FORMULA 1 - 2010

[MIKA27]

Whitmarsh: What's with the cuddling?

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh admits he "a little bit surprised" that the Red Bull pit wall "cuddled" Sebastian Vettel following his exit from the Turkish Grand Prix.

Red Bull gifted McLaren a 1-2 finish at Istanbul Park when Vettel collided with his team-mate Mark Webber on lap 41. Vettel was later seen hugging each member on the pit wall, including team boss Christian Horner.

Whitmarsh says if it was one of his drivers he'd be fuming instead of giving them cuddles.

"I think what you've got to say is, if you've got a 1-2 in prospect, you can't jeopardise it by colliding on the track - it's not acceptable for drivers to take themselves out," he told BBC.

"I confess I was a little bit surprised by the extent they were cuddling Sebastian during the race, I don't think I would have been cuddling Sebastian.

"I don't know if they're happy with what happened in their race but I'm happy with what happened in ours."

MIKA: It's called kissing butt on Vettels behalf and I guess the pit wall only complied as they were on TV and had to show some solidarity on air. I'm sure it would have been a different story behind closed doors.

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Fastest lap: Rookies make their mark

Vitaly Petrov - no, that is not a mistake - struck a major blow for Formula One's lesser-knowns at the Turkish Grand Prix by clocking the fastest lap.

In fact, there were three unfamiliar faces in the top five with Toro Rosso duo Jamie Alguersuari and Sebastian Buemi claiming the third and fifth best laps of the afternoon.

Luck though did play its part as Petrov posted his fastest time of 1:29.165 just moments after he had been for an unschedule pit stop following a puncture on lap 56. His time was 0.030 sec faster than that of Mark Webber.

Petrov's fellow rookie Alguersuari's time of 1:29.535 was 0.340 slower than that of Webber while his Renault's Robert Kubica was fourth with a 1:29.580.

Race winner Lewis Hamilton could only manage the 12th best time of the afternoon, but his team-mate Jenson Button managed to post a 1:29.895 which was seventh quickest.

It was another slow afternoon for the Ferrari drivers with Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso posting the 10th and 11th fastest times of the afternoon.

Times

1. V Petrov Renault 1:29.165

2. M Webber Red Bull 1:29.195

3. J Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:29.535

4. R Kubica Renault 1:29.580

5 S Buemi Toro Rosso 1:29.588

6. M Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:29.810

7. J Button McLaren 1:29.895

8. A Sutil Force India 1:29.959

9. N Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:29.977

10. F Massa Ferrari 1:29.996

11. F Alonso Ferrari 1:30.011

12. L Hamilton McLaren 1:30.075

13. S Vettel Red Bull 1:30.181

14. P de la Rosa Sauber 1:30.421

15. N Hulkenberg Williams 1:30.620

16. K Kobayashi Sauber 1:30.891

17. R Barrichello Williams 1:30.933

18. T Liuzzi Force India 1:31.421

19. T Glock Vrigin 1:32.265

20. L di Grassi Virgin 1:33.257

21. B Senna Hispania 1:34.247

22. H Kovalainen Lotus 1:34.363

23. J Trulli Lotus 1:34.463

24. K Chandhok Hispania 1:34.585

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Sun: Williams, Virgin, Hispania, Lotus

Another dismal race for Williams while Virgin had both cars classified, something Hispania and Lotus failed to do.

Williams:

Rubens Barrichello: "I had a problem with the clutch at the start which is a shame because it's been fine all weekend so we will have to investigate that. We pitted earlier than we had originally planned because our pace was better than the cars in front. Our stop was quite slow because we had a problem with the front wheel. Later on, I then had an issue with the throttle. Our overall race pace wasn't too bad but we need to resolve these issues that we are having."

Nico Hulkenberg: "It hasn't been a good weekend for us and our race pace wasn't good enough today. I also had an incident on the first lap which meant I had to pit early. We have to keep working hard to find more performance."

Virgin:

Timo Glock: "It was a tough race for the team today so it was great for us to get both cars to the chequered flag and take some reward for all the hard work that has gone into this weekend. The start was disappointing for me because we stalled on the grid, which enabled Senna to pass me. I was stuck behind him for the first 18 laps and just couldn't get close enough to overtake him but then I got him in turn 12. From that point on I could go quite a bit quicker and had a better race. We had a good pitstop and on the option tyre the car felt okay and we had reasonable speed. Unfortunately, five laps from the end, I felt a drop in the power steering assist and the team advised me to stay in fifth gear in order to finish the race. But it's good that we managed to keep the car going and end the day as the best new team."

Lucas di Grassi: "We have had a lot of problems during this weekend, especially regarding the engine, but we achieved our target of getting both cars to the finish and ending the weekend as the best of the new teams. We demonstrated once again that our reliability is improving and what we need to do now is focus on improving the car so that we can be faster and consistently be the best new team at every race.'

Hispania:

Bruno Senna: "I had a pretty good race today. The start was good and I could win some positions. Also the first laps were quite good. At the end I had a problem with the fuel system and that's why I had to retire. During the race, we were a bit unlucky with traffic as we were ahead of both Virgins. It is sad the we had a fuel pressure problem that caused us to end our race prematurely. But we are on top of it and hopefully we can get it sorted. I had a fair battle with Lucas Di Grassi as we had a faster car than Virgin and hopefully we can have another fight for positions soon."

Karun Chandhok: "It is a bit frustrating to be classified not higher than 20th. In the first stint I was struggling with the pace compared to Bruno's and the Virgins'. But as we changed to the options tyres the pace came back. Early in the race, the fuel pump failed and I was struggling today for straight line speed. Unfortunately, I finished my race five laps before the chequered flag in the pits."

Lotus:

Jarno Trulli: "It was difficult at the beginning with the hard tyres, and the team were telling me Heikki was quicker on the options, and as he was on a different strategy he got past. Afterwards, I was pulling away from our competitors comfortably, but the failure put an end to the good race I was having."

