Webber claims third consecutive pole position (Turkish Grand Prix qualifying)

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No-one could beat Mark Webber in qualifying once again

Mark Webber continued Red Bull’s run of dominance in qualifying with his third consecutive pole position at Istanbul.

But Lewis Hamilton prevented a Red Bull lock-out of the front row.

Last year’s front row occupants Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button share the second row.

Q1

Sebastian Vettel signalled his intention in Q1 with a lap almost half a second faster than his team mate’s. The two Red Bulls ended the session on top with Jenson Button third in the McLaren.

As usual the three new teams failed to progress beyond the first stage of qualifying. Jarno Trulli was the quickest of the six cars, beating team mate Heikki Kovalainen by three tenths of a second.

Vitantonio Liuzzi was the only driver from the established teams to fail to reach Q2. Unlike team mate Adrian Sutil, who missed almost all of final practice, Liuzzi was running Force India’s F-duct on his car.

But he wasn’t able to improve his time on his second effort and, not for the first time in 2010, his qualifying session was over in the first 20 minutes.

Q2

A tight second part of qualifying brought a surprise elimination – Fernando Alonso.

Just three tenths of a second covered Button in fourth to Rosberg in 12th as the drivers began their final laps. Alonso was already in the drop zone and a mistake at turn 12 on his penultimate lap left followed by a failure to improve on his final effort left him out of Q3.

Once again it was the two Red Bull cars at the top of the times, with Hamilton in close attendance. Vitaly Petrov made it through to Q3 along with team mate Kubica.

Q3

Webber went fastest on the drivers’ first runs, edging Hamilton by three hundredths of a second.

Behind them their team mates were even closer – Vettel just two hundredths faster than Button.

Webber found even more time on his final run and although Hamilton improved as well, Webber held on to pole position.

Vettel, however, made a mistake at the first corner and instantly spoiled his lap. That gave an opportunity for Button to get ahead but he wasn’t able to capitalise.

Button had dropped back and let Schumacher past before they started their final laps. But that backfired when Schumacher spun off at turn eight and Button had to back off because of the yellow flags.

Schumacher stayed fifth and will share the third row with team mate Nico Rosberg.

Full qualifying result

Pos.#DriverCarQ1

Q2

Q3
16Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1’27.5001’26.8181’26.295
22Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1’27.6671’27.2771’26.433
35Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’27.0671’26.7291’26.760
41Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’27.5551’27.0131’26.781
53Michael SchumacherMercedes1’27.7561’27.4381’26.857
64Nico RosbergMercedes1’27.6491’27.1411’26.952
711Robert KubicaRenault1’27.7661’27.4261’27.039
87Felipe MassaFerrari1’27.9931’27.2001’27.082
912Vitaly PetrovRenault1’27.6201’27.3871’27.430
1023Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1’28.1581’27.4341’28.122
1114Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’27.9511’27.525
128Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’27.8571’27.612
1322Pedro de la RosaSauber-Ferrari1’28.1471’27.879
1416Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1’28.5341’28.273
159Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1’28.3361’28.392
1617Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1’28.4601’28.540
1710Nico HulkenbergWilliams-Cosworth1’28.2271’28.841
1815Vitantonio LiuzziForce India-Mercedes1’28.958
1918Jarno TrulliLotus-Cosworth1’30.237
2019Heikki KovalainenLotus-Cosworth1’30.519
2124Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1’30.744
2221Bruno SennaHRT-Cosworth1’31.266
2325Lucas di GrassiVirgin-Cosworth1’31.989
2420Karun ChandhokHRT-Cosworth1’32.060

2010 Turkish Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    131 comments on “Webber claims third consecutive pole position (Turkish Grand Prix qualifying)”

    1. Absolutely brilliant job by Lewis – to be so close to the Red Bulls was magnificent – S2 was his only undoing but that couldn’t be helped. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

      1. agree completely with S huges

        Hamilton did a mega job today and even better news is someone closed the big gap to Redbull to only few tenths now. Races will not be boring now and also hopefully competitive qualifyings from now on.

      2. also thank webber to stop the talking about vettel im sick of people who think vet is the best and specially of the people ruling out web from the champ AND WHAT A ABOUT THAT CHASSIS EXCUSE VETTEL AND SCHUMI great work ham always better than BUT and the ferraris are the disappointment i love ferrari but poor qualy

    2. Keith may want to alter the Q3 times so they’re not sub-minute.

      1. Good session from Mclaren!

        Looking forward to see Mark vs Lewis and Seb sneak by the two of them to win!

