Who was the best driver of the Turkish Grand Prix weekend?

2011 Turkish Grand Prix

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Start, Istanbul, 2011

Who was the most impressive driver throughout the Turkish Grand Prix weekend?

See below for my pick of the best drivers in the Turkish Grand Prix.

Review each driver’s race weekend in detail below and vote for who you thought was the most impressive driver.

For your consideration

Here are some of the drivers who impressed me during the Turkish Grand Prix weekend:

Sebastian Vettel – The smash in practice didn’t come close to putting him off his stride. Another emphatic pole position and win.

Fernando Alonso – Finally able to capitalise on the strong race pace of the Ferrari.

Nico Rosberg – Powerless to defend in the opening laps, he fought back later on. Qualifying and finished far ahead of his team mate.

Sebastien Buemi – Not the first time he’s clearly out-performed Jaime Alguersuari this year.

Kamui Kobayashi – An impressive trek through the field from the back row of the grid. Could well have been higher than tenth without his puncture.

Compare all the drivers

Review what happened to each driver over the race weekend and compare their performances with their team mates using the links below:

Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
McLaren: Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari: Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher
Renault: Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov
Williams: Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado
Force India: Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta
Sauber: Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez
Toro Rosso: Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari
Lotus: Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen
HRT: Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi
Virgin: Timo Glock and Jerome d’Ambrosio

Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver impressed you the most throughout the Grand Prix weekend? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the Turkish Grand Prix weekend?

  • Jerome d'Ambrosio (0%)
  • Timo Glock (0%)
  • Vitantonio Liuzzi (0%)
  • Narain Karthikeyan (0%)
  • Jarno Trulli (0%)
  • Heikki Kovalainen (0%)
  • Jaime Alguersuari (0%)
  • Sebastien Buemi (2%)
  • Sergio Perez (0%)
  • Kamui Kobayashi (26%)
  • Paul di Resta (0%)
  • Adrian Sutil (0%)
  • Pastor Maldonado (0%)
  • Rubens Barrichello (0%)
  • Vitaly Petrov (0%)
  • Nick Heidfeld (0%)
  • Nico Rosberg (3%)
  • Michael Schumacher (0%)
  • Felipe Massa (1%)
  • Fernando Alonso (38%)
  • Jenson Button (1%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (3%)
  • Mark Webber (3%)
  • Sebastian Vettel (22%)

Total Voters: 466

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Chinese Grand Prix result

Mark Webber was voted the best driver of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend:

1. Mark Webber – 47.8%
2. Lewis Hamilton – 42.4%
3. Felipe Massa – 2.5%

Rate the Race: Turkish Grand Prix

Don’t forget to cast your vote in the ‘rate the race’ poll as well:

2011 Turkish Grand Prix

    Browse all 2011 Turkish Grand Prix articles

    Author information

    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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    160 comments on “Who was the best driver of the Turkish Grand Prix weekend?”

    1. Too many drivers to choose from but in then end I felt Fernando did the best job, especially when he was challenging Webber for second.

      However full credit to Seb. V for dominating the race and also to Nico, Seb. B and Kamui for scoring some good points.

      1. Alonso, he kept a perfect pace.

        1. It has to be Alonso.

          However much I like him, I fear Kobayashi is getting votes because he is Kobayashi.

          If another midfield runner started last and finished 10th I doubt it would even be mentioned.

          1. Not sure that last comment is true – but there is definitely Kobayashi fever.

            He’s earned it though. I personally don’t rate him as particularly ‘good’ at overtaking [and by this, I mean he tends to force cars out of the way rather than drive clean past them] but there is no doubt that he is exciting – and has the balls to actually try overtakes!

            1. A glory race for Alonso back to the old times anlos fighting with the bulls

            2. I would say actually that Kobayashi does drive clean past his rivals, his overtakes rarely involve contact.

            3. remember senna?

            4. I can’t believe the BBC stole your “vote for the best driver” segment. :)

            5. @Sw6569,
              Kobayashi drives clean past the cars he is going past, you can’t blame him for the action of the other driver who refuses to yield. I guess you will also blame Petrov for breaking Schumacher’s front wing.
              Overtaking is not a drag race, and youl will always find varying styles depending on the situation. Wheel to wheel contact is part of the art especially in corners like turn 1, and all drivers will use that style when the situation calls for it.
              kobayashi’s move on Button in his race for Toyota was neat. But his move on a Torro Rosso in Japan was great round the outside, but the other car refusing to accept defeat, made it look untidy.