Heikki Kovalainen: "What a shame. I lost power steering in Turn 8 and it looks like it was a hydraulics failure. At first I thought I had a puncture as the steering suddenly felt really strange, but then I lost the gearbox, the clutch, and throttle. It's so unfortunate as this was our strongest race so far."

[MIKA27]

Sun: Ferrari, Sauber, FIndia, Toro Rosso

Both Ferraris drivers finished in the points in Turkey as did Adrian Sutil and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi.

Ferrari

Felipe Massa: "It was a very boring race for me, from start to finish, but it was also very difficult. I was always stuck behind Kubica and the two Mercedes, who were running at a similar pace to me. Very often I managed to get close, but I never had a real chance of overtaking Robert. I knew that, starting from eighth, it would be tough and so it proved. Now we must stay calm and try and quickly improve the car, starting with the very next race in Canada. Here we lacked performance, especially in the fast corners. The rain? The few drops that fell in the final laps had no affect on my driving."

Fernando Alonso: "It was a case of damage limitation in what was a very difficult weekend for us. Our aim in this championship is to fight with McLaren and Red Bull for the podium, definitely not with a Renault for eighth place, with all due respect to my former team. We have to improve our performance: in Valencia we will have an important update on the car, which we hope will put us back to where we should be. I am convinced that right from Canada things will be better, because the track characteristics should better suit our car. The hierarchy in the field can change from race to race, as we saw in Monaco, where we had the potential to fight for victory. At the end, I attacked Petrov and I hope the two points this brought me could turn out to be useful come the end of the year: I am sorry he got a puncture that stopped him finishing in the points, because he drove a good race. Despite everything, we are still in a good position to fight for the title. However, now is the time to react."

Force India:

Adrian Sutil: "It was a good race in the end, I enjoyed it. I had a good start and first lap and the only real downside was the pit stop when we lost a few seconds at a crucial time. That's where I lost two positions and had to fight back past Kobayashi. I was quite lucky then to benefit from the tussle between Webber and Vettel and then Alonso and Petrov to make up some places. Ninth position after the weekend we've had is the most we could have done. OK, we probably lost a position due to the time lost in the stop but at this stage any points are good. We still have some developments coming for the next race and our next task is to use the SRW on my car - and once we get these done I think it will be looking really good for the next few races."

Tonio Liuzzi: "It was a long race, but we knew we would have a difficult one after the qualifying yesterday. We realised that we are struggling with the car and I still don't have the grip. I tried to push hard at the beginning with the strategy but in the end we knew it would be a big job as when you don't have the right grip it's tough. We finished 13th on the road, but the pace was not too bad, particularly at the end. We now need to work back at the factory to understand why it's happening so I can get back in the points again."

Sauber

Kamui Kobayashi: "I am very happy that we finished the race with both cars and got the first point. I had a good start, although I was on the dirty side of the track, and the pace of the car in the beginning was good. Our race strategy was not easy. The car was better on the harder tyre compound, therefore we did a very short first stint on the softer ones. I pitted after ten laps and drove the rest of the race with the same set of tyres. In the end I could see from the car the canvas on the front right tyre. Therefore I started to be very careful, especially in turn 8, and that's also the reason why I didn't defend any harder against Adrian Sutil."

Pedro de la Rosa: "With the high fuel level I had a lot of understeer in the beginning of the race, so I paced myself waiting for my chances to come later in the race. The lighter the car became the better the balance was. The front end came back and I had no problems with the tyres. Certainly I would have been fighting at the end if it hadn't been my team mate in front of me. Our team needed desperately to bring both cars home and score this point. You have to be careful taking risks and this was not the time to attack and risk losing everything. It is better this point stays with us rather then going somewhere else. We finished this race being competitive and this is very good."

Toro Rosso:

Jaime Alguersuari: "I believe we can be satisfied with our result, as I don't think I could have done better from where I started. The decision to make two stops for tyres was the correct one, so that I could attack De La Rosa and Kobayashi at the end. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite do it in the number of laps remaining, but this has been an encouraging weekend and I really hope we can again push in Canada, getting back to scoring points again."

Sebastien Buemi: "The start was good, but then De La Rosa made a poor exit to Turn 2 so going into Turn 3 I tried to go round him on the outside. But I went a bit wide and when I came back onto the track, Hulkenberg got past me and as I tried to retake him at Turn 7 on the outside, I think he might have lost the front end of the car and he clipped my right rear, which punctured the tyre and I had to pit immediately. After that, my race pace was not too bad, considering there was quite a bit of damage to the rear of the car, which meant I had a lot less downforce. I had a good fight, but I am a bit disappointed, so now I am just looking forward to the next race."

MIKA: Great drive overall for Sauber - KK did a great job in securing a point for the team.

[MIKA27]

Sun: McLaren, Red Bull, Merc, Renault

Lewis Hamilton claimed the victory in Turkey, beating his team-mate Jenson Button and Mark Webber.

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton: "It was quite an eventful race. I didn't get a great start, it looked like I had a better reaction than Mark [Webber], but the car just didn't seem to be going anywhere. Fortunately, I was able to attack Sebastian [Vettel] into Turn Three - I got past him, which was a relief, then I was challenging Mark for a long time, before I lost some time to him at the pitstop, when my right rear took longer than normal to go on. So then I had to battle two Red Bulls rather than just one; it was hard enough trying to overtake one of them, so trying to overtaking two was really tough. But the good thing is that I had the race pace to keep up with them, even though I was having to keep an eye on my fuel consumption from early on. But anyway, unfortunately for them, they collided - and enabled us to get past. After that, I felt confident we could get a potential one-two, and we were trying to look after the tyres and save the fuel to the finish. The [laptime] target they gave me was perhaps a little bit slower than they'd meant, so Jenson was suddenly on my tail. I had a great battle with him, and was happy to get past because it was quite a surprise. We're allowed to race out there, but we have to be sensible. At the end of the day we're a team: we both want to win the constructors' title and we both want to win the drivers' title. But we're not stupid. I wouldn't do anything dangerous to touch Jenson - and vice versa - and that's the great thing about racing each other. We know we have that cushion and that respect for each other, so we don't really have a problem with it. Having said all that, winning today doesn't feel quite as good as it sometimes does. That's because it's a little bit different from some of my previous race victories: ideally, the racer in me wants to win by overtaking the guys in front, not by seeing them crash out in front of me. Rather than inheriting a win, it's much nicer to fight your way past your rivals and earn the win the hard way. Still, I'm very happy for the team. My girlfriend is here too, which is nice, and my dad is on holiday and I really wanted to win today so that I could dedicate the win to him. It's his 50th birthday tomorrow, you see, and a grand prix victory is the best birthday present I could ever give him."

Jenson Button: "What a crazy race! I got a good start, but I was stuck behind Lewis going into Turn One, and then Michael [schumacher] was able to get round the outside of me. I got Michael back into Turn 12, though, which was very rewarding after Barcelona, and then it was four of us, two McLarens and two Red Bulls, who pulled away. It was very difficult to get close enough to overtake, but I was able to look after the tyres, and then just before the stop I pushed and was able to close up to Sebastian - I thought maybe I could jump him but that wasn't the case in the end. Even so, we were all running pretty close and anything could have happened at the end of the race - which it duly bdid when the two Red Bulls got together, which gave Lewis and me a good one-two. We were then both told to conserve fuel - although I'd already been conserving fuel for about 30 laps at that point actually - and we never imagined the pace of the race would be so fast. At the end, I had a run on Lewis out of Turn Eight. I don't know why he was a bit slow, but I got a good run into Turn 12 and managed to get past him. We had a good little battle and we were wheel-to-wheel for three corners, but it positioned me wrong for the final corner, I got a poor exit and he was able to get back past me along the pits straight and on the inside into Turn One. After that, I was told to save even more fuel because I was pretty close to critical. It was a tough battle, but we didn't touch and we still finished first and second, so that's how you do it."

Red Bull

Mark Webber: "Sebastian had a bit of a top speed advantage, he went down the inside and we were side by side. I was surprised when he came right suddenly, as I was holding my racing line. It happened very, very fast and it's a shame for the team. Not an ideal day. The McLarens were solid and it was a good race between all four of us up at the front until then, neither of us wanted to make contact with each other. It's obviously not ideal, but it happened. There was a long way to still go in the race, but that was an interesting few metres on the track between both of us. In the end it wasn't the result that either of us wanted. We've got great character in our team and two fast drivers at the front - we're not dicing for 15th and 16th - we're going for victories so there's clearly a lot at stake. I'll have a chat with Sebastian about it, we might have a difference of opinion but we'll be adults about it and press on."

Sebastian Vettel: "If you watch it on the TV, you can see what happened. I'm not in the happiest of moods. I was on the inside going into the corner. I was there, I was ahead and focusing on the braking point and then we touched. Mark's car hit my rear right wheel and I went off - there's not much more to say. We were all on the same pace during the race, I think I was a bit quicker than Mark for two or three laps, I was catching him and thought I could get him on the back straight. I was very close and passed him on the left, that's the story. This is something that happens, no one needs it, but there's not much you can do now."

Mercedes GP:

Michael Schumacher: "My race started as I had hoped when I was able to catch Jenson right at the start. Unfortunately I did not have a lot of grip with the tyres as the formation lap was quite slow and the pressures had gone down which combined with the top speed of the McLarens meant that I could not hold Jenson behind me for long. I was even struggling to keep the car on the track during the first lap. From there onwards, I was in my starting position and when Sebastian retired, we were able to pick up a place. That was about it. It was a straightforward race for me without any more possibilities. I understand at the front there was quite a bit happening so for the fans, it was a good show. All in all, I think we had a positive race and we clearly made a step forward towards Red Bull and in front of Ferrari, so we can be quite happy about that."

Nico Rosberg: "I am reasonably happy with fifth place today although it was an uneventful race for me. I was slightly faster than Michael for much of the race but it was not possible to overtake and I had to be careful as Robert was pushing hard behind me. For me, the most exciting part of the race were the in and out laps for my pit stop which were pretty fast and together with the great work from the team, that enabled me to stay ahead of the cars just behind me on track. Although our general pace still has to be improved, I'm satisfied that we have taken what we could from this weekend."

Renault

Robert Kubica: "It's been a good weekend for us and it's nice to score some more points today. Unfortunately we started the race behind the Mercedes and I remained stuck behind them all afternoon, even though my car seemed to be quicker because I could keep up with them easily. I knew we had a chance to get ahead of them during the pit stops and I had a very good out lap, but their pit stops must have been a bit quicker and so we couldn't jump ahead. The car felt good during the race and the updates we brought here improved the car which is encouraging for the next few races."

Vitaly Petrov: "Although I'm disappointed to miss out on points today, I really enjoyed the race and the car felt really good. During the race I thought there was a chance of rain, which would have made things interesting, but in the end it was very light and didn't have a big impact on things. At the end of the race my tyres were really worn when I was fighting with Alonso. He tried to go around the outside of me in turn three and my car pushed to the outside so we made contact which caused the puncture. It's bad luck and I'm disappointed to miss out on scoring points, but there are a lot of positives from this race because the car has the pace to fight in the top ten. Hopefully we can be strong in Canada as well and I can score some points there."

[MIKA27]

Sauber delighted to score first point

The Sauber team are delighted to have finally finished in a points paying position thanks to Kamui Kobayashi.

The Japanese driver managed to finish in P10, the same place he qualified in. Despite loosing a position at the start of the race, Kobayashi gained one when Sebastian Vettel retired from the race after colliding with his team mate.

"I am very happy that we finished the race with both cars and got the first point," said Kamui. "I had a good start, although I was on the dirty side of the track, and the pace of the car in the beginning was good.

"Our race strategy was not easy. The car was better on the harder tyre compound, therefore we did a very short first stint on the softer ones. I pitted after ten laps and drove the rest of the race with the same set of tyres.