      2. Haha, I remember someone made a mistake typing lap times in the prediction game. He’d be happy with that now.

      3. Sorry, using a new system this weekend, evidently not completely foolproof yet!

        1. Don’t be sorry mate. Im merely here as quality control.

    3. Good job, Lewis. Does anyone think he can jump Mark at the start?

      1. He certainly can and will too

      2. Bigbadderboom
        29th May 2010, 14:54

        Great job Lewis, I think it’s more than likely Lewis may be able to capitalise on his performance in Quali. I’d have a small wager on lewis leading after the first lap.

        1. Webber must be the toughest driver to overtake at the start. He doesn’t get off the line well, but he defends like a madman.

          Good job from Hamilton today – he has been driving well all year. But seriously, what has happen with Webber – he has out-qualified Vettel by half a second *again*. That man is certainly on a mission.

          I picked Webber/Vettel/Hamilton for the top 3 and it came through – just not in the order I expected :)

        2. Other observations: the pole time this year was 2 seconds faster than last year – which is amazing.

          Four of the past 5 Turkish Grand Prix have been won from pole. Vettel broke the run last year when he slipped at turn nine allowing button to overtake him (a great moment of the season).

          Last year both Webber and Rubens started on the dirty side of the track – and they both lost places at the start (Webber regained over Trulli later in the first lap). So there is a significant effect of starting in an even numbered position – which could hamper Hamilton tomorrow.

          It also may seem that Mercedes have overtaken Ferrari based on the results today. Alonso made yet another mistake, but the team must be disappointed with Massa running behind the 3 other top teams and a Renault (this was supposed to be his race, where he re-affirms himself and his position at the team on a track that he excels at).

          1. Don’t forget that a lot of the time difference is down to the fact they were running race fuel in qualifying last year.

      3. I think he will have to do it right at the first corner because the advantage red bull have in turn 8 means he wont be able to get close enough to them on the straight. Excellent quali for him though :D

    4. There is no way that i can see Hamilton stuffing his car down the inside of turn 1. If WEB does not get in front of HAM before turn in WEB is in grave danger..

      1. webber has been preventing that move this year by swinging right across as soon as he can and closing off that option by taking the inside line and forcing the other driver onto the outside. He did it in Spain, in Monaco and we all remember how he did it to Rubens last season

    5. “not* stuffing”

    6. Thrilled for four reasons:

      1) Webber destroyed Vettel
      2) Red Bull did not lock out the first row
      3) Petrov got within 0.4 of a second to Kubica
      4) Alonso will be chasing up the field tomorrow

      Furthermore, congratulations to Renault for out-qualifying Ferrari, and Kubica being extremely close to Mercedes ;).

      1. 1), 2) and 4) all happened in Monaco quali as well :)

      2. Red Bull did not lock out front row. Only the 3rd time out of 7 races has that happened!!

        The other 2 instances being Bahrain GP (Webber made a mistake) and Malaysian GP (It was a wet qualifying session). Today (Vettel made a mistake).

        Even the 2004 Ferrari wasn’t so dominant in qualifying!!

        1. What about Monaco?

      3. Yeah I think Petrov is really starting to improve. It’s starting to look like he just needed a few races to find his feet.

    7. Well done Lewis, hoping for a mad Banzai dash to the 1st corner with a Brit in the lead.

      Interesting comments from Vettel in the drivers conference afterwards regarding his break issues..

    8. Great stuff for Red Bull. Hopefully MW can beat LH in the drag to the first corner & lead the race from Go to Whoa.

    9. Vettel having another brake problem? hmm yes i think reliability will bite again.

    10. Please Seb, take this win with Mandy!!

      1. Jhonnie Siggie
        30th May 2010, 0:16

        Good luck with that yo! I think Mandy a bit shabby….

    11. Funny how last year most RBR fans were bored of Brawn by this point and now they’re loving it. Now Merc, Ferrari and Mclaren must be sick and everyone else just slightly disheartened :P

      Smashing job today by Webber. I don’t like to read too much into things but though Seb would be a bit closer to Webber this season.

      Good job also by Hamilton, HRT esp Bruno and Petrov.

