Turkish Grand Prix 2011: Raceday - Formula One Highlights (Part 2)
After much wait, all 21 engines simultaneously roared to life as the drivers set off on the warm-up lap in unison – Fasten your seatbelts!
The five red lights illuminated, and as they went out, the Turkish Grand Prix officially kicked off! Sebastian Vettel made an excellent start off the line and got himself cleanly away from the rest of the pack – Heading into turn 1 safely was vital for the
world champion. Elsewhere on track, Hamilton ran wide while trying to race with his teammate Jenson Button but left the door open for Fernando Alonso. The news at the end of the opening lap; Sebastian Vettel led Nico Rosberg!
As the race leader started Lap 2 of the race, he was already a full second clear of the Mercedes GP in 2nd place. Meanwhile Sergio Perez came into the pits for an unscheduled stop to replace a damaged front wing. Kamui Kobayashi was effectively up to 18th
place after starting the race at the rear end. A few cars ahead of the Japanese driver, Rubens Barrichello made his way past Nick Heidfeld’s Renault for 10th spot. Lewis Hamilton tried to get his MP4–26 past its twin but failed to get both front wheels ahead.
The start of Lap 3 effectively meant the introduction of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) to the race. Vitaly Petrov out-braked Michael Schumacher heading into turn 12 and managed to get alongside the German driver, but the latter turned in too early causing
a collision – Schumi was soon spotted limping into the pits with damage to his car and rejoined the race track classified last.
At the front of the pack, Sebastian Vettel had extended his lead to over two seconds of Nico Rosberg – After just 4 laps, the Red Bull looked firmly in control of the race. Was it safe to say that the real battle was effectively for 2nd place
and onwards? The Champion has yet to put a wheel wrong this term complemented by a reliable pit strategy.
Timo Glock on the other hand, had effectively retired from the race without even starting the first lap with some gearbox issues. It all went from bad to worse for Mercedes as Mark Webber used the DRS to good effect and cleanly passed the German driver for
2nd position.
To be continued in part 3...
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