"In the end I could see from the car the canvas on the front right tyre. Therefore I started to be very careful, especially in turn 8, and that’s also the reason why I didn’t defend any harder against Adrian Sutil."

Team principal, Peter Sauber, believes the result proves Sauber's upward development trend having finished twelfth in Barcelona and improving on that result to take tenth.

"Looking at the whole weekend it’s clear we were able to confirm the upward trend which we saw in Barcelona," he explained. "Of course we were lucky in the race, but we finished with both cars and finally scored a well deserved championship point."

[MIKA27]

Silverstone bosses against dropping Friday

The bosses of the British GP at Silverstone have rubbished the idea of cutting a grand prix weekend down to just two days - scrapping the Friday practice sessions.

Williams CEO, Adam Parr, suggested the idea in Turkey after the media discussed how he and the other teams would feel about an enlarged calendar, possibly expanding to 24 races by 2012.

Whilst Friday isn't a popular day at all circuits, especially at this weekends GP in Istanbul where the grandstands were near empty, the day is popular at the more traditional circuits, with 80,000 fans attending Friday at Silverstone in 2009.

"Friday is big at Silverstone," said circuit chairman Neil England. "It would reduce the people coming to stay.

"It would be hugely disappointing for us. To take a day off seems to be madness," he told the Mirror. "We had 80,000 last year on the Friday, why would anyone destroy that?"

Silverstone managing director Richard Phillips, who described the weekend as a short holiday, agrees.

"For us it would be a great shame to lose Friday because a lot of people camp on Friday and stay locally," said Phillips.

Phillips believes the suggestion that practice be scrapped, but Friday remain for autograph sessions and allowing fans to get closer to the drivers is a better compromise.

"That might be better," he replied. "If you get the crowd closer to the drivers it would be great. We should lengthen, not shorten, race weekends."

MIKA: Whilst I love Formula 1, I think expanding the race calendar is a little too heavy IMO. The drivers and teams need a break between races.

As for scrapping Fridays, thats crazy. The Melbourne GP are always busy on a Friday, loads of people attend.

[MIKA27]

Hamilton slams Mansell after unjust comments

Lewis Hamilton has expressed his shock after hearing comments from Nigel Mansell earlier this week that slam the McLaren driver, claiming he was a 'manufactured' racing driver.

Mansell was quoted as saying on Friday, on his way to the Hay-on-Wye literary festival, that drivers have it too easy nowadays from such a young age.

"I think sometimes it all becomes too easy," Mansell told the Press Association. "How many people from seven years of age have been given £2.5m to go karting?

"I know drivers now are being signed up at seven, eight, nine years of age. They're all being picked now to be grand prix drivers in five and seven and ten years' time.

"That negates everybody out there now doing the job, and that is frightening. I don't decry what Lewis has done [but], when he initially started having tough times, he didn't handle it very well, [because] that's the first time ever in his life he's had a tough time."

Hamilton though was shocked after hearing the claims. Having only been signed by McLaren at the age of 13, not seven, whilst his father worked three jobs to support his sons karting interests.

"Wow. Clearly, he [Mansell] has not been reading the right stories, or he just has not got his facts right," Hamilton told Reuters after qualifying for the Turkish GP.

"I wasn't signed up until I was 13, so I would love to see where the rest of that money was since I was seven. I don't know how he was funded when he was younger but, for us, it was virtually impossible to find money.

"It got more and more expensive. My parents paid all the way until I was 13 by re-mortgaging the house. They were broke," he said.

"He is a world champion, he was a great star and I look up to him, but I wouldn't have expected that from him. I just think he is clearly ill-informed and doesn't have the right information.

"He has his right to his own opinion, which doesn't really bother me. I don't really care about his opinion."

[MIKA27]

Webber in fuel-save mode before crash

Mark Webber had to turn his engine down on the lap that Sebastian Vettel tried to pull a move on him for the lead, Red Bull Racing has confirmed, but the team insists that was still no excuse for its drivers colliding.

Mystery surrounded the exact circumstances of what happened on lap 40, when Vettel closed in on Webber and drafted past him on the back straight before they crashed into each other.

Suspicions that all was not straightforward surfaced immediately after the race when Webber told journalists in the post-race press conference that they should 'dig more' to find out what had really happened.

Although the team initially believed that both its drivers were running exactly the same engine settings during their battle for the lead, the post-race debrief on Sunday night revealed that Webber had needed to save fuel and turn his engine down on lap 40 - while Vettel was still able to run at full power.

Even though such an order may not have come directly from the pits via the radio, a readout on Webber's dashboard would probably have told him that he needed to begin conserving fuel.

Vettel had been able to save fuel when running behind other cars early on, and he had enough extra petrol on board to be able to run one more lap at full power before he too would have had to turn his engine down.

That meant his only realistic chance of getting past Webber was on lap 40, when he would have enjoyed a brief car advantage over his team-mate.

Speaking in the Istanbul paddock on Sunday night, team principal Christian Horner said that he was finally aware of what had happened in the race.

"We now have all the facts," he said. "Mark had changed down into a fuel saving mode that cost him a little bit of performance on the straights, which also explains how Sebastian got a very clear run on him.

"The large mistake remains that not enough room was given, and the explanation is there on how Sebastian had managed to get into the tow. He had managed to save an extra kilogramme of fuel - as both cars start the race with the same amount of fuel.

"Effectively he had one more lap of the optimum engine mode, but we couldn't back him off because he was under pressure from Lewis Hamilton behind."

He added: "The frustrating thing is we have given away 28 points today and it should have been a 1-2. Both drivers have also lost points. From a team point of view it doesn't matter which way around they are, but the priority is to finish 1-2 and that is exactly what we should have done today."

Horner did not feel either driver was any more responsible than the other for the crash - but said that he was disappointed they had not given each other enough room.

"I think Mark put Sebastian on the dirty side, gave him just enough room and Sebastian came across obviously quite aggressively - but he was quite a long way down the side.

