There was a gaping hole in the stands at Istanbul Park. And, admittedly, the Turks who did not buy a ticket to Formula 1 that day had little to lose. The Turkish Grand Prix is fairly “young” – the current race is only the fifth in a row. However, the tradition is there all the time the pilots who started from pole-position have won here. And these were the riders, who are now acting for Ferrari: three times in a row triumphed Felipe Massa, and in the very first Turkish Grand Prix won Kimi Raikkonen. Then the Finn still played for McLaren, but today he is a member of Stefano Domenicali.
Race results analysis Jenson Button
Is it not because of Sebastian Vettel, immediately after he showed the best qualifying result on Saturday, the racing engineer joyfully shouted on the radio “the best of the Ferrari – sixth”? No, that’s not why. Massa and Raikkonen are not strong enough today to seriously contend for the win. Although to deprive the competitors of chances for success they can – ask Vettel, which in Barcelona for a long time “held” Felipe Massa. Ferrari, equipped with a system of KERS, dangerous at the start – for them to follow both.
That’s why so glad in the Red Bull, when they found out that Raikkonen and Massa are only on the third line of the starting field.
Who starts the race, and he wins – will remain unchanged “Turkish” principle this time? To implement it, for Vettel selected an aggressive strategy with three pit stops. Most of the distance he had to attack on a lighter machine than that of Jenson Button. In General, based on the performances of Red Bull this season, you can write a little encyclopedia of racing strategies and tactics. Christian Horner and his assistants can be understood: Brawn, though it is the clear leader of the season, does not look unattainable. But Horner’s ideas constantly fail – and for the next race have to invent something else. This time the root cause of Vettel’s failure was in the actions of the German, though he said after the race “I think Jenson would have won without my mistake”. Going from the start of the first, Sebastian at the tenth corner a little “lost” the car – and Button raced past. The cause of the loss of control Vettel said gust of wind. One way or another mistake was decisive – how to hold the advantage gained, Jenson this year learned well.
His partner Rubens Barrichello, who lost at the start of a dozen positions, the race was not going well, but the British allowed no mistakes. Vettel still had a chance – after all, his car was lighter. But for this it was necessary to immediately go on the counterattack. And Jenson did not give such an opportunity – the first five laps he stamped the best lap times! Naturally, the Red Bull eye rival was left behind and could no longer threaten. In the middle of the race there was a moment when Vettel was rapidly catching up with Button because of the big difference in weight of their cars. If Sebastian at this point overtook Jenson, he would have been able to pull away from him, creating a margin for an extra pit stop – and then it remains to be seen how the race would have ended. However, overtaking is not the strongest side of the young German, not a single effective attack he has not held. Jenson was playing with the rival in a cat and mouse. In some turns, he specifically dropped the speed to take the most advantageous position for the defense of the exit of them. And when Sebastian headed back to pit lane, he picked up the pace and pulled away from him again. The intrigue left the race for good. And Vettel’s main rival was partner Mark Webber, aiming for the same second place, Webber got off to a good start, holding off the “recuperated” Ferrari, but then passed Jarno Trulli ahead. However, the Toyota racer soon made a mistake about the same as Vettel: he lost control of the car, and Webber passed him, now in front of him was a teammate. Who could be outplayed tactically. Vettel’s three refuels to fight his partner was a disadvantageous strategy. An extra pit-stop compared to Webber meant that the Australian was ahead after a final series of visits to the pits. Sebastian couldn’t live with this – and quickly caught up with his partner. He probably wanted to put up a fight, but the Red Bull captain’s bridge clearly didn’t want it.