              There is no such thing as Kobayashi fever. For once F1 fans have began to show appreciation for a Japanese driver but for some people the usual stereotype cant be removed from their thought process.

          2. I wasn’t convinced until now. A midfield runner started last and scored? That is actually a pretty good recommendation. Kobayashi is doing some solid work this year. Put that man in a Ferrari right now. He can’t do worse than one of the guys in red car now. Wait, he in fact did better.

            1. I totally agree. Last race webber makes up 15 places and he is a genius. Then kobayashi makes up 13 places in a car at least a second a lap slower than the redbull and he is overrated? Give this man a front running car and then let’s see how he gets on.

            2. @Zecks, I agree.

            3. @Zecks + DaveW, couldn’t agree more.

    2. Vettel NEEDS to stop winning from pole…

      1. I don’t entirely agree with this.

        Vettel is showing an incredible skill set and developed maturity to be consistently getting pole positions and winning the races dominantly. I praised Jenson Button in the same way in 2009 – but I appreciate its difficult to respect someone who is very much making every victory look easy. In fact, Vettel is making F1 look almost boring at the moment – which is ridiculous given how great the races have been!

        However, I do agree that it would be nice to see Vettel not winning from pole. A win from around 6th or lower on the grid would do a lot to hush those who criticise him. Unfortunately, he’s a rather good qualifier so it doesn’t look like its going to happen any time soon.

        1. Can we even tell who the good overtaking drivers are any more now that DRS has made it so easy to pass?

          1. There was some good action away from the DRS zone too. Button’s pass round the outside of 14 on Rosberg was classic. There was some good late breaking into turn one as well.

            Plus even with the DRS, and the huge differences in speed we could see, some people were really messy into 12…Petrov, Schumacher etc. So I think it’s still possible to spot the good, bad and the ugly.

          2. the tyres are making more difference than the DRS

          3. I think that the easy passes we saw were more to do with tyre strategy than anything else. Drivers on similar tyre strategies generally had some difficulty in overtaking in the DRS zone.

          4. Yes…because there are some drivers or driver with the name Lewis Hamilton who especially in China performed most of his overtakes in areas which were not DRS zones.

            1. hmmmm…..Makes you wonder how he didn’t get to be driver of the race, that particular time?

              Most folk in the paddock seem to be happy with the DRS, stating that it’s mostly the tyres that produce the most overtaking.

              http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91298

            2. No one gets points for being driver of the race. Winning that status is entirely subjective. Like Hamilton wiining driver of the race at a spannish convention. He won the race though, he’d rather have that than your approval.

          5. Of course, Button, Hamilton, Webber (At Sepang on Massa), Alonso…sort of. There’s probably more examples that I can’t be bothered to remember.

            Vettel makes light work of backmarkers too haha.

          6. Vettel has overtaken in every Grand Prix this year.

            It’s not his fault he keeps getting on pole. Well you know what I mean…

            1. Really, who did he overtake for position in Turkey?

            2. Ino (@f1givesyouwings)
              10th May 2011, 10:34

              He overtook Jenson I think to re-take the lead. Jenson was on old tyres though.

              He also overtook Jenson in Australia (or Malaysia? confused now…) which was crucial for the win because if he had stayed behind him for another lap Lewis would have jumped him at the pits.

          7. I’d respond to Keith’s claim by saying that while the DRS allows the cars to get closer to each other, the driver’s skill in car placement, out-braking and natural flair are all still required in order to overtake.

            However, i’d say that what takes more skill is stopping someone from coming past with the current rules. Again, car placement is crucial. I was impressed with Vettel’s defending in China.

            Turkey didn’t really allow it to show up because the DRS zone was too large – but the passing and re-passing of each other by Hamilton and Button was surely proof that we still see great overtaking and battles despite the DRS?

            1. It just needs fine tuning, then im sure well see more action with cars squirming in the braking zone.

          8. Tell us how you really feel about DRS Keith I’m getting this underlying feeling you may not been in favour of it.

            1. Adrian Morse
              10th May 2011, 3:12

              I think on numerous occasions Keith had let it be known that he dislikes DRS, because it is unfair

          9. I think we can still see who are the good overtakers. Its the ones doing things differently.

            But I agree that the DRS seems pretty superfluous during the races, what with the tyres and KERS.

