Turkish Grand Prix 2011: 1st Qualifying session – Formula One highlights (part 1)
Bettor.com welcomes you to our regular highlights package from the 2011 Formula One season. After an exciting yet dramatic ending to the Chinese Grand Prix, the motorsport-ing fraternity headed next to Turkey after an extended break of 3 weeks; were we in for some more surprises?
Turning our attention to Istanbul for round 4 of the championships, the first practice session on Friday was run under wet conditions and Fernando Alonso was fastest while Sebastian Vettel crashed his Red Bull coming out of Turn 8 and was set to go for the backup car. Jenson Button was fastest in the second practice, run under dry conditions while Vettel was fastest in the third, also dry.
It was expected to be a closely fought battle for pole position heading into qualifying between McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull. The track at Istanbul is arguably a challenging one, anti-clockwise in direction and consisting of significant elevation changes along with a good mix of slow and fast corners, the most challenging of them being the 'quad apex' Turn 8 section that requires full commitment both from the car and driver.
The weather forecast for the day was dry and sunny as the crowd expectantly awaited the start of the first qualifying session – Would it be a routine exercise for the top to moderate runners or were we in for some drama? Q1 should not be taken lightly; something that Red Bull’s Mark Webber found out the hard way as he failed to make it past the first hurdle in China but made a strong recovery to take the final step of the podium after starting 18th.
As seen in the three practice sessions, three drivers belonging to three different constructors had set the pace in the respective stint; this could either mean that the Istanbul park circuit had something for everyone to cash into or perhaps the top runners were similarly set up. However, the likes of Mercedes should not be discounted. After a consistent run in all 3 practice sessions, it was more than likely that Ross Brawn’s boys could spoil the party for the top runners – Who would be the biggest beneficiary, who would lose out?
Let’s find out as the highlights for the first practice session of the Turkish Grand Prix finally kicks off... Kamui Kobayashi was the first driver to head out in his Sauber.
Continued in part 2...
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