Felipe Massa joked he is ready to apply for Turkish citizenship following a third successive grand prix victory at the Istanbul Park circuit.
Massa again ruled on a track he has come to love, although it was a nip-and-tuck affair as on occasion the Ferrari star diced with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton for the lead.
Massa ultimately beat Hamilton to the line by just 3.7 seconds at the end of the 58 laps to draw level on points with the Englishman in the standings and pull within seven of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen who was third.
With the win, he has now clocked up 200 career points and becomes the first driver to win three consecutive races at the same track since Michael Schumacher won four in a row in the United States from 2003-06.
This was also Ferrari's fourth successive victory this year since Hamilton took the chequered flag in the season opener in Australia.
But for Brazilian Massa, this was undoubtedly the continuation of a love affair that began in 2006 when he won his first race from pole on this track.
"I think I can get a passport here now!" quipped Massa.
"It's just fantastic to drive here. It gives me a lot of pleasure.
"Having a great car like I had, it's definitely fantastic to fight for the victory and win.
"But it was a very difficult race. We saw Lewis pushing very hard, and fortunately for us he had three stops.
"It was difficult to hold him on the track because he was very quick, but knowing he was on three stops was important.
"It meant I didn't have to fight so hard and I could take care knowing it would be possible to get in front again, which is what I did.
"But it's been just great to come here and win again at a track where I won my first race. It is so special.
"To win for a third time in a row, it's difficult to fully explain my feelings."
With the pendulum of wins over the last four grands prix swinging between Massa and Raikkonen, the former is firmly in the hunt for the title.
"I am competing; I am in the fight," asserted the Brazilian.
"If you look at the past few races, Kimi won, then I won, he won again, now I've won here.
"It's always very tight, with the competition very high, but I feel I can be competitive everywhere.
"I'm just happy to have reduced the gap, and now I'm on the same number of points as Lewis."
Appreciating the rollercoaster of the last four races, the 27-year-old added: "Sometimes you can win, sometimes you can't, but you need to score points like Kimi did here.
"It's important to be competitive, consistent and getting points race by race, even if it's first, third, fifth or whatever."
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