      Lotus quali battle is 4-3 to Trulli so maybe Trulli needs a little more praise even if he is looking grumpy and is the quasli master anyway ;)

      Massa put in a good job today I think. I would have liked a little more but he’s struggled with harder tyres a lot so nice to see he was challenging Alonso.
      Mistake from Alonso, a pity but he’s a fighter so some points would be nice. I’m starting to feel sorry for the guy for the amount of stick he’s getting lately though! I’m a bit confused by the mistakes as in 06 against Schumi he was so close to flawless it was unnerving but a few mistakes aren’t the end of the world.

      1. I thought that too – Brundle’s outburst against Fernando came from nowhere! I think he’s overdriving to make up for various mistakes made by himself and the team this year – it’s not like Alonso at all.

        1. Yeah I remember last year (I think at Singapore) Fernando was saying how he may not always be the quickest or pull out the fastest lap but he is always consistant. This year he has been far from consistant, or you could argue, consistantly making mistakes.

          Should be fun to see him make his way up the field though.

          1. I agree. This year Fernando has not displayed the mental composure that has helped him win in 2005 & 06. I think the pressure of driving for Ferrari, as well as making up for some lost opportunities is getting to him. He needs to calm down and avoid unnecessary risks.

            1. Jhonnie Siggie
              30th May 2010, 0:32

              He became aware of his mortality after being pitted against Hamilton. Poor thing can never be the same again

        2. Brundle’s outburst was a surprise, the way he said it made me chuckle though even if I thought it was harsh. I’m a lot more disappointed with some articles and fans who have called Alonso “the fake champion” etc.

          I think if Alonso relaxed or did whatever he needs to do to be more conmfortable and not overdrive then he’ll get in a better situation. He’s still showing his worth by his recoveries but his mistakes are really taking much needed points from his title campaign. It is unlike Fernando right now but I’m sure he can get back to his usual ways before long. I’d lvoe the points for him but at least he is being entertaining

          1. Maybe he’s trying to be too different from Schumacher and wants to be like “Gilles” so that the Ferrari fans will truly love him.

          2. yes, the outburst was a little bit harsh. Sounded like he had been saving it up for a while. I honestly think that fernando is just trying too hard at the moment as is just making lots of silly mistakes as a result.

        3. Well done to Senna.

          Beat his team-mate in qualifying yet again (by 0.8sec), and finished ahead of a Virgin car on merit too. The BBC seemed very harsh on him today!

          1. yes they did seem a bit harsh on young Bruno. I had to laugh at DC “explain yourself with your head in turn 8″ ” I was taking a nap”
            Well maybe not direct quotes :)

      2. Regarding your comment about thinking Vettel would be a bit closer to Webber this season. I think with them being on equal points after the first 6 races it can’t get much closer:)Vettel had the better pace in the first part of the season but also had some problems while Webber’s had the upper hand the past few races. There’s still a long way to go and it looks like it could be a nice close fight:)

        1. Yeah it should be a close fight. I didn’t phrase that very well at all did I? :P I meant I thought Vettel would be ahead of Mark

          1. Jhonnie Siggie
            30th May 2010, 0:44

            A close fight between the Bulls is perfect for the likes of HAM, ALO & KUB. It might in fact be their only shot of overhauling them and taking the championship late in the season. If RB ever had a paring like MSC and BAR, MSC would have been leading by miles. This is the unfortunate thing when you have 2 drivers, neither of which can consistently beat the other. You might win the constructor’s title but it gives the opposition a sniff at the driver’s title

    12. Good job by webber again. Hamilton drove very well for second, but clean side of the track more important here than in Monaco or Barcelona due to side the cars run and also short distance to turn one. Vettel is under pressure now, alot of pressure, interesting stuff.

    13. LH is on the dirtier side, so he could be busy defending against mad Vettel or be knocked out by Vettel if he is unlucky.

      I can see lots of lock ups and cars going off-road tomorrow. Would the front leaders make such mistakes?

    14. Very surprised at Fernando’s comments about him being on the absolute limit even without the mistake. In that case looks like Massa’s done a great job but Ferrari have really messed it up on such a historic and important weekend for them.

      Great to see that McLaren seem to have sussed their qualifying and they could be a major headache for Red Bull in the race. Mark’s going to have to have a super first lap tomorrow to stave off Hamilton.