            1. The overtake straight around the outside in the DRS zone required little skill (the one where the tyre were of similar age), very disappointing.
              I think they should invert DRS use, i.e everywhere expect where the DRS zones have been so far, you might them get a proper fighting overtakes where you wouldn’t normally. The traditional overtakes could still happen at points it was previously possible (the ends of longer straights), a battle of skill without DRS. That would be better.

          10. Is there any way to tally the passes made in the DRS zone and those made elsewhere during the race?

          11. I agree DRS has made it very easy to overtake a slower car, but doesn’t it give us what we all wanted, that genuinely fast cars race each other instead of getting stuck behind slower cars and unable to overtake due to running in dirty air and bad tracks?

            Think of it as a steping stone. They can remove DRS once the aerodynamic challenge of running behind other cars is neutralized by progressive rule changes. Which is already happening.

          12. Well… I’m not sure he’s a ‘good overtaking driver’ or not, but Massa’s dive on Schumacher in the dying stages was one hell of a masterpiece.

          13. The ones who dont wait for the DRS zone.

      2. Has Webber, Alonso or Hamilton ever won after starting 6th or lower?

        Vettel rarely starts in a low qualifying position but when he did, Brazil 2009, he finished 4th after starting 16th.

        1. My point wasn’t referring to Webber or indeed any specific drivers [nor would most people consider Webber in the same league as Hamilton or Alonso]. Neither was it using 6th as a definitive reference point.

          The use of a figurative 6th position was to illustrate that Vettel has only won races in cars that have been dominant – i.e. ones that have deserved to win. The exception was his first victory – but given Bourdais’s qualifying in that race, on the day and for that specific race track the Torro Rosso was the best car.

          Hamilton and Alonso have won in inferior cars. Vettel hasn’t. I’m sure he will – i’m no hater – but he hasn’t yet. Thus, and rightly, people are still sceptical. I would be lying if I said I thought he couldn’t win in an inferior car – because i’m sure he is good enough to – but, factually, he hasn’t yet. I’m not criticising him, rather hoping to see more.

          Then again, as I mentioned in my above post, the mental maturity of Vettel must be praised. To go out and keep winning is in itself a sign of a class winner.

          1. The only times Alonso and Hamilton won in an inferior car was when their rivals were hitting trouble. You can’t beat the physics, if you have the best package, you get on pole and win, if you don’t – you start lower and expect the guys in front to mess up. And if the guy on pole doesn’t mess up – you get these kind of messages on the forum – that he only wins from pole, that he has a superior car blah, blah, blah…

            1. Alonso won the European race in 07 when he started 2 but had to fight massa the Whole race.Malaysia 07 was the same when he fought both the Ferrari’s.japan 08 started 4th finished 1st.Europe 06 started 6th and then won.germany started 3rd,won.bahrain 06 started 4th,won.australia 06 started 3rd,won.japan 06 started 5th,won.NEED ANY MORE PROOF……

          2. I agree with you there. Vettel really is just absolutely on top of it. A bit of a shame for not having a fight for the win, but the rest of the action is certainly worth the effort.

        2. Alonso won the 2005 European GP after starting 6th (and Singapore 2008 from 15th but that doesn’t count).
          Vettel doesn’t deserve his victories, he only wins because no one else is faster.

          1. He only wins because no one else is faster.

            Doesn’t that land you in first, and is the point of a race?

            1. I was being sarcastic…

            2. Bueno :P

          2. I had to laugh really hard at this.

        3. In the 2006 Hungarian GP Alonso started 15th (due to a 2 second penalty), drove a truly awesome race, got the first position early on and should have won easily, but DNF’d due to a bad job at the last pitstop. Too bad, it would have been one of the greatest wins in F1 history.

          1. And who started just one place above him in 14th? Jenson Button. And it was one of the greatest wins in F1 history.

        4. Alonso Nurburgring 2005, starting from 6th. And, correct me if Im wrong, Alonso is the driver who has gained the highest number of positions ever in a GP, from 24th to 6th, and that in a track like Montecarlo, last year

          1. In Monaco he gained so many places by using a different strategy. Although must admit he did pull some great moves against HRT, Virgin and Lotus on a track where even slow cars are “painful” to overtake..

