F101: F1 beginners guide~ Turkish GP techincal review

It started out as an exciting race, Hamilton fought with Webber, trying to outsmart him with his straight-line speed, but the Red Bull shined in turn eight; then Hamilton lost second to Vettel in the pitstops, and it all appeared to be over, a Red Bull one-two; then Vettel made a move on Webber, and sent them both spinning, gifting the lead to Hamilton; then Button took on his teammate, but was made to settle for second. That was the Turkish Grand Prix in a nutshell; this is the F101 Technical review…

Mark Webber got a clean getaway from pole, Sebastian Vettel also got a quick getaway from third, as did Michael Schumacher in fifth, all three on the clean side of the grid, while Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, in second and fourth, had to defend from the off, but they both proved that when it matters, the McLaren is fast, in fact the MP4-25’s straight-line speed is nothing short of immense.

Vettel made a charge off the start passing Hamilton into turn one for second, only to have Hamilton pass him into turn three where, close to the back of the Red Bull, he had more straight-line speed. Schumacher meanwhile, was on a charge from fifth, passing Button, and attacking the back of Hamilton into turn two, but Button had the straight-line speed along the straight into turn 12, and reclaimed fourth, which considering how many times he has stared at the back of Schumacher’s Mercedes this season, is impressive, and at the same time, came as a relief, particularly later in the race when Schumi was left to lead his own personal race.

Throughout the first stint, Hamilton was able to hang on to the back of Webber, the pair trading fastest laps. Despite the dirty air from the back of the Red Bull, Hamilton was able to make a charge to pass into turn 12 once or twice, but due to Webber’s speed in turn eight, flat out compared to the McLaren’s downshifting, Hamilton was unable to make any move stick. Towards the pitstop phase of the race, he got a better shot, but his main hope was really in the pitstop. But even that wasn’t to be.

Red Bull pitted Vettel first on lap 15, and with the McLaren mechanics out nearly a whole lap before Hamilton peeled into the pits, Red Bull spotted an opportunity, and they were able to bring Webber in at the same time. Red Bull’s position in the garage, one pitbox behind McLaren’s, meant that the team were ahead in changing Webber’s tyres, and were able to get him out before McLaren released Hamilton. McLaren were hindered by half a second, struggling to remove his right rear tyre, and Hamilton lost the opportunity of leapfrogging Webber, and lost second to Vettel as well. Hamilton wasn’t to be defeated though, and he fought back, making a move on Vettel on lap 18 into turn 12. Unfortunately he was unable to make it stick and running wide, had to settle for third for the time being.

And so the race continued, getting a bit repetitive, with a chance of rain, and another chance of rain, before the two Red Bulls collided. At the time, Webber was the slowest of the front four, and the reason was later revealed to be down to conserving fuel, and Vettel, whose consumption had been lower than Webber’s up until that point, started catching his teammate, while fending off Hamilton at the same time. With less than 20 laps to go, and it looking like another Red Bull one-two was in the bag, Vettel made his move on Webber down the straight, heading for turn 12, and the two collided, sending them both spinning off the track, ending Vettel’s race, putting Webber down into third, and gifting the lead to Hamilton. Whoever’s fault it was, (Vettel blames Webber, and Webber blames Vettel, and team boss, Christian Horner, without directly saying it, points the finger at Webber), it doesn’t change the fact the two collided with each other.

Following the crash, Vettel was seen walking away from his car with his finger to his head indicating he thought Webber’s move had been crazy, and after the race both Vettel and Webber looked thoroughly deflated and angry, while Christian Horner admitted they had “handed 43 points on a plate to McLaren.” Whoever’s fault it was, it was avoidable, and if consistency is to be the key in 2010, silly errors like that could cost either driver the title when it matters.

Hamilton then took the lead, disappearing from Webber’s sights, and Button remained just a second behind his teammate. Then came McLaren’s warning to both the drivers that they needed to conserve fuel after a high consumption in the opening stint, but that didn’t stop Button closing in on Hamilton, and it certainly didn’t stop him attempting any sort of move.

On lap 48, Button passed Hamilton into turn 12, but Hamilton stuck to the back of his gearbox, and coming out of the last corner, he was faster than Button and managed to reclaim the lead into the first corner. Then Button backed off a bit. The critical level of fuel was an issue for the two McLaren drivers, and in the closing laps it became all about getting to the end of the race.

Other points to pick out from the race, (that I have sort of touched upon), were the way the Red Bulls were able to go through turn eight flat out, at the same time as the F-duct on the McLarens is proving to be the threat to Red Bull. The fact the Red Bulls were so fast around turn eight, was the only reason why the McLarens were unable to pass them into turn 12, despite being able to make up what they lost in the corner on the straights. Both cars have been built to precision, putting downforce and the F-duct head-to-head. As the season progresses, this is going to be an interesting fight.

Hamilton’s win now leaves him third in the drivers’ standings on 84 points, behind Webber on 93 and Button on 88. In the constructors’ battle, McLaren edge ahead on 172 points, with Red Bull on 161 and Ferrari on 146. And my guess is, they’ll be trading places for a while to come…