Background
The 2010 Turkish Grand Prix was the seventh scheduled round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship after taking a two-week break from the previous race of the season in Monaco . It was held on 30 May 2010 at the Istanbul Park circuit in Tuzla , near Istanbul , Turkey. The Grand Prix was contested by twelve teams with two drivers each. The teams (also known as constructors ) were Red Bull , Mercedes , McLaren , Ferrari , Renault , Williams , Force India , Sauber , Toro Rosso , Lotus , H...
Race
Webber dominated the previous two rounds in Spain and Monaco and clinched the pole position in both events. Despite the form, Webber said Red Bull were still wary of their rivals, saying that they had a good foundation and position but no person knew who would be challenging for the title late in the season, but did not feel it would between two people. Ferrari came into the event with a long series of success at the track, having won three of the last five races held at Istanbul Park. The... Several teams made modifications to their cars in preparation for the event. Red Bull introduced a revised version of its RB6 chassis for Vettel as his previous monocoque had a small defect which created handling difficulties in Monaco. The team tested a version of McLaren's F-duct system (which increases the top speed of a car) during the Friday practice sessions but removed it for qualifying and the race because both of McLaren's drivers found the device difficult to operate. Fer... The first four drivers opened a gap from the rest of the field, as Webber set the fastest lap of the race so far on lap two with a time of 1:33.685. Hamilton attempted an overtake manoeuvre on Webber heading into turn twelve on lap three but was unable to get close to affect a pass. Alonso passed de la Rosa for twelfth place on the same lap and began to battle Kobayashi for eleventh. Hamilton attempted to pass Webber for a second time at turn twelve on lap four but could not get cl... Button thus inherited the lead but reported to his team via radio that he was losing rear grip in his tyres after pushing hard. He made a pit stop on lap 18 and re-emerged in fourth. Hamilton attempted to pass Vettel around the outside heading into turn 12 on lap 18 but was unable to complete the manoveure after running deep into the corner. By the end of the 19th lap, all of the leading drivers had taken their pit stops. The running order was Webber leading with Vettel, Hamilton and Butt... On lap 39, Webber asked Red Bull to advise Vettel to reduce his speed but his request was rejected due to the quick pace and the close distance between themselves and the McLaren cars. Webber entered fuel-saving mode on lap 40 which lost him performance while Vettel had saved one kilogram of fuel and opted to run on a faster engine setting. Vettel got a run exiting turn eleven and turned left to the inside lane and drew alongside Webber on the back straight. As the pair appr... Button drew alongside teammate Hamilton on lap 48 heading into turn twelve and passed Hamilton (who drove on the inside line) around the outside of the corner. Hamilton reclaimed the lead on the following lap after getting a run on the pit straight and narrowly avoided a collision with Button at turn one. Hamilton began to pull away from teammate Button. Sutil passed Kobayashi around the outside for tenth on lap 52 while Button was ordered to conserve his tyres and fuel on the same... The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and in a later press conference. Hamilton said the race was "quite exciting" and dedicated the victory to his father Anthony. He stated that he was unfortunate up until the race but was happy that he could help McLaren achieve their second 1–2 finish of the season. Button said his second-place result was pleasing despite him starting from fourth position, and stated the pace of his McLaren was good. He felt the event w... Mercedes maintained they had achieved what the car was capable of with fourth and fifth-place finishes for Schumacher and Rosberg respectively. Massa said it was a "very boring" and "difficult" race from his point of view because he was behind Kubica for the duration of the race whom he could not overtake. Alonso was disappointed with the team's performance in what Ferrari identified as their 800th start, yet he looked forward to upgrades in the following races. James Key , the technical directo... The result extended Webber's lead in the Drivers' Championship to five points over Button who moved into second place. Hamilton's victory promoted him to third, while Alonso's eighth-place finish demoted him third to fourth. Vettel's fell from second to fifth. McLaren's 1–2 result allowed them to assume the lead of the Constructors' Championship with a one-point advantage over Red Bull. Ferrari's poor finish dropped them from second to third, while Mercedes remained in fourth position with... Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold .
Qualifying
He was ahead of Massa in the faster of the two Ferrari cars. Petrov secured ninth in the slower Renault car. Kobayashi rounded out the top ten fastest qualifiers. Sutil was the fastest driver not to advance into the final session in eleventh; his best time of 1:27.525 was eight tenths of a second slower than Vettel's pace in the second session. Alonso recorded the twelfth fastest time and could not secure a position in the final session as his car touched a white line under braking... The fastest lap in each of the three sessions is denoted in bold .
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | 1:28:47.620 |
| 2 | 1 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | +2.645 |
| 3 | 6 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 58 | +24.285 |
| 4 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 58 | +31.110 |
| 5 | 4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 58 | +32.266 |
| 6 | 11 | Robert Kubica | Renault | 58 | +32.824 |
| 7 | 7 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 58 | +36.635 |
| 8 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 58 | +46.544 |
| 9 | 14 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 58 | +49.029 |
| 10 | 23 | Kamui Kobayashi | BMW Sauber-Ferrari | 58 | +1:05.650 |
Qualifying
| Pos | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:27.500 | 1:26.818 |
| 2 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:27.667 | 1:27.013 |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1:27.067 | 1:26.729 |
| 4 | 1 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:27.555 | 1:27.277 |
| 5 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:27.756 | 1:27.438 |
| 6 | 4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:27.649 | 1:27.141 |
| 7 | 11 | Robert Kubica | Renault | 1:27.766 | 1:27.426 |
| 8 | 7 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:27.993 | 1:27.200 |
| 9 | 12 | Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 1:27.620 | 1:27.387 |
| 10 | 23 | Kamui Kobayashi | BMW Sauber-Ferrari | 1:28.158 | 1:27.434 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
Hold on to your helmets! The Istanbul air is thick with tension – a palpable surge of horsepower battling for supremacy. Webber, a veritable titan at the start, carved a gap, fueled by a 780bhp Mercedes engine, but Hamilton, relentless, was already probing, sensing weakness. A catastrophic misjudgment in the McLaren pit box – a delayed tyre change costing Button dearly – unleashed a brutal shift in the championship equation. This isn't just racing; it's a brutal chess match played at 230 kilometers per hour!
Hold on to your helmets! The air here in Istanbul is thick with the scent of burning rubber and the raw, desperate hunger for victory. Webber, that magnificent beast, absolutely *devoured* pole position – a staggering seven times he's started on the front row this season, a figure that screams dominance, doesn't it? Hamilton, wrestling with a tyre fitting snafu, watched his advantage evaporate like morning mist – a frustrating 3. 2 seconds lost! This race, already, is shaping up to be a brutal lesson in strategic precision.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
"Hamilton's gone! Vanished! A catastrophic tire change – a shredded front wing, a stalled gun – and the lead, snatched like a dream by Webber! The Australian's been masterful, conserving fuel, exploiting every sliver of space. This isn't just a race, it's a brutal chess match played at 200 miles per hour. Button's reeling, Vettel's lurking, and suddenly, the championship picture is twisting before our very eyes! The tension here is palpable; you could cut it with a knife!".
The rain, a venomous serpent, coiled around Istanbul Park, wasn't just dampening the tarmac – it was twisting the minds of men. Webber, a granite statue of composure, surveyed the chaos with a glacial gaze. He knew, instinctively, that this wasn't merely a wet race; it was a battlefield of wills. Hamilton, a tempestuous force, wrestled with the car, a frustrated roar echoing from his helmet. Button, ever the strategist, calculated every droplet, every slip, every desperate gamble. This wasn't about speed; this was about survival.