          2. HounslowBusGarage
            10th May 2011, 14:27

            Not quite, 24th to 6th is 17 places.
            In the 1983 US Grand Prix West at Long Beach, John Watson and Niki Lauda started 22nd and 23rd on the grid and finished 1st and 2nd; 21 places made.

            1. BUT still to gain 17 places at monaco is AMAZING.I remember Michael also did the same from 22nd and finished 5th,which is 16 places

            2. Wouh! Amazing. Thx for the info

          3. Alonso didn’t really overtake though. He simply benefited from the two tyre rule.

        5. while not a direct response to your query, i loved Barrichello’s maiden victory in Hockenheim. 18th to 1st. Sure it wasn’t as good as Watson and Lauda, but it was thrilling nonetheless.

      3. There are odds of 33/1 that he takes pole at every race this year….. I have used some of my winnings from getting the top 3 right this weekend to put a nice little £30 on it…..

    3. Has to be, Alonso.

    4. I say Alonso, he really took it to the Red Bulls during the race. I was also impressed with Kobayashi, Vettel and Buemi.

    5. Vettel is a great driver, no doubt. He’s yet to prove that he can win a race without leading from the first lap. He won all his GP in his career by leading from the first lap.

      Driver of the race : Alonso.

      1. are you sure, every win from pole?
        hmm, interesting

        1. Only three of Vettel’s wins were not from pole.
          Abu Dhabi 2009: Inherited lead after Hamilton’s retirement.
          Malaysia 2010: Took the lead at turn 1 after Webber didn’t fight very hard.
          Brazil 2010: Beat Hulkenberg to the first corner.

          1. Blimey… the kid’s got talent to be able to put the car so far ahead in qualifying but I knew he had to prove himself as a good overtaker / earner, I just didn’t know it was that bad.

          2. So that means that vettel has ALL of his victories from the Front Row.WOW.Good thing he is a Brillant Qualifier.Ad what was that about him being in a certian LEGEND’S league.But it was a v.gud race.Alonso all the way,bcoz of Ferrari’s comeback.I personally can’t wait for CANADA with pirelli bring the SUPERSOFT tyres.

          3. So he won 77% of his races from pole. That’s pretty close to what Senna managed and i can’t remember he was criticised for that.

            1. But senna also won from fighting his way through the field when he didn’t have a fastest car.He didn’t win all his races from the FRONT ROW.Don’t get me wrong S.V is a very talented racer but everyone(expect S.V fan’s)would love to see him win a race from lower position’s.

            2. Senna won 70% from pole. That’s quite a lot – it was 44% for Prost or Schumacher for example. Yet no one would dare to argue the same way as with Vettel here.

              Also don’t get me wrong, i’m not comparing him with Senna and i also would like to see him win from lower positions. It just strikes me as odd that some people always want to discount him by pointing out his pole-win ratio.

          4. This is very interesting stuff. I want to see another team pressure RB/SV even more now.

      2. he scored 10 poles last year
        he won 5 races, 3 from pole, if you discount hulkenberg’s pole in brazil, it’s 4
        yup, perhaps vettel need to try winning more races not from pole

        1. As long as he is in pole, doesn’t need to overtake.

          1. BUT isn’t F1 about OVERTAKING.Without it,it’s just some car’s with Logo’s going around and around the circuit’s.

            1. No, it’s not. You don’t win the world championchip by overtaking the most other drivers, you win it by… Winning races. Pretty much exactly what Vettel does.

            2. Yes, sometimes you overtake on the track, sometimes in the wind tunnel, or at the CAD terminal, sometimes in the pits, sometimes you do it on Saturday. It’s all F1 and it’s all good.

          2. When his not on pole he doesn’t win and when he lost the lead in the first lap he doesn’t win either.

            the 3 times he won without being on pole he lead the race on the first lap. Vettel never win a race without leading the first lap.

            1. THe FIRST part is TRUE.Don’t know about the LAST line.UNTIL NOW he has to be on the FRONT ROW to WIN or he don’t.I did love to see what happens when RBR don’t have a fast car or what will happen when NEWEY leave’s.

            2. Alonso won his championships from DNF’s.

              whats worse? only winning from pole? or cruising in a bullet proof car waiting for DNF?

