2010 Turkish Grand Prix (May 28-30)

[RacingManiac]

They weren't that close on pace...and Kubica was not actively trying like Ham was with RBR, or Alonso was on Petrov....

[cmcpokey]

i wouldnt say it was the most entertaining race, but the moments of action were some of the better action sequences of the year. seeing vettel's terrible move was amusing, and if hammy and button had the fuel to keep deuling, that could have made for a spectacular finish to the race. i love the track in turkey for a lot of reasons, and this race showed one of the best reasons, there is enough diversity in it, it allows different cars to be fast in different areas and run similar lap times. this allowed the McL's to be competitive with the RBRs despite them being set up very differently.

[faksta]

They weren't that close on pace...and Kubica was not actively trying like Ham was with RBR, or Alonso was on Petrov....

Petrov has the fastest lap of the race after all... Damn, that puncture with only 4 laps to go was such an accident for me!

Vettel vs Webber collision is something I actually didn't expect at all. I could believe this could have happened in McLaren or Ferrari knowing that they have Hamilton and Alonso who are the most impulsive guys in today's field. Reminded me of Alesi and Heidfeld in Prost some years ago.

The race was good. Turkey was always a venue for stabile racing with little DNFs and action, but it was often entertaining nevertheless. I don't think modern F1 is a procession - you just don't need to expect overtaking on each lap - passes should remain notable, and not be just driving by ten times on each lap like on ovals - that is boring.

We'll see what happens in Montreal - IMO that is the second best track for F1 after Spa. I think the chance of seeing RBR versus McLaren there is possible again.

[RacingManiac]

Fastest lap table this season is a lottery I think....depends on where in the tire cycle you are and whether you are pushing....When people were behind the MBs they weren't running faster pace to "catch up" to the car. Rather just running the same pace and if anything Michael was a tiny bit faster and was pulling a gap sometimes on Rosberg. Petrov after the puncture switched to soft and at that point he was low fuel so he ought to go faster.

[clutch-monkey]

if i was managing Red Bull Racing, Vettel would be getting slapped around.. could have had a 1-2 win?

[whiteballz]

Only saw on replay from 1 angle, but it looked like there was room if he didnt try to get a better line for the next corner?

Risky move.

[Kitdy]

It appears as though there may be something foul afoot at Red Bull.

Let the conspiracy theories begin - and with potentially good reason.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

The way in which RBR are blaming Webber solely for the incident indicates to me he did not stick to the script they had arranged.

Now that he's ahead though, I wonder if the script will change. Either way I feel sorry for Webber, plainly he stuck to his line and from the angle the crash was viewed from it looked an awful lot like Vettel twitched right into him, and now he has a team that has placed him in a situation he might not wanted to have been in.

[fpv_gtho]

if i was managing Red Bull Racing, Vettel would be getting slapped around.. could have had a 1-2 win?

That would be the last thing they'd do, deservedly or undeservedly.

There were some suggestions Webber's race engineer was responsible for not relaying the proper message to Webber. From the teams perspective, Vettel was under pressure from Hamilton and to them it was still a 1-2 either way, and with Vettel infront and possibly able to gap Webber they felt it safer than being stuck behind Webber. Personally i think they couldve found a way to hold on for the next 18 laps.

[Kitdy]

An event like this could spoil the milk and Webber could be either ousted or leave of his own accord.

This incident reminded me of when Vettel smacked into Webber near the end of the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix.

At the time, ITV was doing the race (the Canadian channel TSN just picked up the British feed - and still does) and one of their pit reporters managed to talk to Webber and he said something like "f**king kids," which was pretty damn funny. The reporter then proceeded to thank Webber for his family friendly language.

I always found it funny that he eventually would team with the kid that cost him a shot at his first victory that day. Now this - he really had to bite his tongue at the press conference. It'd be nice to be a fly on the wall during the conversation Webber says they must have together.

[fpv_gtho]

The press conference of course he hasnt had the full debrief yet from the team. Horner or someone else might slip something in his ear between parc ferme and the PC, but it wont be significant other than maybe keep it professional.

As to whether this puts Webber out of Red Bull next year, it may but depending on how the debrief went it might be fine for now. People are going to start making their own assumptions though when the fans and other "experts" are blaming Vettel and the team are calling it 50-50, even Webber's fault (or his side of the garage) if your a certain Helmut Marko.

[S.O.S]

I like Vettel- he's a good kid. Will be a multi world champion before he is done. But the boy was to hasty in his attack, assuming webber would move aside and give up a chance at 3 in a row so easily. Webber is also very good and defending, yet with the move vettel put on him he did not go aggressive, more hold his line.

One thing i have noticed from webber, he is a wonderful front runner. He was extremely confident of keeping them behind him and taking another win. I don't buy the tyres were going off, i think he was very comfortable with his pace with maybe a little bit left.

Big story is this is a true shame for the team. They have gone from top 10 team, to genuine world championship contender.

[henk4]

Big story is this is a true shame for the team. They have gone from top 10 team, to genuine world championship contender.

and with that they have now also promoted themselves to an intrigue/controversy team....like all the top teams.

[Matra et Alpine]

Yeah, I guess Red Bull are now officially a top F1 team
Sadly unles RBR release all the telemetry and radio chatter we'll never know the truth.

It was noticable in the McLaren radio that when they were telling Lewis to save fuel that they made it clear that Jenson was on the same instructions

[fpv_gtho]

I like Vettel- he's a good kid. Will be a multi world champion before he is done. But the boy was to hasty in his attack, assuming webber would move aside and give up a chance at 3 in a row so easily. Webber is also very good and defending, yet with the move vettel put on him he did not go aggressive, more hold his line.

He may have been assuming Webber would leave more room from the teams direction though. The team seem to be suggesting they wanted Vettel ahead of Webber to protect against Hamilton and Button.

One thing i have noticed from webber, he is a wonderful front runner. He was extremely confident of keeping them behind him and taking another win.

I dont think that really means much though. Half the grid could do that with the right car. I think the only driver recently that has been hyped up and then exposed so to speak has been Kovalainen, who rarely had the McLaren working for him, even if only to get 2nd behind Hamilton. Piquet Jr as well fizzled, but those Renaults werent front runners either.

I don't buy the tyres were going off, i think he was very comfortable with his pace with maybe a little bit left.

I havent heard any issues about the tyres. He didnt go massively faster with the new tyres after the 2nd pitstop either. There was Horner's suggestion Webber was running less revs to conserve fuel and Vettel still had full revs when the manouvre happened.

I think though had Vettel qualified ahead and raced ahead, he wouldve been able to make more of a gap. The gap he was keeping behind suggested to me he was at the very least on Webber's pace.