The 2024 Formula 1 season has come to an end but already the sport is looking ahead to next year and beyond.
Next season is set to be even closer than the most recent campaign after the F1 calendar ended up being the longest in the sport’s history.
There are very few rule changes coming and already the grid has converged massively, meaning Max Verstappen will have his work cut out to win a fifth straight title.
Next year will see plenty of driver changes, with the biggest headlines coming from Ferrari when Lewis Hamilton arrives in Maranello.
There are plenty of rookies making their debuts too and they’ll be heading to the Australian Grand Prix which returns to its spot at the head of the calendar.
That’s the only change coming to the F1 calendar next year – aside from some Sprint Race changes – but 2026 is a very different story.
The Madrid Grand Prix makes its first appearance in Formula 1, while Zandvoort will drop off the calendar.
There are four more circuits at risk of being dropped when F1’s newest ruleset change comes into force, including Mexico City, Imola, Las Vegas and Belgium.
Now, a report from Motorsport Turkey suggests that a return to Istanbul Park could now be on the cards.
Turkish Grand Prix return talks for 2026 intensify at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The report from Motorsport Turkey suggests that ‘intensive’ work has been happening in the background for some time for the Turkish Grand Prix to make a comeback to F1.
A meeting took place across the race weekend in Abu Dhabi between several high-profile names to try and see if Formula 1 could return to Turkey.
A ‘special meeting’ was held between F1 executives and ‘important steps’ were made for a 2026 return to be on the cards.
The report suggests that ‘good news seems imminent’ which would be a real boost for that region to host another Grand Prix.
READ MORE: F1 could return to ‘awesome’ track where Lewis Hamilton has won twice
Journalist Kemal Sengul shared more details about the potential move and said: “Work has been accelerated for Turkey to enter the 2026 F1 Calendar!
“Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Osman Aşkın Bak, Eren Üçlertoprağı, Serkan Yazıcı and Lale Cander held a critical meeting with the F1 management at Yas Marina today.
“We hope good news will come soon.”
Lewis Hamilton loves the Turkish Grand Prix despite once calling it ‘terrifying’
The Turkish Grand Prix has been held on nine occasions so far, with the final race being held in 2021.
Felipe Massa has won the race on the most occasions – three – and Ferrari are the most successful manufacturer at the circuit with the same number of victories.
Hamilton was speaking to Sky Sports in 2020 about the circuit after a misjudged track resurfacing effort and said: “It was a bit of a disaster today, to be honest.
READ MORE: Jenson Button recalls ‘ding dong’ with Lewis Hamilton over McLaren team orders
“This track is such a fantastic circuit and I really don’t fully, fully understand when they spend millions to redo a surface of a track. I know it had been sitting around for a long time [without any racing] so they probably could have just cleaned it maybe instead of waste all the money.
“It’s terrifying the whole way around. It’s almost like there’s wet patches all over. As you’re on the slicks, you’re accelerating and it just goes so fast because you’re way, way below the temperature window.”
Out of the 20 drivers who competed at the last race in Turkey, only 12 – at the time of writing – remain on the grid.
That number could decrease even further by 2026, making it a new challenge for potentially half of the paddock.
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