      1. I didn’t know about Alonso’s comments so thanks for that Dan. I can feel happier with Felipe now!
        Ferrari seem to slip up in quali taking gambles, Mal would be the last example. Hopefully a good race strategy, pace and overtaking will see our drivers get some good points!

        1. Indeed! I’ve already planned how the race is going to go tomorrow, ending with Alonso first and Massa second. ;)

          1. I’d love Massa first but because it is Ferrari I can accept that result esp on the 800th GP :P

        2. Michael Schumacher made Ferrari great in recent years,after the time they spent in the doldrums,let us hope they are not slipping back too much.

    15. What ? no posts about Michael intentionally throwing car off to maintain his position!

      1. Looked like a mistake to me. From the one replay I saw I did wonder if he could have made it out of the run-off but haven’t had chance to look at it closely.

        1. i am sure if you look hard enough you will see exactly what you want!

      2. Hah, I was waiting for that. Somehow I don’t think turn 8 is where you’d do it… :)

        1. From TV I think that Schumacher has damaged his tyres, in the case that may be they are very damaged, can he change his tyres?

          1. He will use the tyres he set his fastest lap of regardless of whether he went off on them.

            He set that time on his first run so will use the other set of tyres from Q3

      3. LOL. Well this time Schumi was just plain stupid, as he parked the car way off track.

        1. How’s that stupid? Parking the car close to the track would seem considerably ill-advised.

          1. Schumi made a mistake by missing the first apex then he was just a passenger after that. He could have back off & abort that lap, hope he didn’t damage his car under aero.

            1. He could have backed off or was he passenger?

              To me it looked like he kept pushing when he should have given up.

            2. That wasn’t a mistake. I’ve watched 3 or 4 onboard shots of him through turn 8 during the weekend and he misses the first, second and third apexes purposely, and only connects up with the kerb on fourth. He simply just bottomed out.

      4. I reckon it was an honest mistake. I guess even “the best” slip up sometimes. Turn 8 is a beast of a corner. no one would be stupid enough to purposely lose control and spin on a 260km/h corner.

    16. Alonso has messed up my prediction..tow times in a row now..

      Kobayashi should also be praised for his good effort going into q3.

      disappointed with karun getting comprehensively beaten by bruno..come on karun!!!

      1. Alonso does not look well to me.His face in the last few races shows extreme tiredness.

    17. So happy for Webber. He totally deserves to shine!!!
      LOL @ Vettel rolling eyes at the press conference. He’s such a sore loser!

      Watch out for Hamilton Webber at the first corner!

    18. And big LOL @ Alonso
      I bet Ferrari is thinking huh, maybe we should have kept Iceman

      1. Iceman or Icecream man?

        Alonso is making some mistakes, but is still trying. I loved Kimi, but he was over it and should not come back.

        New stars and heros come along, look what Webber and Button are doing in good cars!

        1. I think if it had been Kimi in that Ferrari, getting the results Alonso is getting, he would have got a whole lot more criticism than what Alonso is getting.

      2. @J. Im a big fan of Kimi, but he was getting his behind kicked by Massa in 2008 and uptil Hungary 2009.

        Now… Massa > Kimi and

        Alonso > Massa

        Do the math. I really dont think Ferrari is regretting their decision to get Alonso. Other than Kubica, Alonso was the best driver they could get.

        1. I think you’re forgetting Massa’s bash to the head Todfod.

        2. Theory: it is impossible to have a comment thread on the internet about motor racing without somebody eventually mentioning Kimi

    19. Interesting stat: Except for last year, every driver to finish 1st and 2nd in Turkey, has started from pole and 3rd.

      Things could be looking better for Vettel now.

      1. Yeah, I wish LH lets Vettel go so he could scrap with his mate. LH has no other competition judging from his Qs and drive. It should be a guaranteed 3rd place for him.

    20. Vettel is such a sore loser! Look at him looking away in the picture and being so miserable overall.

      1. About 1000 pictures are taking of the drivers every day. You can’t expect them to look all happy and satisfied all the time. Of course he is disappointed, if he wasn’t competitive enough to be disappointed he wouldn’t be in F1. It has absolutely nothing to do with being a sore loser.

        Hamilton will take it tomorrow, he’ll kill Webber on the first lap!

