is Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Istanbul’s circuit, designed by Hermann Tilke and first used by F1 in 2005 (when Raikkonen won in a McLaren), is one of the drivers’ favourite places to race. It should allow for more overtaking than most tracks. Pole position is slightly less of an advantage than usual – that said, Massa did win from pole last year.

Watch out for Turn 8, one of the best corners in the whole of F1. It’s a quadruple apex corner where drivers pull up to 5G. Sounds like fun.

Heikki Kovalainen, who had a 150mph crash in Spain, should be declared fit to race this weekend. He has to pass a medical at the track today, but as he has already passed stringent physical and mental tests, the Finn should get a green light.

On Sunday, Rubens Barrichello will break Riccardo Patrese’s all-time record of races driven in F1 – if he can bat away interviewers (”So Rubens, how does it feel to break Patrese’s record?”) and make it to the grid on time. Both drivers are currently on 256 GP starts.

With only 10 teams lining up in Turkey – sadly, Super Aguri are no more - it should be a cleaner GP with less racing incidents. That’s not a good thing.

Finally, a race prediction:

1. Kimi Raikkonen, 2. Felipe Massa, 3. Lewis Hamilton

If Ferrari get both of their cars to the finish line unscathed, and without pit-stop cock-ups, they will surely bag another one-two. This time, we expect Raikkonen to have the edge on Massa, although there will be less between them than in Spain, simply because Turkey is a track where Massa always goes well. Hamilton should again be the best of the rest.