Grand Prix 2010 Turkish Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Race 7 of the season and it's back to a "real" track in the form of the Istanbul Park Circuit. It features the famous turn 8 which has four apexes and could prove to be a real test this season as the cars will be starting with full fuel loads.

Ferrari have traditionally done well here but Red Bull are the team to beat. They're also debuting their version of the F-duct this weekend so could have an even bigger advantage. Mark Webber will be looking to score his 3rd race victory in a row but Sebastian Vettel might have something to say about that, especially now he has a new chassis after the team identified an "issue" with the one he used at the previous 2 races.

McLaren will be hoping for a strong finish for both drivers after Button's engine failure in Monaco on lap 2 and prior to that Hamilton's wheel failure on the penultimate lap in Spain.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa will be hoping for his usual strong performance at Turkey. If Alonso gets the better of him here then expect a not-so-subtle shift in the team focus. This race could be crucial for Massa, especially considering it's nearing contract negotiating season.

Michael Schumacher will be trying to build on his performance from Monaco. Prior to his post-race 20 second time penalty he was actually ahead of Nico Rosberg on the track and will be looking to repeat that this weekend.

Renault will be looking to Robert Kubica again to bring home the points for the team. He could have a harder job this weekend though and will do well to finish in the top 6.

Force India scored their first ever double points finish 2 weeks ago. Can they repeat the feat?

As for the rest, they will just be thankful to finish. With all the new upgrades the established teams are bringing, HRT could be even further off the pace than they were in Spain.
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

The rumours are growing that this could be the last Turkish GP.

The main problems are it is too far from the centre of Istanbul and it's on the wrong side of the Bosphorus which means dreadful traffic delays - I speak from experience having lived there and commuted across the bridge(s) on a daily basis.

I said at the time this was absolutely the worst place to build the track.
Sadly it looks like I have been proven right.

It looks like turn 8 has claimed its first victim of the weekend. Adrian Sutil lost control and spun backwards into the barriers, causing substantial damage to his car.
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Sakon Yamamoto subbed in for Bruno Senna at HRT for the morning session. I must admit Yamamoto wasn't I name I remembered but apparently he drove for Super Aguri and Spyker in 2006 & 2007 Wiki Entry - obvioulsy made a big impression.

One has ask, if HRT are looking to put in a driver with experience on Friday tests to help sort the car why use some bloke who was, how can I put this politely, not the greatest driver in the world. Christien Klien I can more understand, maybe Yamamoto arrived with a large bag of Yen as well as his "wealth of experience" in an F1 car.
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

It has to be admitted that Klien has little to no experience of cash-strapped teams guaranteed to make the back row, whereas Yamamoto has been driving for them for his whole 'career'.

Seriously, he was rubbish, although Sutil and Sato weren't F1's worst ever drivers, he was giving away far too much!
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Yamamoto's results for Super Aguri and later Spyker were less than impressive so you would have to assume that there is a financial element to his test driver position at HRT.

He was Renault's test driver for 2008 but wasn't involved with F1 at all in 2009 so it's doubtful exactly what he can bring to the table for HRT.
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

There is no doubt whatsoever in what he'll bring to the table.
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

There won't be any tables left after Colin Kolles bangs his head on them every time Crashamoto does his "thang".
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Just reading a bit on the BBC website and found Bernie;s view on the future of this race.

Meanwhile, Ecclestone revealed that F1 was looking at taking its relationship with Turkey's Istanbul Park into the 2020s.

"We are talking about signing a 10-year deal with them," he said, while in Istanbul for the grand prix. The current contract runs out next year.

So who knows what will happen
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

slickskid said:
Just reading a bit on the BBC website and found Bernie;s view on the future of this race.

Meanwhile, Ecclestone revealed that F1 was looking at taking its relationship with Turkey's Istanbul Park into the 2020s.

"We are talking about signing a 10-year deal with them," he said, while in Istanbul for the grand prix. The current contract runs out next year.

So who knows what will happen

They're screwed then.. ;)
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Turn 8 is proving to be quite a handful this year.
A lot of drivers have been caught out by it including Massa, Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel and Webber.

A simple mistake in Qualifying could have huge consequences.
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Brogan said:
A simple mistake in Qualifying could have huge consequences.

And wasn't that the truth.

Alonso having a weekend to forget so far.
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Well that was an eventful qualifying session.

Webber once again qualified on pole for the 3rd race in a row but he was pushed all the way by Hamilton who was just over a tenth slower.

Another mistake by Alonso could give Massa the chance to stop the rot. Quesions must be being asked at Ferrari as to why Alonso is making so many "rookie" mistakes.

Vettel by all accounts had another problem with his car - it seems to be a recurring theme.

Schumacher was lucky not to damage his car on his last flying lap, he came very close to the tyre wall after dropping it at turn 8.

It will all be about the start tomorrow. Should be a good one.
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Brogan said:
Vettel by all accounts had another problem with his car - it seems to be a recurring theme.

As is the ringing of the excuses alarm.
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Vettel showing his desperation there?

He swerved right into Mark taking them both out. The same move he did on Lewis a few laps earlier.
From Mark's point of view, it worked out nicely as Vettel scored 0 from a potential 25.

Jenson and Lewis showed the Red Bull boys how to do it but you have to wonder if Jenson was ignoring the coded message to maintain track position and stop racing? Or was he in fact given a different message to Lewis?
Lewis' demeanour after the race would suggest that he was less than happy with what happened.

The fact that both McLarens were able to stick within a second of the Red Bulls would suggest that they've closed the gap and in fact have the faster car now.
If they can translate that into qualifying on the front row then the rest of the season is going to be a lot different.
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

I'm not sure if they're faster because the Red Bulls seem to get away in the corners but for sure in Canada they can do good (if they can maintain their straightline advantage).

As for Vettel, he's definitely aggressive and I enjoyed that move - not only did it bring back the excitement that we rarely see in F1 but also because the championship is much more balanced now. Seems like a mistake on his end, or perhaps he didn't have enough room and really had no choice but to go right? Because from Webber's point of view, I think he could've given him space but then again, it was really unexpected so I guess it was just one of those unfortunate incidents that happened way too fast. It was really sad to see Webber in the post-race press conference though!

As for Button-Hamilton, I think Button was definitely trying to take advantage of that situation because if I remember correctly, you could tell Hamilton was backing off since his laptimes had significantly dropped (maybe an entire second slower than that of Button) - but maybe Button wasn't told about conserving the fuel before making that move? Perhaps that's why he jolted out of the car instantly trying to talk to Lewis about it? I don't know, but it was really one hell of a race! And I can't wait till Canada and the World Cup!

Next month is going to be awesome!!!
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Hold on, let me catch my breath.



Nope, still don't have it.




*gulp*

That was good eh?
 
Re: 2010 Turkish GP Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

I have to say, all though I'm still not a fan of Button he has given me a couple of causes to smile so far this season. I think it was clear to all that the radio message from the Mclaren pit wall of "conserve fuel, both cars are the same" was about as clear as you could get to read "hold station, you're one - two, don't do anything silly".

I swear I even saw the Mclaren pit wall after the two cars had settled a bit after their initial battle saying "I told them to conserve fuel".

Fair play to Button for taking advantage of the situation and equally fair play to Hamilton for not loosing his temper and the plot and managing to pull off the re-take at turn one.

Great stuff. :thumbsup:
 
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