Formula One world champion - Jenson Button Sets the Pace in Turkey
The current Formula One world champion, McLaren's Jenson Button, beat Red Bull's Mark Webber with the slightest of margins in Turkey during the practice sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix.
Button was in his element as he lapped at a time of 28.280 seconds, which was only 0.098 seconds faster than the Australian, while the other Red Bull driver, Sebastian Vettel, was 3rd.
Mark Webber, who is currently at the top of driver standings, was hampered by a suspected engine failure right at the end of the practice session.
Buttons’ teammate, the 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, was leading the lines in the early stages of the session, but could only manage fourth best time, while two time world champion Fernando Alonso was 5th.
Alonso completed the top five, who were separated by only half a second, which is an indication of how competitive the race on Sunday is going to be.
Jenson Button believes it will be a close race, but is of the opinion that he has a good chance of having a good day out this Sunday. He did say, however, that the Red Bull challenge will still be strong.
The 30-year old Button said: "Our car works well round here. There are a few small things I want to sort out, but I'm reasonably happy with the balance and both tyres are working well.
"But we are still trying to chase Red Bull, who are yet to show their hand here, so don't get too excited by our pace.
"It was a normal Friday and (it was) important to get as much information and learn about the car because you don't catch up one second over a couple of weeks.
"The Red Bulls are still the cars to beat and we've got to hope we can get everything together in qualifying.
"On Saturday we'll see Red Bull's true pace. We've got to hope for something better, let's hope we can challenge them, but it's going to be difficult."
Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher was pinned back this time by his teammate Nico Rosberg, who has been trailing the seven-time world champion in the last few races, and both finished sixth and seventh respectively.
The triple-apex Turn Eight was a cause of concern for a number of drivers, as most of them were not comfortable making the turn with ease during the two ninety minute free practice sessions.
The debris and dust on the track was also causing problems to the drivers, in the morning session especially, but as speeds increased in the afternoon practice, so too did the spin-offs.
Adrian Sutil from Force India was involved in a crash in the first practice session, but walked away unharmed. The car was not damaged to a great degree either, and he returned in the 2nd session to clock the 11th fastest time.
Ferrari's F1 driver, Felipe Massa, a 3-time winner in Turkey, also drifted off the track no less than 3 times while making a turn on the difficult corner.The third time it happened, it cost Massa, as it destroyed one of the softer option tyres he had been using in an effort to clock quicker times, and eventually had to settle for only 10th fastest.
Red Bull drivers Webber and Vettel faced problems over that particular part of the track. Both recorded times which were one second better then their morning efforts (1:28.378 and 1:28.590).
However, as the 2nd session was close to its final minutes, Webber's car came to a halt as he was on his way to exiting Turn Two, and the Australian freewheeled backwards going off the track, and smoke was seen coming out of the engine cover.
Red Bull, though, did not look too worried about the incident, and have said that the engine had outlived its lifespan.
"Mark's engine was right up at the end of its mileage," said team principal Christian Horner.
"I think it stopped about 50 kilometres short of its target miles, so it doesn't affect his programme."
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