MOTOR SPORT FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP:TURKEY'S ISTANBUL circuit is frequently hailed as one of Formula One's best modern circuits, a complex mix of reinterpretations of some of F1's most famous corners, designed to give drivers and spectators a thrilling ride.
But while it has all the requisite charms – changes in elevation, rapid switches in direction and the hugely difficult, quadruple apex turn eight, it has, in its five runnings failed to live up to its promise. This year, again, is unlikely to give it a chance to shine.
Four of the five races here have been won from pole, three of those at a canter by Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. And this year, with Red Bull Racing looking this afternoon to take their seventh pole from seven races, all the signs are tomorrow could be another light to flag victory for either championship leader Mark Webber or second-placed team-mate Sebastian Vettel. The only variable is which of the two is likely to come out on top in their private battle.
That it is Webber marginally in front in the title race has raised some eyebrows in a paddock where Vettel has routinely been hailed as a future champion since taking his first win behind the wheel of a lowly Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008. Vettel held the upper hand throughout most of last season as trouble dogged Webber, despite the Australian taking his maiden win at the German Grand Prix and then finishing with a flourish with a win in Brazil and second in Abu Dhabi.
Two elements, though, have changed. First, Webber himself. In the pre-2009 off-season Webber was seriously injured in a road accident and spent most of last season in recovery. Also, the threat of his younger team-mate and being cast in the role of grizzled veteran seeing out his career appeared to affect him mentally.
This time out he is fit again and has, it seems, reconciled himself to his apparent status. And the relaxed attitude has translated into a less desperate driving style. Always blindingly fast over one lap, the speed deserted him last year as he over-thought and overdrove his qualifying runs, finding himself behind Vettel on the grid 14 times from 17 outings. So far this season it’s three poles each from six races.
Though Webber has upped his game, it hasn’t all been a self-generated improvement. This weekend it emerged Vettel has been racing, possibly for some time, with a faulty car, the team revealing the car he raced to second in Monaco has a cracked tub. There were, apparently, other unspecified problems.
So, this weekend, Vettel will race with a new chassis and, as is wont, he has again given the new one a girl’s name, “Randy Mandy” replacing “Luscious Liz” in his affections. Yesterday in the first practice sessions, Vettel was the quicker in the morning by just under three tenths of a second. In the afternoon it was Webber’s turn, the Australian lapping two tenths quicker than Vettel before his engine blew.
“I think it (the damage) explains a lot and on top of that we found also other things that weren’t in proper shape anymore,” Vettel said of his old chassis. “It’s difficult to say (what the problems were) but whereas he (Webber) always seemed to be quite happy, I definitely wasn’t. It feels more natural now with the new chassis.”
Webber was more circumspect, acknowledging Vettel’s problems but not attributing any performance disadvantage to them. “Obviously I wasn’t driving his car, so it’s difficult to know. We’ll see,” he said.
The pair were, in fact, eclipsed in practice by the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton in the morning and Jenson Button in the afternoon but it has often been thus early in race weekend, the Red Bull pair revealing their true pace only in qualifying. In Spain three weeks ago the consensus was Red Bull had again taken a step forward and were becoming impossible to catch and with the team debuting an F-Duct system similar to McLaren’s this weekend, the straight line speed that was their chief rivals only weapon could now also cease to be a factor.
Vettel, who tested the F-Duct yesterday said: “We still need some fine tuning, but so far it looks good.”
Button repeated the mantra he has chanted at each race. “We’re still trying to chase the Red Bulls. I don’t think they’re showing their hand yet. Our car’s good, but the Red Bulls are much quicker than they show. It’s a normal Friday.
And if “normal” Fridays are anything to go by, expect another lack of Turkish delight for anyone but Red Bull Racing tomorrow.