"So, it was very, very frustrating. We saw the McLarens racing each other and giving themselves a bit more room, we've seen drivers racing each other previously in Malaysia - which springs to mind as a recent race and they are usually very, very good at giving each other room. Today, for whatever reason, that didn't happen."

Horner was confident, however, that there would be no lingering hard-feeling between the drivers over the crash – and that Red Bull Racing would be able to shift its focus on to winning the next race on the calendar in Canada.

"Absolutely. This will be dealt with before we go to Canada. I've spoken to both drivers. They are both grown ups, they are both big boys, they are both competitors, and the most important thing is that we have given away a load of points today. It must not happen again. They must learn from it.

"It is right to let the drivers race. We saw McLaren today letting their drivers race, but when drivers are in the same team it is important that they give each other a bit more respect and concede if one has got a run on the other."

Horner also denied suggestions that the Turkish Grand Prix provided any evidence that Red Bull Racing favoured Vettel over Webber.

"Both our drivers are treated absolutely equally," he said. "They both have the same equipment, they both have the same opportunity. That is a policy we operate and that is the way that the team is – he managed to save a bit more fuel because he was in a slipstream for some of the race and he took advantage of that – as is his right to do.

"He [Vettel] was under a lot of pressure from Hamilton behind, which got him into a position to pass Mark. Our priority at that stage is that we want to win the race. Even if the cars wanted to change position we were still first and second, and it is still 43 points for the team and both drivers were pulling away from McLaren in the championship."

[Hacigar]

Hi eveyone,

Yesterday i went to F1 Turkish Grandprix.

Wheter was so hot, 35 degrees . After 35th lap little rain.

I will add more photos..

[MIKA27]

Some really fantastic photos hacigar, thankyou for sharing.

I do hope you enjoyed yourself and kept you 'Fluids' up...? :D

I really enjoyed watching the race however would love to have been there!

Look forward to seeing more photos when you have the time to share.

[Hacigar]

Hi again, i uploaded new pictures from TR.

[MIKA27]

Yet again hacigar, some fantastic photos mate.

Thankyou so much for sharing.

Is there any team/driver in particular you follow in F1?

[MIKA27]

Massa closer to extending Ferrari contract

Felipe Massa is one step closer to extending his contract with Ferrari after reports coming out of Brazil suggest the 29-year old has been presented with the terms.

Galvao Bueno, lead commentator and Globo TV's (Brazil) chief of sport, insists that Massa has had the contract presented to him.

"Everything is set [for a new deal]. The contract is missing two or three commas, but the signing should happen quickly now," insists Bueno.

Massa's seat at Ferrari has been under close inspection by the press recently with Robert Kubica and Mark Webber tipped to replace the Brazilian in 2011.

This is by no-means the end of the contract talks, if anything, the negotiations between driver, manager and team have only just begun.

[MIKA27]

Tyre decision days away, Pirelli still favourite

Red Bull and Williams' bosses, Christian Horner and Adam Parr, have both admitted that the decision over who will supply the teams with tyres from 2011 is taking longer than expected, but should be finialised in "a few days."

The paddock is split between Pirelli and Michelin with some teams favoring the latter because of their more recent involvement in the sport.

However, it came to light last week, that the deal put forward by Pirelli, as well as their positive attitude, has swayed the majority of the teams in their favor.

Nick Sharrock, Michelin's competition director, remains positive about the French-outfit's chances.

"We have made a proposal, which we believe is reasonable - and is not exaggerated. It is up to the teams to decide which way they want to go," he said.

"I am sure the teams listened, they asked questions and we have tried to clarify as much as possible any doubts that they had."

[MIKA27]

Hamilton blames 'communication' for tussle

Lewis Hamilton has put the tussle between himself and his team mate, Jenson Button, down to 'unclear communication' after being told to save fuel.

On lap 41, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel came together, relegating Webber from P1 to P3, whilst Vettel had to retire with a rear puncture and severe suspension damage.

Hamilton and Button came dangerously close to re-enacting the situation when they battled into turn twelve. Button managed to get past Hamilton, before the '08 world champion put a move on the '09 champion to regain his lead into turn one.

"The communication wasn't clear for me," confirmed Hamilton. "When they suggested 'save this much fuel' it was not easy unless I went ridiculously slowly. I tried to reach that target and in doing so Jenson all of a sudden appeared from nowhere."

The McLaren driver didn't realise how much he had to slow, as both drivers were told to conserve fuel, as confirmed by Button. It seems Button didn't slow as much as Lewis, giving him a speed advantage, allowing him to catch his team mate.

"We were both told to conserve fuel - although I'd already been conserving fuel for about 30 laps at that point actually - and we never imagined the pace of the race would be so fast," said Button.

Despite looking confused at the end of the race, Hamilton admits it was a great battle.

"I had a great battle with him, and was happy to get past because it was quite a surprise," he said. "We're allowed to race out there, but we have to be sensible. At the end of the day we're a team: we both want to win the constructors' title and we both want to win the drivers' title. But we're not stupid. I wouldn't do anything dangerous to touch Jenson - and vice versa - and that's the great thing about racing each other. "

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Red Bull Boss: You're both to blame

Red Bull Racing boss, Christian Horner, doesn't feel that either of his drivers is more to blame than the other one after a coming-together in Sunday's Turkish Grand-Prix cost the team 28 points and a potential 1-2 finish.

It was confirmed by the Milton Keynes outfit that Mark Webber had been instructed to "turn his engine down" to a more fuel-effective setting which allowed his team-mate to out-pace him down the straight. Horner believes that from this point, the drivers should have given each other enough space to avoid the collision.

"We saw the McLarens racing each other and giving themselves a bit more room," he said. "We've seen drivers racing each other previously in Malaysia - which springs to mind as a recent race and they are usually very, very good at giving each other room. Today, for whatever reason, that didn't happen."

When quizzed on which driver's door the blame fell, ever the politician, Christian split the cause of the incident down the middle explaining that Mark, "put Sebastian on the dirty side, [and] gave him just enough room," and yet, "Sebastian came across obviously quite aggressively."