        1. You are right. He has to be dissappointed hey.

        2. hehehehe. Really, being happy every time is very very hard. J, what were u expecting? There are cameras in almost all positions. How could Vettel say “X” to all? heheheheh

      2. A great champion must be dissapointed after he failed to deliver the maximum!
        Should he be happy? Surely not!

      3. Because top F1 drivers are supposed to be always satisfied with 3rd place…

      4. The Nude Wizard
        29th May 2010, 21:32

        While i think Vettel has every right to be dissapointed, show it and say so, there’s also a right and a wrong way to do things and i think his performance at the post quali press conference once muttering comments under his breath in reply to Webber and later rolling his eyes after Mark had spoke i found to be very childish, unprofessional and unsporting. Even if his intent was none of the above, it’s all about appearances and he had to know the world was watching it wasn’t a matter of an unfortunate camera snap shot.

        1. christopheraser
          30th May 2010, 3:57

          I agree, before this season started I was sure that Vettel would beat Webber. I am glad that Webber has found something and taken it back to Seb. After watching Vettel in the press conference I hope Webber pounds him the rest of this season.

          You didn’t see Webber acting like a petulant child last year when he was regularly beaten by Vettel, he was just happy to be in a team team that was performing and Vettel should consider himself lucky too. Doesn’t take much for a team to drop off the radar.

    21. Big tick for Petrov, the circuit might suit him but he didn’t crack either. Alonso and Schumacher cracked but don’t run them down for running off, they were just over the edge. Thats what I meant about Massa earlier he might have had 3 run offs in Q3 but he found his edge in a Ferrari that didn’t have it. When Alonso talks afterwards about his performance and the car he never b/s’s, the best thing about Alonso.
      Webber had Vettel right up to Q3 despite the scorecard times, but Vettel was more than close in Q3 despite the mistakes / car rear end collapsing. I wonder now if they have to work on it in parc ferme??????

    22. Great stuff by Webber. Knew he was a good driver… but I must say I didn’t think he was this good.

      I do expect something from Lewis in the race, as he has been very strong on race pace. That goes extra on the hard compound, on wich they will race the longest!
      The first stint will be crucial, if Webber can’t open a big gap he will be vunerable for Lewis!

    23. I can totally understand his frustration…
      To be honest, we see more of the car letting him down than him letting the car (or the team) down…

      Oh c’mon Mandy!

    24. oh by the way,

      does any one know if RBR is allowed to fix the rear end of Seb’s car?

      (darn it, reliability)

    25. i bet guys,,tommorow will be a boring race….iam watching for felipe and michael..

    26. Hey Keith, why aren’t you calling out Alonso for being slower than Massa?

      1. I don’t review every single drivers’ performance in the qualifying round-up. Check the post-race driver form notes for that.

        Having said that I have put up a short piece noting Ferrari’s general lack of pace in the session.

    27. I would like to know what would be the penalization if Schumacher decides to change the tyres. Because I think that it have been damaged. Thanks in advance

      1. You need to start the race on the tyres you set your fastest time on (in Q3 that is)… That’s not the set he destroyed! So no problems for Schumi there!

        1. phew! lucky lucky!

        2. @ Solid

          Isn’t the rule that you will start the race with the tyres that you finish your qualifying? Correct me if I am wrong.

          1. Nope. Ross Brawn confirmed this in his interview after qualy!

    28. RedBull have been caught. .14 seconds in qualifying is nothing in the current rules and finally we may see RBR properly pushed in a race. McLaren has showed good race pace, and we know that RBR is basically borderline on brakes. I’m sure they don’t want to be pushed, not in this heat. This is third race in a row where RBR have not showed dominant speed all weekend, so I don’t know why people continue to debate whether they will be caught. Even Vettels .7s advantage over Hamilton in Spain translated into getting jumped, and, if not for a mechanical, getting beaten. Not wishful thinking, but a clear-eyed look at the record.

    29. I’m more worried about Button, his race starts have been rather poor and he tends to lose about two or three positions during the start. If he ends up behind Schumacher or Rosberg, there’s no way he’ll get past them. He needs to be giving Vettel some pressure at least during the race.

      1. that would be a great stat to have actually, the +/- position of every driver after lap 1 from starting position, so we can see clearly who starts well and who doesn’t

    30. Vettel will move ahead of Hamilton at the start. He’s on the clean side of the track. Hamilton may have to defend his place from Schumacher, who will already have got passed Button who is also on the same dirty side of the track as Hamilton is.

      1. Hamilton has the F-duct

      2. About a couple of races a go, RBR would have jumped and done anything they liked to LH and JB. But I don’t think it is that easy now. We will see tomorrow @1:03pm GMT.

    31. I’m gutted for Alonso and that the F10 wasn’t that quick today but I am slightly happy by this from Dyer
      “Felipe did a great job, managing to get into Q3 and getting every last possible fraction of performance out of the car” …I can manage half a smile then

      1. HounslowBusGarage
        29th May 2010, 20:36

        Crikey Steph! That quote from Dyer should really worry you. Massa got the absolute max from the car and he was still that far from the front row?

    32. There is a chance tomorrow! You’re looking for Lewis to keep a level head, and stay ahead of Vettel and also hope for a probable Webber reliability issue. Lewis for the win to reignite his title chances… I hope. Wouldn’t bet on it though, if lewis wants the win he’s going to try and go around the outside at T8 or something similarly crazy ;)

    33. i think tomorrow’s race is going to be a cracker…..
      surprised to see Red Bull reliability even on a track that is not that harsh on its breaks……
      Webber
      Lewis/Vettel if Breaks are sorted
      Schumacher

      1. Will Schumacher start the race on the tyres he qualify as he have flat-spotted them badly.
        & there seems to be some under aero damage of his car?

        1. Aero Damage? where did you hear this? Even if there was, I’m sure the team is allowed to inspect the car & replace any broken parts, just like what Red Bull will be doing to Vettel’s Anti Roll Bar today….

          1. The car slide at high speed on the gravel so I thought there may be some damage on the under side of the car.

    34. Of all the qualifying sessions to miss! Hopefully it will be a great race, with Hamilton ahead of Mark but keeping close and things interesting!

    35. i think hamilton will have to take it easy on his tyres

      1. Couldn’t agree more, he had some bad race with tyres in 07 & 08 when he changed 3 times that year.

      2. I think that the RedBull’s being harder on their tyres will be more of a factor during the race.

        But yes, Lewis has had problems with tyres during previous races at this circuit. No complaints from anyone about tyres so far.

        1. Actually just about everyone was complaining that the softs basically could do only one fast lap.

    36. Great qualifying session from Webber once again he raised his game. Alonso’s mistake may cost him this race I really don’t expect that from him. Petrov once again is the best rookie.

      The question that is in mind is that will Schumacher starts the race where he is qualified? Thats’ the only mistake he made in his return in F1.First his car does look to have some under aero damage which may needs some repairing & hence force him to start the race from the back. Even if he starts the race where he is now the tyres will be a issue as we can clearly see that he have flat-spotted them.He did a great qualifying lap it will be a shame not to convert that into a strong race result tomorrow.

      1. He won’t be using that set of tyres, he will be using the set he did his fastest time on, which are fine as he didn’t spin the car on that run

    37. FI really did a bad job 17th and 11th place. Ok Sutil did well compared with his problem this weekend. But Luizzi he should be in top 10 with the duct I am sure next year he is replaced if they don’t do it soon.

    38. Firstly…
      Did Vettel have a real braking problem, or did he just flat-spot his tyres badly enough with the first lockup that he made heavy braking difficult from then on?
      Secondly…
      Ok, so the RB6 was untouchable in Spain. But I personally thought it was just two great laps from Webber in Monaco and Istanbul, and it’s starting to irritate me that some feel it’s just a walkup front row for either RB driver. Even the journalist conducting the post-quali interview subtly made it sound as though Lewis was driving an underperforming car that he dragged into second, and would maybe have had pole with a better car. The McLaren is FAST around this track! They lose out in sector two, particularly turn 8, and make it back up with the long straight down to sector 3, and both teams are even through slow speed corners. I get the feeling Webber is also starting to be irked by this, and not quite getting the credit he deserves for uncorking some brilliant flying laps.

      1. “Did Vettel have a real braking problem,”

        Vettel had a broken roll bar.

        1. Horner also said that Vettel has not flat-spotted any of his tyres.

          Roll bar will be replaced in the morning.

    39. 1/ One of the redbulls i anticipate to have a DNF
      2/ Lewis is going to get excited and wear his tires out.
      3/ I reckon schumacher had a good chance at a podium.
      4/ I have a feeling something bad will happen at the start in the front.

