2010 FORMULA 1 TURKISH GRAND PRIX * Qualifying *
It is slowly becoming clear that the 2010 world championship will be decided between the two Red Bull Drivers.
Although this time around it seemed that Sebastian Vettel would take the pole, in the last sector of his
last qualifying lap, he locked one of the front tires going into turn 12, which from then on, he kept having
problems locking up the front wheels, and so by his own words, he was lucky to qualify in third.
Mark Webber took his third consecutive pole (seventh for the team), he is looking very strong for a possible
win tomorrow, beating an excellent challenge from Lewis Hamilton, who was able to turn very fast laps,
only to be beaten by the Australian when it counted.
The McLaren drivers are the only ones that seem to be capable of a challenge, it will very much depend on tire
wear and how each drivers handles the three apex corner turn 8. As seen by the qualifying and practice sessions,
the slightest mistake in this long and complicated turn 8, can have considerable effects on each driver's performance,
from a slight loss of time, to a spin, and subsequent tire damage, which in all probability will mean an additional
stop to replace whatever tire is damaged as a result.
Red Bull has found an edge in the aerodynamics of their car, creating additional down-force that has allowed
them on occasion, to go through turn 8 flat. while an obvious advantage, it may also become a two edge sword, since
at such speed, there will be no margin for error.
Ferrari seems to have lost competitiveness, Massa qualifying 8th and Alonso 12th not even making Q-3. Button
managed fourth, (after topping the time sheets on Friday's practice), and while he was trying to improve on
his last lap, Michel Schumaher's spin on turn 8 forced the world champion to slow down due to the ensuing
yellow flag due to Michael's spin.
Michael Schumacher edged teammate Nico Rosberg for fifth with Nico on sixth, the german team and drivers are
slowly improving and starting to look more solid, capable of better finishes, a Mercedes win may not be far.
As usual, Robert Kubica giving an excellent performance with the equipment he has, taking 7th spot ahead of
Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Maranello is struggling and they need to find a solution to whatever is slowing them.
Kubica's teammate finally qualifying in the first ten, Vitaly Petrov taking 9th spot, and Kamui Kobayashi in the
Sauber, taking the last spot of the top ten.
Tomorrow promises to be an interesting race due to turn eight, and its effect on tires. If Red Bull manages a couple
of good results, both drivers will start putting some distance in the points against their challengers. Lewis Hamilton
can not be ruled out as a winner tomorrow, he definitively needs one, if he wants to be anywhere near to launch
a bid for the 2010 championship. Both Ferrari drivers must place in the first 5 to continue having a shot at
the championship as well.
Pos Driver Nat Team Time Laps
1 Mark Webber AUS RBR-Renault 1:26.295 18
2 Lewis Hamilton GB McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.433 18
3 Sebastian Vettel GER RBR-Renault 1:26.760 18
4 Jenson Button GB McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.781 18
5 Michael Schumacher GER Mercedes GP 1:26.857 19
6 Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes GP 1:26.952 18
7 Robert Kubica POL Renault 1:27.039 19
8 Felipe Massa BRA Ferrari 1:27.082 18
9 Vitaly Petrov RUS Renault 1:27.430 21
10 Kamui Kobayashi JAP BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:28.122 17
11 Adrian Sutil GER Force India-Mercedes 1:27.525 18
12 Fernando Alonso ESP Ferrari 1:27.612 14
13 Pedro de la Rosa ESP BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:27.879 14
14 Sebastien Buemi ESP STR-Ferrari 1:28.273 15
15 Rubens Barrichello BRA Williams-Cosworth 1:28.392 14
16 Jaime Alguersuari ESP STR-Ferrari 1:28.540 16
17 Nico Hulkenberg GER Williams-Cosworth 1:28.841 15
18 Vitantonio Liuzzi ITA Force India-Mercedes 1:28.958 8
19 Jarno Trulli ITA Lotus-Cosworth 1:30.237 13
20 Heikki Kovalainen FIN Lotus-Cosworth 1:30.519 11
21 Timo Glock GER Virgin-Cosworth 1:30.744 9
22 Bruno Senna BRA HRT-Cosworth 1:31.266 9
23 Lucas di Grassi BRA Virgin-Cosworth 1:31.989 9
24 Karun Chandhok IND HRT-Cosworth 1:32.060 10
the 2010 season in images, thus far...
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