Turkish Grand Prix 2011: Raceday - Formula One Highlights (Part 13)
Mark Webber made his 4th pit stop of the day. Paul di Resta had come to a stop on the side of the track and retired from the race. Meanwhile, Vitaly Petrov moved off the racing line and dived into the pits. The Russian driver was effectively in
6th position before making his pit stop.
Soon after, Fernando Alonso made his fourth stop of the day for a new set of soft tyres. The Ferrari opted for a set of hard compound tyres previously and gave the impression that the Spaniard was going for a 3 pit stop strategy – 10 laps on the soft compounds
seemed to be a safe bet. With Vettel set to take the option tyre next, could Alonso make things interesting in the end?
Coming back to the action from the race track, Nico Rosberg used the Drag Reduction System (DRS) to his advantage to overtake Felipe Massa’s Ferrari on the back front stretch. However, the Brazilian driver’s reluctance to hold his own soon became apparent
as he dived into the pits shortly after. He was racing for 8th position before making his stop and rejoined the track in 12th position. Lewis Hamilton and Nick Heidfeld hit the pits too on the same lap.
Race leader Sebastian Vettel finally entered the pits to make his final pit stop of the day. Replays suggested a problem on the right rear wheel during his most recent pit stop – something that was bound to be taken care of thanks to the tyre change. The
second Red Bull seemed to enter the party as Mark Webber, after a somewhat quiet race, set the fastest time for Lap 48 and was closing in on Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton was all over the back of his teammate Jenson Button. Hamilton was evidently making full use of the extra pit stop and the fresher rubber as Button was on a 3 pit stop strategy. Using the DRS on the back front straight, he was soon
able to take fourth place from the former Brawn GP driver.
Mark Webber was now less than a second behind Fernando Alonso and was slowly getting into a position to challenge for track position – Were we in for some late drama? A Red Bull 1 – 2, anyone?
Article to be continued in Part 14 of Turkish Grand Prix 2011: Raceday - Formula One Highlights
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