            3. when he’s not*

            4. I better change my username ;)

            5. This discussion about Vettel only winning from Pole is so silly.
              It seems you have been watching F1 races for only 2 or 3 years…
              F1 is the same since, at least, Senna/Prost times…

            6. That is mainly because he has been on the front row nearly every time he has had a car capable of winning. When he has that his statistics will of cause look “bad” in the sense that he hasn’t won many races not from the front row, but what it shows really is that he is just a maniac in qualifying and that his car 2010 and 2011 has been better in qualifying then in the race, unlike the Ferrari this year which is nearly on par with the Red Bull’s in the race but far far off in qualifying.

            7. Ino (@f1givesyouwings)
              10th May 2011, 10:40

              The point is that Vettel gets the most of his car during quali. Other drivers don’t as often, so they end up further down the grid with a car that deserves to be closer to the front. The few times that Vettel has messed up quali or had a first lap incident (e.g. brazil ’09, Silverstone ’10) he’s made up loads of places.

              And he was pretty handy in the not-very-fast Toro Rosso, scoring points regularly.

        2. vettel need to try winning more races not from pole

          You should be a team principal.

          “Hey Seb, I think you should Qualify badly today, you need to stop winning from pole”

          1. Yeah, maybe have a look at the back side of the grid and do some nice fresh tyre running in the race like Mark did in China.

            1. That was entertaining yes, but still got less points.

              For our entertainment, Vettel should qualify badly and score a podium. For doing the best job, he should continue taking pole then win.

    6. Alonso for me.

      Vettel was great and it was a good win. He dominated the weekend – but honestly, I think he was performing to his cars level.

      Alonso meanwhile outperformed his car.

      Therefore Alonso first and Vettel a close second.

      1. I disagree. He may have the best car, but I think he’s then outperforming it as well. The confidence in which he throws it into an apex in qualifying these days is amazing, downforce or no downforce

      2. How can you possibly know that?

    7. The New Pope
      9th May 2011, 18:05

      Clearly its Kamui.

      1. I disagree, he ended around where he should have, given the fact every set of tyres he used had never touched the tarmac before, he was always expected to move up the field dramatically.

        1. Do we really think that the new sets of softs are that significant. I can’t see it myself. They are going through one intense lap in Quali, then cooling down on the in lap and straight off the car.

          Even with an extra heat cycle I think that a ‘brand new’ set of softs, opposed to a set that had done a clean lap in quali, would be worth less than a second in lap time for one lap maybe two in the race. I haven’t got any facts to back this up, but that is just the impression I get.

          Plus the Mclaren’s both chose to go out again in Q3 in Turkey when they would have known they were nowhere near beating Vettel’s time. Also Hamilton and Whitmarsh said the gain isn’t that significant, although they were at the time being asked if another run in Q3 had wasted the tyres for the race, which clearly would have affected their statements.

      2. I voted Kobayashi because while his car is clearly faster than the cars around him at the start, his job was nowhere near as easy as Webber’s was in China. And he still did it.

        But all due respect to Alonso for performing when it mattered, ie. in qualifying and the race; to Vettel for pretty much wringing the potential out of his car; and to Rosberg for performing well.

      3. If I could, I’d call it a tie between Alonso and Kobayashi, but right now I’ll give it to the latter.

        While some might draw parallels to Webber in China, the Sauber is nowhere near as superior to the rest of the field as the Red Bull. The Japanese driver was only a puncture away from being firmly within the top 10 and it’s disappointing that much of his charge up the field wasn’t captured on the video feed.

        It was also refreshing to see how upbeat he was on Saturday despite the situation he was stuck in. Rather than mope, sulk and point fingers, he was smiling and looking forward to the battle in Sunday’s race, not something that can be said for all the other drivers. His positive fighting spirit is a refreshing change!

        Honorable mention to Buemi for quietly making it into the points despite a lackluster showing in qualifying, further cementing his position against the Ricciardo effect.

    8. Alonso.

    9. Alonso for sure…And yes Keith I completely agree, Even though DRS has improved over taking, but the question remains, Is it fun anymore? Do we really need DRS for over taking…

      1. Without it there would be none. So I’d rather have it, than have to watch the truli-train go around and around and around…

        1. And a lot of the overtakes in the DRS zone were lined up before the activation zone was even reached, due to the traction from different tyre wears

      2. I really would like to see a race without DRS in order to determine once and for all how much of it is the tyres etc
        I think overtakes with the DRS still can be fun but the the activation zone needs to be shorter than it was in Turkey – that seemed a bit easy

        1. Monaco? DRS will be useless if it’s used at all, and the nature of the track means you can’t just drive around a car on used tires like it’s a traffic cone. I predict many tears and a feast of bodywork trophies for corner workers.

    10. Other than his sluggish start Alonso was perfect this weekend and got the maximum out of the car and then some. Driver of the weekend for sure.

      1. Alonso fought a fine battle with Webber after the overtake, and (previsibly) lost it. Both drivers were on hards, but they seemed to work better for RBR than for Ferrari (or maybe they were used??), when both were on softs Alonso had better pace than Webber.
        I was expecting a diferent move, like slipstreaming after the pass without putting up a fight until the last lap, where Alonso might have been able to overtake Webber using the Force… err the DRS, without giving him a chance to get it back.

      2. If he’d have kept second I’d agree. A bit more on the strategy side and he may have managed it.

        1. How could you possibly solve that with strategy? What would you have changed? Webber had a new set for the last stint, Ferrari didn’t.

    11. Has Vettel won this “best driver of the weekend” poll this season? First race it was Petrov, after that Heidfeld, then Webber, and I am sure its gonna be Alonso or Kobayashi!
      What does this guy have to do to win this poll? Never mind, as long as he is getting the poles and wins.

      My vote goes to Vettel for the ease with which he defeated Webber and rest of the field. There was one chink in his armor that was exposed last weekend, that he couldn’t make a less-pitstop strategy work. And he corrected even that this weekend. Talk about Perfection!

      1. Have to agree. Didn’t put a foot wrong and dominated. NOt sure what else he could have done.

        1. It’s not that Vettel doesn’t deserve the wins. He does. But it’s just too boring.
          Suppose Vettel had DNF’d early in the race, the battle between Alonso and Webber would have been for the win, therefore much more exciting.

          I have nothing against Seb, but I wouln’t like to have him (or anybody else) win a mathematically sure WDC by midseason.

      2. Well having the best equipment and just winning from pole doesn’t help him. Similarly to last season or two seasons ago, if one team can simply dominate, you make your expectations appropriately. I expect Vettel to win from pole so I don’t find his results impressive.

        I’m also not impressed with ease – like you mentioned before. It almost makes it feel like a lot of guys could hop in that seat and do just as well. I thought about voting for him, being only slightly off the record lap time – quite impressive.

        But I was stunned with Alonso this weekend. For a car that hasn’t been that impressive this year, I thought he was significantly more impressive. I mentioned before though that I didn’t see practice times so maybe it wasn’t that surprising.

        I get the Kobayashi love though. It’s hard not to when Webber got it last race.

    12. Alonsoooooooooooooooooooo
      it has to be said :D

    13. Fernondo Alondo, as Legard would say.

    14. Hard to pick one.

      Vettel came back from no Saturday running but he would have had some set-up info from Webber. Good pole and good drive as usual, but it all seemed a bit too easy.

      Alonso had a good solid drive, only 10s behind Vettel, yet I can’t help feel his podium was assured by Hamilton’s mistake and the McLarens then fighting each other.

      Rosberg didn’t impress me in the race.

      Buemi and Kobayashi…I know I don’t have to pick just from your list but no other candidates spring to mind! I’ll give it to Buemi, Koba did a good job but that was some smart racing from the Swiss.

      1. FRIDAY running

        1. Haha, yes, you’re right.

      2. LOL, I am still pretty much uncertain whom to vote for myself.

    15. Put Vettel in the Ferrari, he would not have been so close as Alonso was imo. Likewise, put Alonso in the Red Bull, and I reckon he would have been a very comfortable winner

    16. Not the first time he’s clearly out-performed Jaime Alguersuari this year.

      Who still thinks Alguer should stay and Buemi should go?

        1. Is that because you want Buemi to be promoted, or because STR should hold onto their lesser performing driver?

          1. Can I be smug and say I never thought that :P just kidding. I think it’s close between the two but Buemi has shown he should be the one to hang onto the STR drive.

          2. I still am not sure who should stay,becoz both of them have their OFF day’s.BUT this is for sure that Daniel will be in STR next season.

    17. Alonso and Vettel had strangely similar weekends by being marred with set backs in practice but then getting the maximum when it mattered. I voted Alonso though because his troubles were due to unreliability whereas Vettel really messed up unnecessairly in free practice.

    18. Just going against the grain I voted Rubens, because while he may not have ended up with a desirable result, every time the world feed went to him on track, I felt like he was driving a much more dominant race than hes done all season thus far.

