Lewis Hamilton became the 5th different this season with victory at Istanbul Park. Team mate Jenson Button was 2nd giving McLaren their second 1-2 of the season. For part of the race it looked like it would be Red Bull celebrating a 1-2 but it all went wrong when on lap 40 when Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber collided on the approach to turn 12. Vettel retired on the spot while Webber had to pit for a new front wing but still made the podium. It was a thrilling 4 way battle at the front and they were well clear of the cars behind as Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg came 4th and 5th. Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa were close throughout, rubbing tyres on lap 1 and the Renault just managing to stay ahead when both drivers pitted on the same lap. Fernando Alonso's progress through the field was limited, the Spaniard started on the soft tyre but remained 12th before moving to tenth at the stops. He was on Vitaly Petrov's tail but the Russian drove a great race and was unfortunate that contact with Alonso late on gave him a puncture and put him out of the points. Adrian Sutil was 9th for Force India while Kamui Kobayashi got Sauber on the scoreboard, even trying to race Sebastien Buemi towards the end who was a lap down after a first lap puncture and was going quickly on fresh tyres.
Both McLarens suffered from starting on the dirty side of the grid but fought back on the opening lap with their F-Ducts. Hamilton made a brilliant move on Vettel into turn 3, making it stick around the outside. Meanwhile Button was all over the gearbox of Schumacher and made a clean move on the outside of turn 12. The top 4 pulled away and Hamilton was all over Webber, coming close to making a move on several laps. At Red Bull it's usually the driver in front who gets the preference on pitting but it was Vettel who pitted first. This may have been a strategic move though as it meant Hamilton had to pit on the following lap to cover Vettel so couldn't jump Webber without beating him in a straight fight between the pit crews. Hamilton had a slow stop after an issue with the left rear tyre. It's not known if it was a similiar nut issue as both cars had in Barcelona. Hamilton soon had a go at passing Vettel but went too deep into the hairpin. Hamilton described Vettel's tactics as dangerous. Then the unexpected threat of rain came into the mix. Radars showed showers were incoming and reports from nearby areas indicated it. There were some light spots but with the track temperature still at 35 degrees, it was not causing major grip issues.
With 20 laps to go, Vettel was starting to close on Webber while the McLarens were still well in touch. It was already proving to be a fantastic race but then came the major drama. Vettel came out of turn 10 and down the back straight caught his team mate. Webber left him the width of a RB6 on the inside which Vettel took. The German was moving ahead but was on the dirty side as they approache turn 12. Vettel moved right but wasn't fully ahead of the Australian who maintained his line. They touched and Vettel went spinning with a damaged right rear tyre as Webber went deep into turn 12. The cars almost collided again in the run off area as Vettel gestured furiously. He also made the mental sign when out of the car. So what was going on amongst the madness? Well firstly, on the same lap Webber had went into a fuel safe mode so that would have lost him some performance. Vettel had more fuel than his team mate at this point. On the actual overtaking attempt it was Vettel's fault. He turned into Webber and caused the collision. Webber gave him just enough space, it was hard but fair racing. The argument against Webber could be that as he was battling his team mate who was already in prime position to take the lead, he should have made the overtake easier for Vettel, thus reducing the risk of it going wrong. Vettel was ahead but will have wanted to get across the track as braking offline may have lost him the position. Senior figures in the team, including Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, seemed to side with Vettel, making the point that their drivers were racing too close. Neither Webber or Vettel apologised for the incident.
It was a dream ticket for McLaren as they took first and second but they had their own partypiece to display. Both drivers had been told to save fuel but suddenly Button closed in on Hamilton. He made a move on the outside of turn 12 and took the lead through turn 13 but going too deep compromised the World Champion into the last corner. Hamilton fought back and dived down the inside at turn 1 with slight contact and just about made it through. It was a superb battle with both drivers showing great skill. The battle cooled after that but Hamilton seemed downbeat afterwards, saying he was surprised at Button's move. Hamilton seem to think that the battle was off and that they were holding station. It was a huge result for the Woking team and the important thing here is through the drama of the day, McLaren were on Red Bull's pace. It seems they have taken a big step forward with their car. They were able to run a low ride height on Saturday yet it didn't spoil their speed on full tanks so have they been able to work out the best way of optimising the ride height of their car, as many suspected Red Bull had at the start of the season. They ran the car very stiff and this may be not possible at Montreal though it is a track they and Hamilton in particular have excelled in the past.