Both drivers were quick to blame each other after the race, however, Horner was confident that there will be no lingering angst between his drivers.

"I've spoken to both drivers. They are both grown ups, they are both big boys, they are both competitors, and the most important thing is that we have given away a load of points today. It must not happen again. They must learn from it."

Christian was quick to rubbish rumours that Red Bull Racing were possibly fighting Sebastian Vettel's corner and insisted that, "Both our drivers are treated absolutely equally."

"They both have the same equipment, they both have the same opportunity. That is a policy we operate and that is the way that the team is."

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Ferrari pins hopes on Valencia upgrade

Ferrari is pinning hopes of a return to form on a major upgrade package that it is scheduling for introduction at the European Grand Prix in Valencia next month.

On the back of a difficult weekend in Turkey, where Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were left scrapping for points in the middle of the pack, Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has admitted that the team has not done a good enough job in developing its car.

And although it did have to divert a lot of resource and effort into developing its F-duct system, Domenicali says his team must start ramping up the improvements it brings to the F10.

"It is for sure true that we have invested a lot in the new system with the wing, but it is not enough and it is not perfect yet," said Domenicali after the Turkish Grand Prix.

"What should happen in the next month is that in Valencia we should have a big update where there will be a lot of new parts on the car.

"But it is true from the fact point of view that the bits we tried to put in place were not enough to cope with the pace of the development that the biggest teams have done."

He added: "We need to find something more - because we don't want to give up after six or seven grands prix. Two thirds of the championship is still open. We have seen that everything can happen and we have seen how different situations can emerge in the races.

"So I think that we need to take this bad weekend for us in a productive way – reaction and not depression. Depression is for the people who do not want to achieve the targets that we set at the beginning. This is for sure that atmosphere that we have to live with in Maranello."

Domenicali is open that the F10 is lacking downforce compared to its opposition, but he remains confident that there is enough time for the team to bring improvements that will lift it back to the front.

"It is fact that we don't have to be complacent," he said. "We have to react and try to understand why in our aero department we didn't bring the things that we were supposed to bring.

"It is not a case of being disappointed or not disappointed. We need to make sure the team is working hard and reacts straight away. The time is there, that is not the problem."

MIKA: I have a solutution to Ferraris slow F10....

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Mercedes still hoping for more in 2010

Mercedes GP may be making progress with the development of its car, but motorsport boss Norbert Haug says the outfit will not be satisfied until it is winning.

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg delivered a fourth and fifth-placed finishes for Mercedes GP in Istanbul, as the outfit led the chasing pack behind Red Bull Racing and McLaren.

But despite having edged clear of Ferrari in Turkey, and the longer wheelbase upgrade package having helped deliver a better car, Haug says the team is still hungry to improve.

"I would hope for more," Haug told AUTOSPORT. "We want to be a winning team, but we need to be patient and we need to keep working hard.

"The car is very reliable, all the ingredients are there, and regularly we do the best pit-stops. We need to just realise that and close the gap to the front.

"Ferrari is a question mark as we don't know if they could have been faster, and they certainly did not have a very strong weekend, but it is still not good enough. Having said that, we were good as a team, we are composed, concentrated, but we need a lot more speed."

Haug has said that despite Mercedes GP not winning the race, he still took satisfaction from McLaren's 1-2 finish.

"All in all we need to improve our speed and we are working on that, but generally speaking it is fine for us if McLaren wins," he said. "If we cannot win, it is good. And I think even if the Red Bulls would not have crashed the race was not over.

"It was the 71st victory for us since 1997, which is quite a number, and I think that statistically it is every fourth race that we have won."

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Renault praises Petrov's performance

Renault boss Eric Boullier has praised the breakthrough performance of Vitaly Petrov in Turkey last weekend - even though the Russian failed to finish in the points.

Petrov delivered the best form of his rookie season, getting through to Q3 for the first time, and battling hard with Ferrari duo Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso for most of the Istanbul race.

However, a late race collision with Alonso resulted in a puncture that pitched Petrov off the track and force him into the pits for new tyres.

But although Petrov had little to show for his weekend's efforts, Boullier said he was impressed with the job that his driver did.

"We have been very happy with him all through the weekend," Boullier told AUTOSPORT. "He made no mistakes and had a very strong race pace – so it is course a big disappointment when you are nearly at the end, ready to score points thanks to no other help, and something like that happens.

"But he definitely made a step forward this weekend. He knew the track very well and he loves this track - and I think it is, in terms of building stuff and building his self confidence, definitely a huge boost."

And although conceding that Petrov will face another big challenge in Canada, because it is a track he has never been to before, Boullier believes Petrov can now regularly fight for the points.

"He can be a little bit off the pace in Canada because he does not know the track, but more than this is a complete race weekend," he said.

"He had good pace in practice, good pace in qualifying, having done this Q3 for once, and also keeping that pace during the race. During 54 laps he was coming close to Massa and kept Alonso on the back. It is a good experience for him. He did it and he can repeat it."

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Paddock Life: Istanbul edition

Istanbul Park remains Hermann Tilke's best track to date - with the brilliant Turn 8 an amazing place to see Formula 1 cars gunning for it flat-out at the very limit of adhesion.

The only problem is, Istanbul Park happens to be near one of the busiest and cramped cities in the world – making the logistics of the weekend a bit of a nightmare.

More and more people have abandoned staying in the main part of Istanbul town – especially with many enduring more than two-hour journeys from track to hotel due to the sheer weight of traffic on the packed roads of the city.

With the Asian side of Istanbul now bustling and expanding, and more F1 personnel decamping there, the weekend has become a bit easier and a bit more popular – and it was even quite encouraging to see that fans actually bothered to turn up on race day this year.

And those that made the trip were treated to one of the best races of the season – an absolute corker of a battle between Red Bull Racing and McLaren, a controversial collision between team-mates and the tantalising prospect of heightened tensions in the world title battle.

