2010 TURKISH GP // RACE RESULTS

On Sunday, Lewis Hamilton collected his first victory of the 2010 season in what has to be one of the most exciting F1 races in recent memory. Mark Webber, who started from pole for the second race in a row, led the field as the green flag waved for the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix.

Making his way from third to second was Webber's teammate, Sebastian Vettel, who managed to squeeze past the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton as they entered the first corner. Hamilton's teammate, Jenson Button, filed into fourth as the field finished its first lap of Istanbul Park... [read more]

From there it seemed as though no one could catch either of the Red Bulls or McLarens, with Michael Schumacher some 30 seconds off the pace in fifth place. Gaining ground on his teammate, Sebastian Vettel soon found himself running nose to tail with Mark Webber. The question was then raised whether Vettel should be allowed to pass, as it was obvious the German driver had the advantage. But then, without warning, Vettel dove to the inside of Webber as the pair entered turn 12. With neither driver willing to yield, a collision was inevitable. Vettel was sent off track with a punctured tire, while Webber was able to recover and slot into third place behind Jenson Button.

There has been a great deal of speculation as to who was at fault, but having watched the replay it seems as though Webber should have allowed more space for his teammate as the two entered turn 12.

Speaking to SPEED TV, Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko said:

"Mark for whatever reason was slower. He was getting lap by lap slower, and Vettel was getting faster and was coming under enormous pressure from Hamilton. So if he would have stayed behind Mark, he would have been overtaken. So he had to do something. And Mark knew that he was slower, so he should have let him past."

Following the collision with his teammate, Vettel said:

"I was able to go quicker the two or three laps before. I had the corner on the left and was just trying to focus on braking point and all of a sudden I lost the car. You can see on the television we made contact. I’m not kind of guy that pushes all the fault to one guy we are a team."

During the press conference following the race, Mark Webber had this to say:

"Seb had big top speed advantage, he went down the inside and we were side by side for a while. The he turned pretty quick right and we made contact. It happened very, very fast. It’s a shame for the team, it’s obviously not an ideal day. There was long way to go in race, it wasn’t a guaranteed victory. But but it was an interesting few metres and in the end it wasn’t the result either of us want."

Following the incident Hamilton took the lead followed closely by Jenson Button. The pair briefly exchanged positions, however Hamilton was able to gain a sizable lead over Button by the time the checkered flag waved. Webber, who not only found himself off track on lap 41, also made an extra pitstop, but was still able to finish third ahead of the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher.

2010 Turkish Grand Prix // Race Results:

1 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 5
2 1 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 58 2.645 2.645 8
3 6 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 58 24.285 21.640 1
4 3 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 58 31.110 6.825 7
5 4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 58 32.266 1.156 6
6 11 Robert Kubica Renault 58 32.824 0.558 2
7 7 Felipe Massa Ferrari 58 36.635 3.811 4
8 8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 58 46.544 9.909 24
9 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 58 49.029 2.485 12
10 23 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 58 65.650 16.621 16
11 22 Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 58 65.944 0.294 15
12 17 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 58 67.800 1.856 17
13 15 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 57 1 lap 1 lap 10
14 9 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 57 1 lap 2.251 9
15 12 Vitaly Petrov Renault 57 1 lap 26.897 14
16 16 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 57 1 lap 18.728 13
17 10 Nico Hülkenberg Williams-Cosworth 57 1 lap 9.488 11
18 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 55 3 laps 2 laps 20
19 25 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 55 3 laps 28.758 21
20 20 Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 52 6 laps 3 laps 23

DNF:

21 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 46 12 laps 6 laps 22
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 39 19 laps 7 laps 3
19 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 33 25 laps 6 laps 18
18 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 32 26 laps 1 lap 19

Image and Info: F1Fanatic
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey