2011 Spanish Grand Prix – Sunday Race – Vettel back to winning ways

Sebastian Vettel was back to winning ways at the Spanish Grand Prix as he took the Chequered Flag ahead of Lewis Hamilton, after holding off the resurgent McLaren for the last dozen laps of the race. Jenson Button came in third, ahead of pole-sitter Mark Webber in fourth and Fernando Alonso in fifth.

Michael Schumacher was sixth, ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg in seventh and Nick Heidfeld, who started the race from the pit lane, finishing eighth with the two Saubers of Sergio Perez & Kamui Kobayashi picking up the last points in ninth and tenth respectively.

The race sparked to life in the closing stages as Vettel was affected by KERS problems and Hamilton never more than a second or two behind him, it was a ding-dong battle between those two for the victory, which left everybody else trailing in their wake. It was such a dominant race pace for the leaders as all drivers from Fernando Alonso downwards in fifth place were lapped by Vettel & Hamilton. Ultimately, Vettel managed to hold off the challenge from Hamilton and romp to his fourth victory of the season.

The start of the race didn’t go as per plan for Red Bull as pole-sitter Mark Webber lost out on the lead as early as into the first corner and in trying to hold off Sebastian Vettel, he allowed Fernando Alonso to sneak up on the inside and take the lead. It was a tremendous start from Alonso, it has to be said, as he grabbed the lead from the Red Bulls and held them at bay for the best part of the initial laps. There were plenty of ups and downs across the grid as well, with Jenson Button dropping down, Paul Di Resta & Michael Schumacher moving up and Kamui Kobayashi suffering a puncture and an early pit stop as a result.

2011 Spanish Grand Prix – Saturday Qualifying – It’s the ‘other’ Red Bull on pole

Red Bull continued their er…um…red-hot streak in Qualifying shootouts this year but it was the other car on pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. For a change, Mark Webber clinched pole position for tomorrow’s race as KERS problems meant Sebastian Vettel could only manage P2. McLaren continued to show that they had the second best car with Lewis Hamilton in P3.

The drive of the day arguably was from Fernando Alonso who wrung out a P4-position out of his Ferrari at his home grand prix. Jenson Button is P5 with Vitaly Petrov P6. Nico Rosberg leads Felipe Massa in P7 & P8 as Pastor Maldonado put in Williams’ best quali showing with P9 with Michael Schumacher rounding off the top ten.

LIVE Telecast of the Gran Premio de España Santander or the Spanish Grand Prix, is on ESPN (note the channel change) from 1715 HRS, Sunday 22nd May

2011 Turkish Grand Prix – Sunday Race – Vettel makes it three out of four

Sebastian Vettel made it 3 wins out of four as he won the 2011 Turkish Grand Prix, leading from pole to flag. It was a 1-2 finish for Red Bull as Mark Webber  finished second ahead of the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso in third.

 

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished fourth ahead of the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg in fifth & Jenson Button in sixth. The two Renaults of Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov finished seventh and eighth, with Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Buemi in ninth and Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi taking the final point in tenth place.

The race was incident free but one which saw a fair bit of overtaking, thanks in no small part to the DRS (drag reduction system) which made some of the overtaking manoeuvres seem quite easy! Tyre wear also played a part in the results as most of the front-runners opted for a 4-stop strategy – only Jenson Button finishing with just the 3 stops.

Vettel made a stonking start to the race but those starting on the dirty side of the track had not the greatest of starts – including Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton & Jenson Button. Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso benefited from their better start and slotted behind Vettel as the initial laps were completed. Once the DRS was activated, there were overtaking moments galore as almost everyone in the top fifteen took out at least one overtaking move over their rivals!

2011 Turkish Grand Prix – Saturday Qualifying – Vettel, once again

Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull continued their dominance at the head of the grid as he & teammate Mark Webber locked out the first row for the 2011 Turkish Grand Prix. Mercedes showed a sign of revival as Nico Rosberg was P3, ahead of the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton in P4, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in P5 and Jenson Button in P6.

Renault’s Vitaly Petrov was P7, ahead of the second Mercedes of Michael Schumacher and the second Renault of Nick Heidfeld. Felipe Massa did not run in Q3 and will start the race from 10th position on the grid.

Q1 ended with seven drivers missing the cut – the two Lotuses of Heikki Kovalainen & Jarno Trulli, the two Hispanias of Narain Karthikeyan & Tonio Liuzzi, the two Virgins of Jerome D’Ambrosio & Timo Glock and the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi, who did not set a time due to Engine problem.

Q2 saw the two Williams of Rubens Barrichello & Pastor Maldonado, the two Force Indias of Adrian Sutil & Paul Di Resta, the two Toro Rossos of Sebastien Buemi & Jaime Algersuari and the Sauber of Sergio Perez drop out of contention.

The Race starts tomorrow at 5:30 PM IST, LIVE telecast on Star Sports.