Turkish Delight For UK F1 Drivers

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Total views: 133 | Word Count: 679 | Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 | 105 comments

The 2010 Turkish Grand Prix was the seventh race on this season's F1 calendar.

Taking place at the Istanbul Park Circuit in Istanbul the race is a 58-lap affair. The circuit length is 5.338 km and the race distance is 309.396 km. This circuit has eight left and six right turns and the lap runs anti-clockwise on four different ground levels.

Saturday's Qualifying runs saw Mark Webber of Red Bull emerge as the pole sitter for Sunday's race. Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes, while setting a good pace, had to settle for the second spot on the grid.

Webber's teammate, Sebastian Vettel, placed third, while Lewis Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button secured fourth spot in Qualifying. Mercedes GP drivers, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg took fifth and six positions respectively.

The Turkish F1 race began with Mark Webber getting a good start and maintaining his front-running position. Sebastian Vettel was aggressive at the start and took over second spot from Lewis Hamilton, who dropped to third. Michael Schumacher also had a good start and jumped up to fourth position, with Jenson Button dropping back a spot to fifth.

As the race progressed, the fight for positions began in earnest. Lewis Hamilton drove with his customary brilliance to get back into second spot and he was a pest on Mark Webbers heels as they whipped around the Istanbul course. In fact, Jenson Button also made up a spot and settled back into fourth place, where he originally began the race.

Subsequently, Lewis Hamilton had tyre issues and fell back to third spot again, while Sebastian Vettel moved into second spot. It appeared that another Red Bull one-two finish was in the making, as in the previous race at the Monaco Grand Prix however, disaster struck the charging Bull's on Lap 41.

On this lap, Vettel pulled along Webber's left side and tried to squeeze himself ahead of his teammate. Neither driver wanted to give in.

Vettel was adamant to take the lead on his teammate. Webber was equally adamant not to give in to Vettel. The result was a coming together of the chaotic sort, with Vettel's right rear tire hitting Webber's left front tire.

Instead of the speedy Red Bull's continuing on to secure the top two spots on the podium, Vettel spun out of the race with a damaged car. Webber continued, but dropped down to third spot. He was able to pit to get some quick repairs, faring better than Vettel in their skirmish.

Amid all the debris and wild driving, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button of McLaren slipped through as if handed a gift. They now held first and second spot respectively. The race headed into its final laps and a battle ensued between Hamilton and Button, similar to the Webber and Vettel theatrics.

However, despite touching wheels slightly, the two McLaren drivers kept their composure. They drove expertly, and battled hard to outmaneuver each other.

The difference was they didn't destroy each other's chance to be on the podium. Hence, they finished the race one-two and garnered 43 points for the McLaren-Mercedes team.

Red Bull team officials appeared exasperated on the sidelines at the antics of their two drivers. In effect, their drivers threw away many points in the run to the championship.

It remains to be seen how this will affect the relationship between Webber and Vettel. Each driver blamed the other for the on track fiasco. A consolation was that Mark Webber did pick up 15 points for finishing third and a place on the podium.

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