The championship is turning into a thriller and with Canada next, we could have another cracker on our hands. The spice is increasing also with the Webber and Vettel relationship at high tension while Button continues to show his capability against Hamilton. Ferrari had a poor weekend but Fernando Alonso says wait till Valencia and see us then. It's believed a big update for the F10 could include a rear end and exhaust system similiar to the RB6. Mercedes are solid but not quick enough to be in the championship hunt while Renault's development has been spectacular with Eric Boullier praisng Robert Kubica as a strong racer who makes no mistakes. Kubica won the last race in Canada in 2008 but Hamilton, Alonso and Schumacher also know the winning feeling there. Will Red Bull add a winner to that list? Well they need to overcome mechancial and mental fragility
Showing posts with label Turkish Grand Prix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkish Grand Prix. Show all posts
Sunday, 30 May 2010
Saturday, 29 May 2010
Red Bull remain fast but fragile
It was 7 out of 7 for Red Bull this afternoon in Turkey as Mark Webber took his 3rd consecutive pole position. Lewis Hamilton was 2nd in a strong showing with Sebastian Vettel 3rd after problems in Q3. Jenson Button was just behind the German and was 1 of several drivers who abandoned their last laps after Michael Schumacher spun at turn 8 on his last lap. The Mercedes driver wrecked his tyres but as he set his fastest lap on another set of tyres he will be able to use them for the first stint tomorrow. He starts 5th alongside Nico Rosberg. Felipe Massa is in a Renault sandwich in 8th while Kamui Kobayashi impressed in getting tenth though he was limited in Q3 as he only had 1 new set of soft tyres left to use. It was a bad day for Ferrari with Fernando Alonso only qualifying 12th. He had a spin on the first flying lap of his final run and was slightly up on his final attempt but with the track temperature in the 40's the tyres were giving up in the twisty final section and he lost time. Ferrari will need a better day tomorrow in their 800th grand prix.
The casualty of Q1 was, not for the first time this season, Vitantonio Liuzzi. The Italian ran with the teams new F-Duct device unlike team mate Adrian Sutil who was not comfortable with it after limited running in practice. Liuzzi had a shocker though, way off the pace and going out with a wimper. He complained of having little rear end grip but the team were not happy with this performance and the pressure is on with Paul Di Resta an available option to the team. Vijay Mallya has put a lot of trust in Liuzzi who has been with the team since it's beginnings but patience could begin to wear thin if this form continues. Lotus were leading the way in the B-class with Jarno Trulli just 1.4 seconds off the Force India. Timo Glock wasn't far behind but team mate Lucas Di Grassi was beaten by Bruno Senna in the HRT. The Brazilian was almost a second clear of Karun Chandhok. The Indian put the big difference down to straight line speed issues and staying on the hard tyres.
It was certainly eventful for Red Bull, on and off the track. After deciding not to run their new F-Duct system for the remainder of the weekend, the team ran a different wing on Vettel's car. However, Webbers only arrived on Turkish soil 30 minutes before the start of Q1. A quick drive to the track and the wing was fitted on in time for Webber. Vettel cruised through the first 2 sessions and was set to take provisional pole in his first run but locked up at turn 12 and ran wide at turn 14. He was 0.5secs slower than Webber in S3. In his final run, he ran wide at turn 1. The problem has been identified by Red Bull as a failed anti-roll bar at the rear of the car. After Webber's engine failure on Friday and throttle linkage problems in morning practice, it shows that Red Bull's title aspirations could be hindered by unreliabilty. Vettel probably would have been on pole if it hadn't been for the problem and he seem very frustrated in the press conference. We also had a little insight into the team when Mark Webber commented that he went out before Vettel at the end when he should have been the last to go. Perhaps this was because they were assessing Vettels car. It turned out well for Webber as he avoided the yellow flags for Schumachers spin.
Things certainly didn't go to plan for Ferrari as they qualified 8th and 12th. Fernando Alonso reported no problems, syaing that the spin he had made no difference and that the car was on the limit. The gaps were small but even so Massa was not near the battle for pole position on a track he goes well on. Alonso has a free choice of tyres tomorrow so he can either go on softs and try to make early progress or go for the harder compound and try and run a long first stint. A safety car period is not improbable but unlikely. The Ferrari is kind to its tyres and the team usually run better in race trim than in qualifying. If we get hot conditions like Friday for the race then this could be to the benefit of Massa and Alonso.