      And this season is starting to feel just a bit like 1992, no? Just a bit. 3 out of 4 races so far for Vettel, and second in the only one he didnt lose. Statistics would have Vettel as champion, as I dont think any other driver has done such a feat without winning the WDC.

    19. How can you say vettel was the best driver of the weekend. He totalled it during a silly run in the wet and missed all the Friday dry running. Yes he may have driven great on Sunday (in a strong car, but he wasn’t the best driver of the whole weekend (which is the point of the poll)

      1. I pray to God you didn’t vote for the guy who qualified 18th three weeks ago.

      2. That was part of the reason I voted for Vettel. Every driver makes a mistake once in a while. How often does Vettel wall it?

        To bounce back and be so dominant shows talent.

    20. Sebastian Vettel. Ok, he made that silly mistake on Friday, but he dominated both Saturday and Sunday. The thing that struck me most was his race. He managed to save his tyres better than anyone else, even if he didn’t drive on Friday.

    21. I still cant believe people haven`t sussed Vettel`s pace.

    22. Alonso, easy one this race

    23. Best driver of the weekend overall has to be…*gulp*…Alonso

      His performance was outstanding in the race. He was opportunistic in the first few laps, and his overall pace allowed him to bring the fight to Webber. After having troubles in practice, he bounced back with impressive determination and calm. He showed the kind of mental strength that I think was lacking in his performances last year (and arguably cost him the 2010 title).

      I may loathe/detest/abhor/despise Alonso, but I have to begrudgingly admit that he was the most impressive driver of the weekend. Touche, Fernando…

      1. I couldn’t put it better. It doesn’t matter how much I despise the sportsman called Fernando Alonso, he put an extremely solid drive. I have to concede that the man was the driver of the race.

    24. The car is the real winner. Adrian Newey also. F1 is more about the car than the driver. The RB7 is so dominant. Vettel is great. I know this. But for people to say he is another level above hamilton and Alonso is just ridiculous. I honestly think that Alonso or Hamilton are still the best out there.

      1. Why are they more ridiculous then you? Fact is noone knows. It is their word against yours.

      2. Like Button in 2009. Lucky to get a good car. Almost lost the title!

      3. Vettel has stepped up another level this season he’s not as far behind Hamilton and Alonso as he was (but still behind).

        I’ve not seen anyone suggest he is above HAM and ALO that would be a very odd statement.

        With every race, despite the dominant car he’s adding creditability to those who say he is on parr with those two, so far he’s not making the silly mistakes in the races that he did occasionally in the last two years, he is developing well.

        1. He is not making Silly Mistake’s becoz nobody is putting pressure on him,Even his Teammate is not putting pressure on him,While the other team’s r playing catch up.But once MACCA,FERRARI or MERC catch RBR and put pressure on him then we will see ,if he crack’s under the pressure or not.

    25. As much as it pains me Seb V has clearly been the class driver of the field, despite his FP1 crash he blew away all comers

    26. I voted for Vettel. His bounce back in FP3 followed by his pole position was just impressive and I hope it goes a long way to people respecting his dominance instead of ruing it. A great ambassador for the sport.

      However an honourable mention must go out to Kobayashi for that brilliant performance.

    27. I think there’s something wrong with the way the bars are rendered: The drivers with zero votes have a longer bar than the drivers with one vote.

    28. No one’s getting past Seb, it appears. However, Mark got closer than anyone else, and it was far from easy.

      There’s some Aussie Grit for ya.

      1. Makes me wonder how much closer Webber would be to Vettel if he was a foot shorter? And before some wag says he’d be a foot closer (ha ha) I do wonder how much the RB7 was designed around Vettel’s height & weight, which would explain why although Webber is keeping him honest, he just can’t get the upper hand.

    29. Jake (@kraemerson88)
      10th May 2011, 1:37

      Seb is untouchable plus less practice than others.

    30. There were many to choose from but Buemi & Kobayashi were great,I choose the later.His move on Schumacher going right on the grass was spectacular.

    31. adrianMorse
      10th May 2011, 4:21

      I wonder if Alonso would have gotten so many votes if Massa had had a decent afternoon. For Alonso fans (not me you will have surmised by now) it must have been exciting to see him finally battling the Red Bulls again, but surely the car had been much improved too.