For Red Bull it may be a nightmare, but for the fans and media, it is great news.

Karun Chandhok may be one of India's biggest sports stars right now, but his step up to Formula 1 has not seen him lose any of his bubbly personality – or ability to have a laugh.

Just a week after emailing some journalists pictures of what he claimed were the new media shuttles for the Indian Grand Prix – some elephants that he snapped while on a recent visit to his home country – Chandhok arrived in Turkey last weekend with a new lucky mascot.

After his fortunate escape in the Monaco Grand Prix, when Jarno Trulli launched himself over the top of his HRT in the closing stages of the race, some of Chandhok's friends in England reckoned he needed an extra boost of luck for Turkey.

So, taking inspiration from one of Chandhok's favourite films – the bobsleigh masterpiece 'Cool Runnings' – they gave him a new mascot.

"I was given a lucky egg," smiled Chandhok, posing with his new charm in the HRT motorhome. "My friends in Brackley said I needed one, like the Jamaican bobsleigh team in 'Cool Runnings'. I brought it here with me and hoped it would help me a bit – but it didn't seem to bring me much good luck."

Chandhok unfortunately qualified last and had to come into the pits a few laps from home with a car problem – leaving him down in 20th overall in the classification.

After the social whirlwind that was the Monaco Grand Prix, things operated at a bit more of a leisurely place in Turkey – as teams simply got on with their business of a fairly normal race weekend.

With traffic into downtown Istanbul being as bad as ever – and some people complaining of it taking nearly two hours in rush hours to get across the Bosphorus bridge and back to their hotels – it was little wonder that there was a lot of hanging around in the paddock.

Sauber took the opportunity to entertain the British media on the Thursday night – but that did not provide the best story of paddock hospitality at the Swiss team over the weekend.

Instead, over the Turkey weekend, a special chef was on hand to cook dinner for a few VIP guests – which included senior team figures. His name? Kamui Kobayashi...

As a way of saying thank you to the efforts of the team during what had been a character-building start to the season, Kobayashi put some of the culinary skills he learned from his father's sushi restaurant to good use – as he took over the Sauber kitchen to show that he does not just have a talent for driving racing cars quickly.

Lewis Hamilton had a high-profile supporter cheering him on for his first victory of the season in Turkey, when long-time girlfriend and Pussycat Doll Nicole Sherzinger made her first appearance at a race this season.

And it was quite fitting that she was on hand to see her man win – just a week after Hamilton had been in the United States to see her on her way to taking a top honour.

Sherzinger triumphed in the American version of 'Dancing with the Stars', and Hamilton had turned up in Istanbul buzzing when asked to talk about what a great experience it had been

"I'm going to get dancing lessons soon," said Hamilton, whose recent trip to Los Angeles saw him get some earrings. "Derek [Hough, Nicole's dancing partner] has offered, although I've told him I'd prefer his sister to give me lessons because she is more attractive! But Nicole is perfect for me right now. She can teach me.

"I saw her in the semi-final, and then I went out the following week and saw the show this Monday, and then her first dance on the Tuesday, so I didn't get to see her win. But I got to see the most incredible performance she put on of the Argentine tango, under all that pressure. It was unbelievable, so unreal.

"She got a standing ovation and I was just incredibly proud. It's cool to be able to go and support your partner and see them succeed."

Of course the big question, with IndyCar front-runner Helio Castroneves having triumphed in the show in the past, was whether Hamilton was considering entering the show himself?

"Hell to the no! Definitely not," he smiled. "After seeing how tough it has been for her, and how time consuming it has been, I could never do it. I'll leave the dancing to the dancers, and I'll just continue with the driving."

Hamilton and Sherzinger were not the only winners picking up their spoils in Turkey, because Heikki Kovalainen also had a bit of a result.

Kovalainen has blossomed in the Lotus environment this year – enjoying life and being far more relaxed than he ever appeared to be alongside Hamilton at McLaren.

In Monaco, he even accepted a bet with well-known Portuguese journalist Luis Vasconcelos – that he could achieve something that no other team-mate of Jarno Trulli had managed to do at the principality.

"Luis told me in Monaco that Jarno had never been outqualified by his team-mate in Monaco going back to Formula 3 in 1996," said Kovalainen. "I didn't know that and said it's interesting. So he said that if I beat him he would buy me a good Portuguese wine. I said that's a deal! I did it, and now he has given it to me."

The presentation of the nice Portuguese was soon talked about in the paddock, but did cause a slight bit of confusion when someone misheard that the 'Luis' Kovalainen was referring to was 'Lewis.'

A few minutes later, Mr. Hamilton was looking slightly baffled when getting asked about why he had bought a bottle of wine for Kovalainen.

"Did I?" said Hamilton, before the name confusion was cleared up.

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JAMES ALLENS Turkish GP verdict

Source: ITV-F1

After a gripping and at times breathtaking Turkish Grand Prix, James Allen gives his take on the controversial Vettel/Webber collision and the tensions within Red Bull that it exposed.

He also reacts to the McLaren dice that turned out so much better, but which left Lewis Hamilton somewhat nonplussed…

Wow! We’ve seen some great battles between team-mates over the years, but rarely in such direct one-on-one scraps on the track.

Today we had two, as first the Red Bull drivers and then the McLaren drivers got stuck into each other.

Lewis Hamilton deserved his win because he harried the Red Bulls in qualifying and the race and when they hit trouble he was there to pick up the pieces.

Whereas Jenson Button and Hamilton gave each other plenty of space and executed some very classy overtakes, the Red Bull drivers clashed and it led to one of them retiring and the other losing a victory.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen team-mates trip over each other like that.

There has been a growing tension between Webber and Vettel, largely because Vettel has been struggling to deal with the resurgent form of his older team-mate.

There was a suggestion after the race that the difference in speed between the two drivers may have been due to different conditions applying to them.

In the laps preceding the incident, Vettel had suddenly started going a few tenths of a second faster and had greater straightline speed.