    40. Maybe more towards the end. :)

    41. I think Schumacher will be looking to take both McLaren’s into the first corner. Both McLaren’s are on the dirty side of the starting grid.

    42. I think button will lose a spot at the start probably to schumacher. i also think theres a possibility vettel will get beside hamilton, who will get desperate to fend him off and theyll collide

    43. HounslowBusGarage
      29th May 2010, 20:39

      What? Can’t hear you. SPEAK UP!

      1. DAMN NOISY BUSES, YOU HAVE TO YELL TO BE HEARD ABOVE THEM! hahahahaha :-)

    44. How about big ups for Kobayashi getting his Sauber to p10!? And how about Liuzzi making a case for being replaced before the season’s out? Bravo Webber, bravo to both Renault drivers and Renault development, Bravo to McLaren improving. Thumbs down for Ferrari and Williams.

      All in all, it feels like it could be a good one tomorrow.

      1. HounslowBusGarage
        29th May 2010, 22:28

        Well yes, but I’m equally impressed by Petrov being less than half a second away from his team leader.
        There are lots of possibilities here -Petrov might be learning quickly, Kubica might have had a problem, Renault mnight have made significant improvements etc etc. Who cares? We might have five horse race from here on.

    45. Kamui of Toyota times is back.I think that japanese guy can do an excellent job yet, all he needs to take is his inspiration from 2009. In 2009, he was driving as Massa in Sauber ‘crazy’ times ( what happened, Massa? ), and I was really appreciating it. However, he hasn’t managed good positions, this year. Good luck for Kamui.

    46. Totally agree Nude Wizard, Vettel really had the sads and was very unprofessional in his reactions during post quali press conference. I would not expect him to be happy but be fair and show some maturity and sportsmanship. His personality has certainly changed since Webber has been nailing the results- he’s not the first driver to ever react that way but it certainly doesn’t make him any more fans or friends.

      1. John Cousins
        30th May 2010, 8:05

        Perhaps Vettel’s reliability problems are due to a lack of mechanical sypathy. Maybe he is too rough on the car??? Vettel’s behavior was disgraceful. For a paid professional to behave like that in a press conference is unaccepatble. When Mark is beaten by Seb, he is always mature, polite and behaves in a sportsman-like manner. Pull your head out of your own ass you stuck up little German. (I am not a paid professional, therefore I may say this!)

        1. Well spoken JC. I have read elsewhere that the wunderkind broke his anti-roll bar by rough driving earlier in Q3. Looks like the pressure is really getting to him- he has been reading too much of the pro Vettel media spin from earlier this year which had him winning everything this year.
          Frustration on the first lap may lead to collision with LH which would leave a 3 way race between MW JB and MS who just also happen to be drivers who can think and drive at the same time..

    47. As much as I am sure Alonso is rueing his mistake, I am looking forward to another awesome drive from him as he charges up the grid and salvages whatever points he can from such a lowly starting position. Whilst he has certainly been making it hard for himself this season, there is no doubt that he has provided plenty of action for us to cheer. I for one, hope he makes Brundle eat his words ! And I am absolutely stoked about Webber’s pole, fingers crossed that he can make it three on the trot.

    48. It is about time to rename the Red Bull team to..Red Bullies…
      Every week end it looks like no matter how the rest manage to improve, they have that special something to demoralize everybody else.
      Outstanding!

    49. Electrolite
      30th May 2010, 9:27

      I felt the commentary was very shabby today.

      “I’m begininng to get cynical of Koboyashi’s skill…”

      HE’S ONLY FINISHED ONE RACE!! Also he’s got the Sauber into Q3 for the third time and tends to better his much more experienced team mate.

      “I can’t help but think Mercedes have turned to Schumacher’s likings”

      For the 4325792857585708923872th time Rosberg and BRawn has said they benefit from the same things and have a similiar style! Rosberg was quickest in Q2 at monaco and was competent throughout Turkey qualifying except for getting a lap together the very end – which Schumacher struggled to do as well.

      And then when the final few minutes happened – Hamilton vs Red Bulls, and Vettel’s screw up – no hype at all! Itwas expected, admittedly, but still…

      Rant over ;)

    50. teeb123456789
      30th May 2010, 10:45

      Its so ironic how Alonso and Sutil posted quicker times in Q2 than Kobayashi in Q3

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