So is Mark Webber on for another victory or can Lewis Hamilton get in on the winning act? The run to turn 1 is relatively short and we've seen incidents in the past. Hamilton is on the dirty side of the grid so it may be difficult for him. However in the GP2 race earlier, the person starting 2nd was first into turn 1. In terms of the on track battle the strength for McLaren is its speed down the back straight whereas the Red Bull is supreme through turn 8. Jenson Button said that he was running a low ride height so it may be tricky for him early in the race on full tanks. If the McLarens want to get past they need to be close coming out of turn 10 but that will be difficult with the advantage the Bulls have in turn 8. McLaren best chance may be toward the end of the race though whether they're in a position to attack at that stage remains to be seen. Tyre strategy is expected to be the normal 1 stopper though this is a stressful track for the tyres so those who switch early may struggle in the closing stages. A 2 stopper is an option but will need track position and probably overtaking to make it happen. Could Hamilton try it? Perhaps as he is the quickest man in a straight line this weekend, it would certainly be fascinating to see but i still expect the 1 stop option to be the choice for the majority of the field.
It should be a good race as Hamilton looks for his first win of the season and Vettel aims to bounce back from his recent difficulties. Will Renault turn a strong qualifying into a double points finish and can Fernando Alonso haul his prancing horse up the order in Ferrari's 800th Grand Prix. The race starts at 1pm BST with dry conditions expected. Check out my twitter page throughout the race for updates and views as the 58 laps unfold.
The casualty of Q1 was, not for the first time this season, Vitantonio Liuzzi. The Italian ran with the teams new F-Duct device unlike team mate Adrian Sutil who was not comfortable with it after limited running in practice. Liuzzi had a shocker though, way off the pace and going out with a wimper. He complained of having little rear end grip but the team were not happy with this performance and the pressure is on with Paul Di Resta an available option to the team. Vijay Mallya has put a lot of trust in Liuzzi who has been with the team since it's beginnings but patience could begin to wear thin if this form continues. Lotus were leading the way in the B-class with Jarno Trulli just 1.4 seconds off the Force India. Timo Glock wasn't far behind but team mate Lucas Di Grassi was beaten by Bruno Senna in the HRT. The Brazilian was almost a second clear of Karun Chandhok. The Indian put the big difference down to straight line speed issues and staying on the hard tyres.
It was certainly eventful for Red Bull, on and off the track. After deciding not to run their new F-Duct system for the remainder of the weekend, the team ran a different wing on Vettel's car. However, Webbers only arrived on Turkish soil 30 minutes before the start of Q1. A quick drive to the track and the wing was fitted on in time for Webber. Vettel cruised through the first 2 sessions and was set to take provisional pole in his first run but locked up at turn 12 and ran wide at turn 14. He was 0.5secs slower than Webber in S3. In his final run, he ran wide at turn 1. The problem has been identified by Red Bull as a failed anti-roll bar at the rear of the car. After Webber's engine failure on Friday and throttle linkage problems in morning practice, it shows that Red Bull's title aspirations could be hindered by unreliabilty. Vettel probably would have been on pole if it hadn't been for the problem and he seem very frustrated in the press conference. We also had a little insight into the team when Mark Webber commented that he went out before Vettel at the end when he should have been the last to go. Perhaps this was because they were assessing Vettels car. It turned out well for Webber as he avoided the yellow flags for Schumachers spin.
Things certainly didn't go to plan for Ferrari as they qualified 8th and 12th. Fernando Alonso reported no problems, syaing that the spin he had made no difference and that the car was on the limit. The gaps were small but even so Massa was not near the battle for pole position on a track he goes well on. Alonso has a free choice of tyres tomorrow so he can either go on softs and try to make early progress or go for the harder compound and try and run a long first stint. A safety car period is not improbable but unlikely. The Ferrari is kind to its tyres and the team usually run better in race trim than in qualifying. If we get hot conditions like Friday for the race then this could be to the benefit of Massa and Alonso.
