Turkish Grand Prix 2011: Race-day - Formula One Highlights (Part 4)
Article continued from Part 3 of Turkish Grand Prix 2011: Race-day - Formula One Highlights
10 laps into the race, the pit lane was getting busier as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes crew needed to work quickly to get their respective drivers out as soon as possible. A lap later, the Red Bull's pit crew got up with a set of four Pirelli tyres as they
waited for either Sebastian Vettel or Mark Webber.
Turning our attention back on track, the race leader casually made his way past the pit lane turning, but his team-mate dived off the racing line and headed straight for the Red Bull's garage. The Australian made his way back on track with a fresh set of
soft compounds.
The race saw its first bit of controversy as replays suggested that Felipe Massa’s exit out of pit lane could possibly be deemed unsafe by the stewards. The Brazilian driver was evidently a touch impatient after Hamilton was set-to-go quicker by his pit
crew. Since the pit lane involves a strict maximum speed of 80 km/h while staying within the white line at all times, perhaps it’s safe to leave the racing on the race track only.
Race leader, Sebastian Vettel, finally made his way into the pits for a set of soft compound tyres and rejoined in second place. Meanwhile, Massa, apparently channelling his frustrations on track, set the fastest lap. However, Mark Webber soon improved on
it.
The Turkish Grand Prix headed to lap 13 of the total 57. There was a melee in the third sector esses as Petrov blocked Heidfeld and made contact with his team-mate. Thankfully for the Renault camp, both drivers were able to soldier on, for now. The incident
reminded one of the blast from the past at the same venue last year.
It was coincidentally, another battle between team-mates in the form of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. Both Red Bull cars were heading for yet another 1–2, but thanks to some internal competitiveness, both cars ended up cancelling each other out which
enabled Lewis Hamilton to go on and take the chequered flag.
In this case, while the stakes didn’t involve the race lead, the two drivers nearly took each other out leaving two open spots in the point-scoring top 10 positions. The question was, would Renault allow both or either driver to carry on till the next tyre
stop or would they be forced to make an unscheduled stop?
Article to be continued in Part 5 of Turkish Grand Prix 2011: Race-day - Formula One Highlights
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