Lots of drama, and few collisions, that was the Turkish GP for you. Red Bull handed over the 1-2 victory to rival team McLaren as the two drivers, Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber collided with each other while they were on the lead.
Webber was totally in control and led every lap after starting from pole and there were just 17 laps remaining when Vettel started to get dangerously close to his team mate. And as the duo headed towards turn 12 on lap 41, there was a fateful collision that was totally uncalled for. And by the time the dust settled, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button had already claimed the one-two lead which continued till the end of the race.
Webber, however, was quick to recover and managed to secure the third position. Vettel, who failed to score, has now dropped down to the fifth position in the world championship chase which is led by his team mate.
“It can happen sometimes. We’re both at the front and it’s not ideal … but it happens,” Webber said. “There was a long way to go in the race so it wasn’t a guaranteed victory. It was an interesting few meters between us on the track.”
Red Bull was up for a second straight 1-2 finish, which would have catapulted them to a big lead on both drivers’ constructors’ standings. The two drivers waited for each other to take the blame but neither did.
“There is no fight. This is something that happens,” Vettel said. “We do not need it, but there is nothing we can do now.”
Red Bull’s misfortune proved to be a lucky chance for a number of drivers, Michael Schumacher being one of them, who finished fourth ahead of team mate Nico Rosberg.
Red Bull and McLaren were being considered as the strongest contenders for the Turkish GP, which turned out to be quite true. And while these two fought it out for podium order, Mercedes, Ferrari, Force India and Renault struggled behind them.
The Ferrari’s of Massa and Alonso finished seventh and eighth respectively.
Force India driver Adrian Sutil finished ninth while Kamui Kobayashi scored the very first points of the season for Sauber’s with a 10th-place finish. It was another joyous moment for Sauber as Pedro de la Rosa brought its first double-finish of the season in 11th place.
Last week we told you that Karun Chandhok received an egg as a good luck charm. Looks like the egg did not bring enough luck to allow Chandhok charm his way to the finish but managed to complete 52 laps.
Race Results:
• 1. Hamilton McLaren
• 2. Button McLaren +2.6s
• 3. Webber Red Bull +24.2s
• 4. Schumacher Mercedes +31.1s
• 5. Rosberg Mercedes +32.2s
• 6 Kubica Renault +32.8s
• 7 Massa Ferrari +36.6s
• 8 Alonsi Ferrari +46.5s
• 9 Sutil Force India +49.0s
• 10 Kobayashi Sauber +65.6s