So is Mark Webber on for another victory or can Lewis Hamilton get in on the winning act? The run to turn 1 is relatively short and we've seen incidents in the past. Hamilton is on the dirty side of the grid so it may be difficult for him. However in the GP2 race earlier, the person starting 2nd was first into turn 1. In terms of the on track battle the strength for McLaren is its speed down the back straight whereas the Red Bull is supreme through turn 8. Jenson Button said that he was running a low ride height so it may be tricky for him early in the race on full tanks. If the McLarens want to get past they need to be close coming out of turn 10 but that will be difficult with the advantage the Bulls have in turn 8. McLaren best chance may be toward the end of the race though whether they're in a position to attack at that stage remains to be seen. Tyre strategy is expected to be the normal 1 stopper though this is a stressful track for the tyres so those who switch early may struggle in the closing stages. A 2 stopper is an option but will need track position and probably overtaking to make it happen. Could Hamilton try it? Perhaps as he is the quickest man in a straight line this weekend, it would certainly be fascinating to see but i still expect the 1 stop option to be the choice for the majority of the field.
It should be a good race as Hamilton looks for his first win of the season and Vettel aims to bounce back from his recent difficulties. Will Renault turn a strong qualifying into a double points finish and can Fernando Alonso haul his prancing horse up the order in Ferrari's 800th Grand Prix. The race starts at 1pm BST with dry conditions expected. Check out my twitter page throughout the race for updates and views as the 58 laps unfold.
Friday, 28 May 2010
Anticipation builds for Istanbul weekend
Friday at the Turkish Grand Prix saw McLaren top the timesheets in both free practice sessions which were held in blazing heat. Lewis Hamilton was quickest in the morning before Jenson Button headed the times in the afternoon, just pipping Mark Webber. The Australian pulled off before the end of the session with an engine failure. Sebastian Vettel tried out the new F-Duct device on his Red Bull and declared himself happy with his new chassis which he has named Randy Mandy. Fernando Alonso wasn't far off the front running pace in 5th but team mate Felipe Massa had issues, running wide several times at turn 8 before spinning into the gravel at the corner on his only set of soft tyres. The Brazilian got his car back to the pits but his tyres were badly damaged and he only managed 10th position. Mercedes pair Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were less than a tenth apart in 6th and 7th with Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov 8th and 9th for Renault.
Massa was not the only driver having problems through the quadruple apex turn 8, with several drivers taking to the vast run off area on the outside of the corner. Most recovered back onto the race track but Adrain Sutil found the barriers in the closing moments of the first session. The German lost it on the third apex of the corner and did signficant damage to the front right corner of his car. He did get back out on track in second practice. Force India also tested out a F-Duct device today which is called a Switchable Rear Wing (SRW). At the back end of the field, Lotus continued to show promising pace with Heikki Kovalainen just 0.7secs off Jaime Alguersuari in the Torro Rosso. Lucas Di Grassi ran for the first time with the updated Virgin. Meanwhile at HRT, Sakon Yamamoto had his first outing for the team, taking over from Bruno Senna in the first session.
Red Bull ran the F-Duct on Sebastian Vettel's car in the first session. He operated it by using his left hand, similiar to how Ferrari used their device in Barcelona. However they have adjusted it so that the driver can now use his knee to operate it like the McLaren drivers. In the speed trap, Vettel was only going 1kph faster than Webber which would suggest that Vettel was not getting much performance from using it. Team principal Christian Horner was also unsure that the device would offer a big gain but praised the team for how quickly they had got the device onto the car. However after analysing the data the team has decided not to use it for the remainder of the weekend. Webber's engine problem cost him some running time but the lost engine only had 50km's of life left so not a major headache for the team. The Renault is not the strongest engine for overall power but tends to maintain performance over use better, is usually very reliable and has the best fuel efficiency in the field.
McLaren seem confident of a good result after strong pace today. The combination of fast corners and being able to run the MP4-25 stiff seems to bring the best out of the car. Of course, the test on this track is turn 8 and one of the challenges is that the setup required for the corner differs from what is needed on the other 13 turns. This means that engineers, as well as drivers, face a difficult challenge in getting the right compromise for car setup. Another problem for McLaren is getting one lap pace in the crucial Q3 session. This season we have seen cars do more than 1 flying lap on a run in order to get the best out of the tyres. Qualifying tomorrow may be a different challenge. If we have a repeat of the 50C track temperatures then it may be a case of getting 1 lap out of the soft tyre. We have seen people in the past lose the best of the tyres in the final sector so the balance between getting the tyres switched on but conserving enough in hand for a full lap will be a key factor tomorrow, particularly as sector 3 is the most dependant on mechancial grip.