The suggestion was that Vettel’s engine was turned up more than Webber’s.

This has led to the reopening of the debate about whether Vettel is the favoured son at Red Bull.

As well as Christian Horner the team principal, there is Dr Helmut Marko, who reports directly to Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz.

He has overseen the Red Bull driver development programme and invested many millions of euros into it.

Vettel is the main product of that investment and it is important for certain figures within the team that he is the one who goes on to justify it by winning the world championship.

But the team has been presented with a problem, albeit a nice one to have, with the dominant form of Webber in the last month.

The warmth of the reaction Vettel received when he went to the Red Bull pit wall after the incident spoke volumes.

This kind of body language is always significant in a highly pressured sport like Formula 1, where individuals aren’t always schooled in how to react at crunch moments.

Vettel was behind Webber because he had a roll bar problem in qualifying and, having got himself up into second place in the closing stages, he saw an opportunity to pass.

His impetuousness to close the deal and seal the move led to him moving across on Webber before he had actually got ahead.

Hamilton seemed quite subdued on the podium, possibly as a result of the late move on him by his team-mate when he was leading.

He thought he had the race won and wasn’t expecting the attack from Button.

He had been told to save fuel and was told that Button had been instructed likewise. And yet Button challenged him.

Button obviously was as confused by the incident as Hamilton was and there is some tidying up to do there.

Hamilton praised Button for being fair, but will no doubt want to clear up exactly what happened in team communication.

He added that Button is the best team-mate he’s ever had.

Interestingly, Hamilton felt that Vettel had done a “dangerous” and “erratic” move on him in their early battle, and compared it to the move on Webber.

Hamilton was offering his support to Webber and it seems Vettel is under pressure from his fellow professionals for his on-track moves.

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Webber: Turkey Incident won't cause a rift

Mark Webber has looked to calm reports of a rift in the Red Bull camp, admitting that while opinions may differ over his collision with team-mate Sebastian Vettel, it would not become an issue between the pair.

With Red Bull on track to claim a 1-2 finish in Turkey, Webber and Vettel collided on lap 41 with the German appearing to turn in on his team-mate as the pair fought for the lead.

Vettel was forced to retire from the race as a result while Webber was able to continue after he was fitted with a new front wing, with the Australian eventually finishing third.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Webber explained his view of the incident which he believes cost him a third consecutive race win.

"There were still 17 laps of the race remaining - and the McLarens were quick - but I'm confident that I would have made it three straight Formula One victories if this incident hadn't occurred," explained the 33-year-old.

"Vettel had a bit of a top-speed advantage and I could see him coming down my inside as we approached Turn 12 at Istanbul Park. We were fighting for the lead, so I stayed tight to ensure he'd be on the dirty side of the track as we approached the braking area. I was holding my line and he came across on me.

"We made contact; it was only a light touch, but when you're travelling at 300km/h that's all you need for a situation to end in tears," he added.

With the Red Bull management appearing to defend Vettel despite the majority of the racing fraternity expressing the opinion that the coming together was the German's fault, many have been quick to talk up an apparent rift in the team, but Webber insists that the situation would be dealt with in a mature fashion.

"Seb and I will sit down and have a chat about it because we need to avoid costly slip-ups like this in the future," said Webber.

"We'll probably have a difference of opinion about what happened on Sunday until we go to our graves, but we're both adults and we need to find a way of racing together that doesn't compromise the team."

Webber insists he his already looking ahead to the Canadian GP in two weeks time.

"The focus now moves to Montreal, which is back on the calendar after a year's sabbatical. I'm sure the car will be competitive and I can't wait to get back on track."

Webber currently leads the Driver's standings with 93 points, five points clear of Jenson Button and 15 points ahead of Vettel.

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Sutil left satisfied after tough weekend

Having added two more points to his tally for the season, Adrian Sutil admits he was happy to secure ninth spot in Turkey after a frustrating weekend.

The German crashed in the latter stages of Friday's practice before having to sit out Saturday's morning run because of a hydraulics problem. Having narrowly missed out on Q3, Sutil started eleventh on the grid and was able to make up two positions during the race, despite having trouble during his pit stop.

"It was a good race in the end, I enjoyed it. I had a good start and first lap and the only real downside was the pit stop when we lost a few seconds at a crucial time," he explained.

"That's where I lost two positions and had to fight back past Kobayashi. I was quite lucky then to benefit from the tussle between Webber and Vettel and then Alonso and Petrov to make up some places.

"Ninth position after the weekend we've had is the most we could have done. We still have some developments coming for the next race and our next task is to use the SRW on my - and once we get these done I think it will be looking really good for the next few races," he added.

Force India have impressed thus far this season, leaving the vastly more experienced Williams outfit in their dust as they continue to consolidate their place as the sixth best team on the grid.

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Fernandes maintains big dreams

Lotus Racing boss Tony Fernandes is convinced his race team will one day follow in the footsteps of his airline and be winners.

For the second consecutive race in Turkey on Sunday, after having at least one car classified for the first five grands prix, Lotus again suffered a double DNF (did not finish).

After qualifying as close to the midfield pack as they have done all season at Istanbul Park, Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli then ran strongly for the first half of the race.

But within a space of a lap just beyond the midway point, the Finn and Italian retired, both with hydraulics failures.

It was a bitter double dose of disappointment for Fernandes, who owns AirAsia, but these remain early days for his fledgling team.

After starting out the season three seconds adrift in qualifying of the more established likes of Toro Rosso, they have managed to cut that gap to just over a second in two and a half months.

"The whole team should be pleased with how far we've come," said Fernandes of the Norfolk-based, Malaysia-owned marque.

"What happened in Turkey was a low, but to be champions we have to deal with the lows, learn from them and move on."

Drawing comparisons with his hugely successful airline, he added: "It all reminds me of the early days of AirAsia.

"But we have just been awarded the title of world's best low-cost airline for the second year running, so I know we can repeat that with this team, and one day be victorious.

"Onwards and upwards, and now we'll focus on Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix (June 13)."