Turkish GP Report
June 1st 2010 01:33
After the conspicuous glamour of the Monaco Grand Prix, the teams headed to Turkey to tackle one of the most technical circuits on the calendar. Mark Webber and Red Bull went into the weekend, buoyed from the success of the last two races, but McLaren closed the gap with their F-Duct system working to devastating effect around the high-speed Istanbul raceway. Rain threatened to turn the race upside down, while turn eight threatened to shred tyres – but in the end it was battles within the teams themselves that produced one of the most exciting races so far. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button prevailed for McLaren, when the intra-team battle between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel ended in tears, gravel and controversy for Red Bull.
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton (1st)
Burnout Boy, international fugitive he may be, was the biggest threat looming in Red Bull’s shadow. He was jumped at the line by Vettel, who had the benefit of a cleaner grid slot, but lurked as an ever-present danger for both Red Bulls – and could even have taken the lead with a more favourable pit strategy. When the Red Bulls locked horns, Hamilton gladly assumed the lead – and managed to fend off a brilliant move from Button, showing their rivals it is possible to race your stablemate without crashing and blaming eachother. Although gifted with the victory – Hamilton had the pace to win regardless – and now finds himself in the thick of the championship race.
Jenson Button (2nd)
Had it not been for the defending champion’s thrilling late race attack on Hamilton for the lead – Button looked to have been put in the shade by him McLaren teammate this weekend. Button lingered in the background, as Webber, Vettel and Hamilton set the pace, and was most likely praying for the rain that never came. Once Red Bull self destructed, Button sent a very clear message to his own teammate that he wasn’t happy being number two. But a second place from fourth on the grid was enough to give Jenson a big smile in the end.
Red Bull
Mark Webber (3rd)
Mark Webber dominated headlines in the lead up to the Turkish Grand Prix, both for his brilliant run of form and speculation over his future, Refusing to make specific comments on either front, the Australian let his driving do the talking by taking a third straight pole. Unlike Spain and Monaco however, Webbs was unable to pull a gap from Vettel and Hamilton, and then, on lap 40, it all came to grief when Vettel sent one up the inside. Webber had just entered fuel saving mode, and therefore was slower than his teammate in the fast sections, and that’s precisely where Vettel pounced. Vettel drafted alongside the sister Red Bull after a strong exit at turn 11. Webber gave only the barest minimum of space to Vettel who was ahead by half a car length, but entering the braking zone the German jinked right into the side of his teammate and sent both careering off the road. Vettel was left stranded but Webber was able to limp back to the pits and rejoin back in third. It was a decent salvage effort for the Aussie, but a third consecutive win was there for the taking had it not been for a high-speed rush of blood from the man in the other end of his garage. Exactly how many Vettel voodoo dolls were set alight by Webber that night is unconfirmed, but sources say it was ‘more than 30’.
Sebastian Vettel (DNF)
The young German’s frustration has been palpable these past few weeks. With no answer to Webber’s speed, Vettel’s broad, toothy grin has been replaced with the look of a man who has just dropped his apple strudel on the ground. Nevertheless, he was back on form in Turkey, and was convinced he had the pace for pole had it not been for an issue with the car in Q3. On Sunday, he crucially put himself ahead of Hamilton, and painted himself in Webber’s mirrors. His opportunity came on lap 40, when Webber de-tuned the engine to begin saving fuel. Seb launched his bid for glory down the inside, but Webber stoutly held his line, leaving the German with the option of braking late on the dirty line, or backing off and taking the usual entry. Seb chose a third option learned from years playing Mario Kart and tried barging his teammate out of the way. Inevitably a collision was the result, and Sebastian was put out of the race. The fallout from this will be huge.
Mercedes
Michael Schumacher (4th)
It was a strong weekend for Schumacher, who is now beginning to consistently outshine Nico. The Schu was a good fit for the Istanbul circuit; it’s fast, technical corners were to the liking of the seven million time world champion. Although only a fraction faster than his young teammate – Schumacher was the leading Mercedes man, and best of the rest behind McLaren and Red “let’s crash into eachother” Bull.
Nico Rosberg (5th)
The dreamboat ran line astern behind his illustrious teammate all weekend. With only thousandths of a second separating the German Mercedes pilots, Nico was relatively satisfied with his performance, despite finishing behind the Schu. Temperamental soft tyres proved tricky for Rosberg in the first stint, but he was happier on the harder rubber and set about nipping at Schumacher’s heels.
Renault
Robert Kubica (6th)
The Pole was not quite undertaking his usual business of slaying giants at Turkey, but he was still strong enough to assert himself as the fastest outside of the ‘big four’ (or the ‘big two’ and slightly-smaller-but-still-bi g-two’ as is more accurate now). Koobs reckoned he had more pace than the Mercedes’ in front of him, but obviously not enough to pass. Still, sixth place and yet more handy points continue to bring joy to the banana squad.
Vitaly Petrov (15th)
The rookie turned in his best performance so far this season – breaking into the top ten in qualifying and then trading blows with the big boys in the race. The Russian’s pace was impressive as he kept himself in contention for points, matching times with his highly-rated teammate Kubica and the Ferraris. Unfortunately, a charging Fernando Alonso was ruthless in his assault on the rookie, and despite putting up a noble defence; Vitaly was passed, and picked up a puncture when the Spaniard bumped through. Although he was denied points, Petrov did manage to salvage some pride, pipping the also-recovering-from-damage-t hankyou-very-much Red Bull of Webber for the fastest lap of the race.
