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McLaren dominates as Vettel crashes car
Source: Agencies |
May 7, 2011, Saturday
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SEBASTIAN Vettel was unharmed after crashing his Red Bull car during the rainy first practice for the Turkish Grand Prix yesterday.
Jenson Button made the most of improved weather conditions to post the fastest time in the second practice and his McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton was third quickest.
Button, the 2009 F1 champion, completed 26 laps and set a best time of 1 minute, 26.456 seconds, while Nico Rosberg in Mercedes clocked 1:26.521 and Hamilton 1:27.033. Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber completed the top five.
Vettel went way out on a right turn and his car slid left back across the track and into the crash barrier on the other side of the slippery Istanbul Park track.
The German driver began about midway through the session on intermediate tires just as the rain got harder, and he was undone on the reputed Turn 8, the longest in Formula One at 640 meters.
"There was some water on the exit," Vettel said on race radio. "There was nothing I could do."
Debris flew off the car and the wheels were skewed. The F1 champion waited for track officials to reach him, and his mangled car was towed away. Team members cleared some debris.
Vettel leads the overall standings by 21 points from Britain's Lewis Hamilton after winning two of the opening three races.
Drivers struggled throughout the first practice as teeming rain and cool conditions made it hard to take risks.
Shortly before Vettel's mishap, seven-time champion Schumacher had to take emergency action himself not to crash, expertly regaining control of his Mercedes after also spinning.
Vettel's Australian teammate Webber ended the morning 11th quickest.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was fastest in a session full of spins and spray with a best lap of one minute 38.670 seconds, although the times were almost meaningless at a cold and gusty circuit.
Spain's double world champion was followed on the timesheets by the Mercedes pairing of Rosberg, 1.402 slower, and Schumacher ahead of Renault's Nick Heidfeld and Russian Vitaly Petrov.
Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa, a three times winner in Turkey, was seventh.
McLaren propped up the rear, with last year's Turkish GP winner Hamilton 24th and failing to set a timed lap while teammate Button did just four as the team opted to concentrate on practising their starts.
When 2008 world champion Hamilton did go out late in the session, the Briton then suffered a sticking clutch and ground to a halt with mechanics sprinting to help.
A little piece of history was made at the slower end of the Istanbul pitlane, with India having two Formula One drivers setting a timed lap together for the first time at a grand prix weekend.
Karun Chandhok, the Team Lotus reserve, was given time in the car instead of Finland's Heikki Kovalainen while HRT's regular racer Narain Karthikeyan was also out on track.
Chandhok, who made his race debut with HRT last year before Karthikeyan made his comeback this season, had taken part only briefly in the first practice in Australia in March when he was first out of the pitlane and promptly crashed.
Karthikeyan did not take part in that practice session due to problems with his car.
Jenson Button made the most of improved weather conditions to post the fastest time in the second practice and his McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton was third quickest.
Button, the 2009 F1 champion, completed 26 laps and set a best time of 1 minute, 26.456 seconds, while Nico Rosberg in Mercedes clocked 1:26.521 and Hamilton 1:27.033. Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber completed the top five.
Vettel went way out on a right turn and his car slid left back across the track and into the crash barrier on the other side of the slippery Istanbul Park track.
The German driver began about midway through the session on intermediate tires just as the rain got harder, and he was undone on the reputed Turn 8, the longest in Formula One at 640 meters.
"There was some water on the exit," Vettel said on race radio. "There was nothing I could do."
Debris flew off the car and the wheels were skewed. The F1 champion waited for track officials to reach him, and his mangled car was towed away. Team members cleared some debris.
Vettel leads the overall standings by 21 points from Britain's Lewis Hamilton after winning two of the opening three races.
Drivers struggled throughout the first practice as teeming rain and cool conditions made it hard to take risks.
Shortly before Vettel's mishap, seven-time champion Schumacher had to take emergency action himself not to crash, expertly regaining control of his Mercedes after also spinning.
Vettel's Australian teammate Webber ended the morning 11th quickest.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was fastest in a session full of spins and spray with a best lap of one minute 38.670 seconds, although the times were almost meaningless at a cold and gusty circuit.
Spain's double world champion was followed on the timesheets by the Mercedes pairing of Rosberg, 1.402 slower, and Schumacher ahead of Renault's Nick Heidfeld and Russian Vitaly Petrov.
Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa, a three times winner in Turkey, was seventh.
McLaren propped up the rear, with last year's Turkish GP winner Hamilton 24th and failing to set a timed lap while teammate Button did just four as the team opted to concentrate on practising their starts.
When 2008 world champion Hamilton did go out late in the session, the Briton then suffered a sticking clutch and ground to a halt with mechanics sprinting to help.
A little piece of history was made at the slower end of the Istanbul pitlane, with India having two Formula One drivers setting a timed lap together for the first time at a grand prix weekend.
Karun Chandhok, the Team Lotus reserve, was given time in the car instead of Finland's Heikki Kovalainen while HRT's regular racer Narain Karthikeyan was also out on track.
Chandhok, who made his race debut with HRT last year before Karthikeyan made his comeback this season, had taken part only briefly in the first practice in Australia in March when he was first out of the pitlane and promptly crashed.
Karthikeyan did not take part in that practice session due to problems with his car.
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