McLaren vs Red Bull Racing Team after first three races of 2011 Formula 1 season
McLaren and Red Bull Racing Team have been on an even keel in terms of performance this year, as both of them have finished on the podium in each race.
Considering, only 3 races have taken place until now, McLaren has won just 1, while Red Bull has scored 2 victories in 3 races.
At the Australian Grand Prix, it was more of a one horse race, as Red Bull Racing Team’s, Sebastian Vettel, dominated the race weekend and scored a win comfortably.
However, Lewis Hamilton was the second fastest driver on the track during the qualifying session and before finishing in 2nd place at the race.
Sebastian’s teammate, Mark Webber, on the other hand, was unable to give a good performance, as compared to his teammate, as the Aussie finished in 5th place after starting from 3rd place on the grid. McLaren’s Jenson Button in 6th
place, who qualified in 4th place, followed him.
At the following race that took place in Malaysia, McLaren gained some ground and closed in on Red Bull’s pace, as Lewis Hamilton’s second fastest time of the qualifying session was now just 1 tenth of a second slower than Sebastian’s pole position taking
time.
Jenson Button was just 0.330 seconds slower, while Mark was just 0.309 seconds slower than the reigning world champion’s time during qualifying.
The race was a completely different story this time as compared to the Australian Grand Prix as Jenson Button finished in 2nd place behind Vettel’s Red Bull. Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton finished in 4th and 8th places respectively.
A week later, the Chinese Grand Prix took place and that was the race, which proved to be a “groundbreaker” for Red Bull.
Red Bull Racing Team’s Vettel took his third consecutive pole position once again and it seemed that he would win the race once again.
However, McLaren had something else in store for their rivals as this time, Jenson Button, and, Lewis Hamilton qualified in 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Mark on the other hand, started from 18th place on the grid, as
he failed to even make it to the Q2 session of the qualifying round.
Nevertheless, the Australian driver was the driver of the race for most, as he finished in 3rd place after a tremendous drive following his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, in 2nd place. Yes, this was the first time McLaren won a race in
2011 and finally proved that they are capable of defeating Red Bull this year.
However, it was not Jenson Button, it was Lewis Hamilton, who drove to glory, as he overtook Sebastian just a couple of laps before the final lap to take the chequered flag.
Jenson Button, on the other hand, finished in 4th place but his team’s pace was as good as it could be throughout the weekend.
As a result, Sebastian Vettel is now leading the drivers’ standings by 68 points. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in 2nd and 3rd places follow him, as they are just 21 and 30 points adrift respectively. Mark Webber, on the other hand, is in 4th
place 31 points behind the reigning world champion.
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