Ferrari
Felipe Massa (7th)
After climbing form his car in parc ferme with a relatively disappointing seventh place Felipe described his race as “boring”. An insightful comment by the Brazilian, and a good sign his English is improving. No word better describes Felipe’s race. Ultimately a dismal day for Ferrari, who are floundering in the wake of their pace setting rivals.
Fernando Alonso (8th)
It was a difficult weekend for Nando. Missing out on the final session of qualifying meant the Spaniard once again had a lot of work on his hands to wrest some sort of result from the mire. He duly put in a feisty effort, fighting his way into the points, even pummelling poor Petrov out of the points along the way. Eighth place behind Renault is a disappointing result for the man who won the opening race of 2010.
Force India
Adrian Sutil (9th)
Sutil was again the dominant Force India. He was a whisker away from another Q3 appearance, but was quick enough on track to chase down and pass Kamui Kobayashi’s miraculously-not-broken Sauber to take some more valuable points for the team.
Tonio Liuzzi (13th)
IThe pressure is beginning to mount on the Italian Stereotype, after another underwhelming weekend. Starting 18th, Tonio trundled home 13th, well off the pace of his point-scoring teammate. He complains that it’s a lack of grip that’s sapping his confidence – a problem he’ll need to sort out urgently as Paul di Resta continues to impress on Fridays.
Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi (DNF)
Both Saubers finished the race. As ridiculous as that statement sounds, it is, in fact true. Kobayashi was finally able to display his talent by again reaching Q3, and then running in the points for the entire race. By the end, turn 8 had shredded his front tyres to the canvas, but he held on and secured the Swiss outfit’s first point of the season.
Pedro de la Rosa (DNF)
Not quite up to speed in qualifying, De la Rosa fared better in the race. The Spaniard did a better job of preserving his tyres than his Japanese teammate, and by the end of the race had caught right up. Obviously after seeing Red Bull squander their victory – Mr Sauber would have been on the radio to his pilots telling them to just bring it home – a tough ask when driving a 2010 Sauber – but they did.
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari (12th)
Lil’ Algy was a shade quicker than his teammate in the race in Turkey – but the Toro Rossos found themselves competing with Saubers that weren’t exploding within four laps. The Spaniards race pace was impressive – setting the third fastest race lap in the end, but was not able to catch the Saubers in time to challenge for points.
Sebastien Buemi (16th)
The Swiss driver managed a relatively respectable 14th in qualifying, three tenths faster than his ever-improving teammate. But a scrappy first lap spent battling Pedro de la Rosa and then Hulkenberg left Buemi’s car battle-damaged an in need of some early triage. He was never able to recover from there, but still managed to set fifth-fastest race lap.
Williams
Rubens Barrichello (14th)
Woobens had a wobbly weekend with Williams in Turkey. He just wasn’t able to wring enough speed from his car and was thinking wishfully if he wanted points. A woeful catalogue of worries beset the Bwazilian – first with a clutch pwoblem off the line, then a wheely bad issue in the pits, and finally the throttle was unwesponsive in the final stint.
Nico Hulkenberg (17th)
Like his teammate, Nico struggled with a general lack of pace from the Williams. While the car was reliable for the German rookie, the Cosworth power is proving to be insufficient in the faster circuits, allowing the likes of Sauber and Toro Rosso breeze ahead of the Grove cars.
Virgin
Timo Glock (18th)
The German found someone had poured Tarzan’s Grip under his front wheels at the start, and as a result, he found himself behind Senna’s HRT for 18-odd laps. Glockdog eventually nailed the Brazilian and promptly pulled away, setting an encouraging pace for the new team, before his power steering fell asleep and he had to complete the last five laps in only fifth gear.
Lucas Di Grassi(19th)
The popular 1990s Canadian teenage situation comedy struck a number of problems over the weekend, first with a power loss issue on Saturday – then a oil issue an hour before the start had Virgin mechanics diving into the Brazilian’s car to resolve it and make the race. It was a scramble, but they got there – and Di Grassi, now equipped with the updated car with a proper sized fuel tank, came home behind his teammate to deliver a satisfying double finish when rivals Lotus faltered.
HRT
Karun Chandhok (20th)
Starting at the arse end of the grid, Karun was again slower than teammate Bruno Senna. The lack of pace carried over to the race, when the Indian rookie fell off the back of the pack at a concerning rate. He was better on the option tyres, but still dead last. A fuel pump issue a couple of laps from the end ended his race in the pits.
Bruno Senna (DNF).
Bruno was the quicker of the two HRTs all weekend, and was even able to hold his own against the Virgins – outpacing Di Grassi fair and square. Unfortunately a similar fuel-system issue that would hit his teammate a few laps later, ended the Brazilians race. Despite the unreliability, Bruno could at least be emboldened by the tangible increase in pace.
Lotus
Heikki Kovalainen (DNF)
Heikki bolted out of the blocks with some impressive pace at Istanbul. The Finn passed teammate Trulli early on, and was posting times that would have had Toro Rosso and Williams looking over their shoulders. Unfortunately a hydraulics (surprise!) failure put a halt to what was looking to be Heikki and Lotus’s strongest performance yet.
arno Trulli (DNF)
Jarno out-qualified Heikki for a change, but was unable to keep the feisty Finn behind him at the beginning of the Grand Prix. The grape-crushing Italian soon found a strong rhythm and matched his Lotus buddy’s times – but was mauled by the evil hydraulics monster a lap before it claimed Heikki.
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