    32. VET dominated. KOB did pretty much what I expected. ALO did an excellent job. But frankly all that was somewhat expected. Buemi surprised me, so I voted for him. For a change. And because I like underdogs.

    33. I voted for Vettel.

      I liked how he made his fourth stop when he did not have to. Taking the pole in the pits was also nice to see.

    34. I voted for Alonso when I could have voted for Kobayashi. I feel filthy.

    35. Alonso gets a lot of votes for driving a red car, not for having done the best job over the weekend. He did a good job in beating Lewis and Nico in the race.

      Vettel did an amazing job in totalling the car and then with little running taking pole and dominating the race.

      Kobayashi gets an incredible amount of race speed from his car and overtakes where he wants to. Spectacular drive again.

      1. I don’t particularly like Ferrari or Alonso and many like me voted for Alonso, the car might of been better but its still miles behind the RBRs, credit due to taking the fight to them when no one else could.

      2. Alonso also got little FRIDAY running with the car having Hydralics prob’s and whatever.

    36. Really not sure who to go for – Vettel, as usually, dominated everyone on Saturday and Sunday, including his teammate, but he made a silly mistake to cause a lot of damage to his car on Friday.

      Alonso, well, I think he had a good race, mainly by not losing positions in the first lap as he did before, but then again, that’s only partly his doing, and more Hamilton being too optimistic and giving those behind him a chance. His race pace was only different because he seemed to finally believe in it again. Maybe I’m too critical here.

      Kobayashi, well, Webber won last race by doing something similar to what he did now, in a way better car. But I didn’t vote for Webber then, and I’m not sure I should vote or Koba now either; Of course, he had a car failure, so couldn’t help his qualifying at all, that speaks for him.

      Rosberg, well maybe, it is a bit hard to look past the car being soo slooooow in the first part of the race, and him being a hardly defending moving object, but he did a great job with what he was given, I think.

      In a way, the Renaults both did a solid job, but not a driver of the weekend like job. Could go on, I think I’ll just think about it for a bit longer.

    37. Alonso. It was just like the Nando of old was back amongst us. And a newly re-invigorated and fired up Alonso can only be a good thing for F1 fans.

    38. Fernando for me. Such a relief Ferrari are back up to speed. Hopefully they can beat Sebastian!

      1. Finger crossed for barcelona

    39. FERNANDO ALONSO.

    40. Sergio Perez
      10th May 2011, 14:03

      Kamui Kobqyashi. I think the broadcast was actually unfair to Kobayashi. We rarely saw him overtaking, but the truth is everytime I was looking in the standings the man was gaining places. I would love to see him in a top team. Imagine him in a Mclaren, Red Bull or Ferrari- I tell you, we would have truly exciting races! Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso Hamilton and Rosberg are the true outstanding drivers, imo, of the grid. Kamui is on that level. The rest are good drivers, but not exceptional.

    41. Fernando did a great job, and I’m glad he’s got the car to challenge for the podium.
      But, to all people who take F1 seriously i suggest a therapy of watching “La gran aventura de Mortadelo y Filemón”

    42. JamieFranklinF1
      10th May 2011, 22:41

      Whilst I don’t disagree that both Kamui and Fernando did exceptional jobs to finish where they did, I still don’t understand why many people still don’t think Seb is the driver of the day/weekend.

      He’s not my favourite driver, but he is doing an outstanding job. He learns from his mistakes each weekend, and then by the next race, he looks a little bit stronger.

      Also, to people who say that he wouldn’t win in a car that wasn’t the fastest. May I remind them of Australia 09, where I believe he was catching JB in a what was then superior Brawn GP?

      Each driver seems to have their respective best points, but I would say that Sebastian is a hell of a lot more well-rounded than Jenson, Lewis and Fernando were at his age, and although I would like to see an interesting season with lots of twists, turns and numerous winners, you can’t take away from the phenomenal job he’s doing at the moment.

    43. Seb is doing good job with that car. My vote goes to Alonso. He drove a great race. Kobyashi was entertaining as always. Hopefully another team can challenge the Raging Bulls at barcelona. Mclaren are supposed to have some major updates for that weekend.

    44. Had to be Kobayashi for me. Love this guy. I really do hope he gets a chance at one of the biggest teams over the coming seasons. I think he could challenege at the top in one of the top cars. 1st class Formula One driver and 1st class performance at the weekend.

    45. Alonso /is the best in turky

    46. Alonso no doubt. Hopefully a new season start for him!

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