There has been plenty of news floating about the paddock these past couple of days. The Pirelli deal which i said was done on Twitter on Tuesday is likely to be announced this weekend, with 3 compounds of dry tyres being supplied as well as an intermediate and wet choice. The speculation about the driver market had the brakes applied yesterday as Stefano Domenicalli said that Felipe Massa would probably be retained for 2011 alongside Fernando Alonso. Red Bull are hopeful of getting a new deal sorted for Mark Webber soon and insist Kimi Raikkonen is not an option. Ross Brawn says he would be happy to have the same drivers for next season and McLaren are unhappy to change their all english lineup so it looks like it could be a fairly stable market next season. In other news, Cosworth terminated their engine supply deal with USF1. I'm sure most people were confident of this fact considering the Americian outfit never made it to the grid!
So 1 more hour of practice at 9am BST followed by qualifying at 12 noon. Note that qualifying is held an hour earlier in Istanbul than the other European venues on the calendar. I expect Red Bull to show their full hand tomorrow and take another pole despite no F-Duct but can McLaren finally nail it when it matters or can Ferrari surprise in their 800th grand prix? We will find out tomorrow.
Massa was not the only driver having problems through the quadruple apex turn 8, with several drivers taking to the vast run off area on the outside of the corner. Most recovered back onto the race track but Adrain Sutil found the barriers in the closing moments of the first session. The German lost it on the third apex of the corner and did signficant damage to the front right corner of his car. He did get back out on track in second practice. Force India also tested out a F-Duct device today which is called a Switchable Rear Wing (SRW). At the back end of the field, Lotus continued to show promising pace with Heikki Kovalainen just 0.7secs off Jaime Alguersuari in the Torro Rosso. Lucas Di Grassi ran for the first time with the updated Virgin. Meanwhile at HRT, Sakon Yamamoto had his first outing for the team, taking over from Bruno Senna in the first session.
Red Bull ran the F-Duct on Sebastian Vettel's car in the first session. He operated it by using his left hand, similiar to how Ferrari used their device in Barcelona. However they have adjusted it so that the driver can now use his knee to operate it like the McLaren drivers. In the speed trap, Vettel was only going 1kph faster than Webber which would suggest that Vettel was not getting much performance from using it. Team principal Christian Horner was also unsure that the device would offer a big gain but praised the team for how quickly they had got the device onto the car. However after analysing the data the team has decided not to use it for the remainder of the weekend. Webber's engine problem cost him some running time but the lost engine only had 50km's of life left so not a major headache for the team. The Renault is not the strongest engine for overall power but tends to maintain performance over use better, is usually very reliable and has the best fuel efficiency in the field.
McLaren seem confident of a good result after strong pace today. The combination of fast corners and being able to run the MP4-25 stiff seems to bring the best out of the car. Of course, the test on this track is turn 8 and one of the challenges is that the setup required for the corner differs from what is needed on the other 13 turns. This means that engineers, as well as drivers, face a difficult challenge in getting the right compromise for car setup. Another problem for McLaren is getting one lap pace in the crucial Q3 session. This season we have seen cars do more than 1 flying lap on a run in order to get the best out of the tyres. Qualifying tomorrow may be a different challenge. If we have a repeat of the 50C track temperatures then it may be a case of getting 1 lap out of the soft tyre. We have seen people in the past lose the best of the tyres in the final sector so the balance between getting the tyres switched on but conserving enough in hand for a full lap will be a key factor tomorrow, particularly as sector 3 is the most dependant on mechancial grip.
There has been plenty of news floating about the paddock these past couple of days. The Pirelli deal which i said was done on Twitter on Tuesday is likely to be announced this weekend, with 3 compounds of dry tyres being supplied as well as an intermediate and wet choice. The speculation about the driver market had the brakes applied yesterday as Stefano Domenicalli said that Felipe Massa would probably be retained for 2011 alongside Fernando Alonso. Red Bull are hopeful of getting a new deal sorted for Mark Webber soon and insist Kimi Raikkonen is not an option. Ross Brawn says he would be happy to have the same drivers for next season and McLaren are unhappy to change their all english lineup so it looks like it could be a fairly stable market next season. In other news, Cosworth terminated their engine supply deal with USF1. I'm sure most people were confident of this fact considering the Americian outfit never made it to the grid!
So 1 more hour of practice at 9am BST followed by qualifying at 12 noon. Note that qualifying is held an hour earlier in Istanbul than the other European venues on the calendar. I expect Red Bull to show their full hand tomorrow and take another pole despite no F-Duct but can McLaren finally nail it when it matters or can Ferrari surprise in their 800th grand prix? We will find out tomorrow.
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