Vettel: McLaren and Ferrari look strong

Sebastian Vettel: McLaren and Ferrari look strong here, although I haven't seen all the times from practice yet. For us, I'm happy with the car's balance and how it performs, so we will see. It's a special circuit here, it's quite rough with the kerbs and chicanes, but I like it

Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel has declared himself happy with his car's balance and performance following practice today for the F1 2011 Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Vettel's weekend got off to a bad start when he shunted in the first session. However he bounced back in FP2 and eventually finished the day second overall on a 1 minute 15.476 second lap, three tenths off the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.

“I had an incident this morning. I lost the rear, but by the time I hit the wall I had low speed, so the crash was quite mild. There wasn't much damage, so we could fix the car and get back out this afternoon,” said the reigning world champion.

“McLaren and Ferrari look strong here, although I haven't seen all the times from practice yet. For us, I'm happy with the car's balance and how it performs, so we will see.

“It's a special circuit here, it's quite rough with the kerbs and chicanes, but I like it. The target is to win, but it's a long weekend and a lot of things can happen. It's important to finish and do your best, whatever that is.”

Team-mate Mark Webber meanwhile was only 12th in FP1 and 8th in FP2. He didn't seem overly concerned though.

“We were a bit compromised with the red flags at the end of P2, so we could have had a smoother end to the final session, but it wasn't too bad,” he added. “We tried different fuel loads today and now we just need to chip away and get the car a bit quicker.”

Source: Crash.net

Vettel recalls Canada ’sex club’ memory

Sebastian Vettel has revealed a few of his biggest memories of Canada after returning to Montreal for this weekend’s grand prix.

In 2007, then a teenager, he was in the pits when Robert Kubica crashed heavily in the BMW-Sauber, leading to his grand prix debut in the US a week later.

Four years on, German Vettel has won 15 of his 68 grands prix, sat on pole 20 times and is the youngest champion in F1 history, and in 2011 is back in Canada as the runaway title leader.

But the next chapter was a catering strike during his first-class flight from Switzerland this week, meaning he had to eat his own home-made sandwiches.

"I’m not a fan of airplane food," laughed Vettel.

To Blick newspaper, he recalls the eve of his last-minute debut in Kubica’s BMW in 2007.

"Yeah, the Sauber mechanics one night dragged me into one of these famous sex clubs (in Montreal)," revealed Vettel.

"When two girls got busy with each other right before my eyes, it was too much and I left!"

And he said that last year in Canada, someone stole his credit card.

"By the time I noticed and cancelled the card, the stranger had already had a $600 dinner with wine at my expense," laughed Vettel.

Source: Nextgen

Sebastian Vettel Blog: Sweet taste of success

Sebastian Vettel talks tactics and savours victory after extending his lead at the top of the Formula One Drivers' Championship with a win at the Monaco Grand Prix

by Sebastian Vettel on May 30, 2011

What an amazing day! I know that champagne tastes sweet, but the one I drank after the ceremony in Monte Carlo tasted even sweeter than usual! I am indescribably happy with our win and very proud about the whole team. They did an amazing job today.

I think it's easy to describe the race in one word: thrilling. I'm sure it was for the spectators and fans and it definitely was for us drivers. I would never have expected a strategy like the one we had today and that we would be able to get to the finishing line with only one pitstop. Well, almost one pitstop! We talked about it a lot and decided to put it all on one and not go into the pit for a second time. The worst that could have happened was a third place but I think that we would also have won if the safety car had stayed out.

'I never expected that we'd be able to finish with only one pitstop'

The key to our success today was definetely our endurance and the fact that we never lost faith in ourselves. Even the pit stop, which wasn't perfect, didn't change that. We lost time and the lead through it but that was when we knew that we had to give everything we had and attack. In the end, this approach helped us get back into the lead and, when we had the safety car coming out towards the end, it helped me to relax a bit and cool off the tyres. After the restart, we luckily didn't have too many laps to go and after a few minutes we were finally allowed to celebrate this fantastic victory.

I'm pretty sure that we'll go on and party tonight and have an amazing time. I want to send out a big thank you to everyone involved in this victory. It wouldn't have been possible without you. And also a big thanks to all the fans – you were amazing guys!

Talk to you soon from Canada!

All the best,

Sebastian

Source: Red Bull

Seb Vettel Is The New King Of Monaco

Sebastian Vettel claimed his maiden Monaco Grand Prix win, but for the second time in two days his performance was overshadowed after a fellow driver was injured in a heavy shunt

On Saturday, a serious accident involving Sergio Perez's led to qualifying to be delayed while on Sunday Vitaly Petrov was involved in a crash that saw him being taken away by ambulance after picking up a leg injury.

The race was red flagged, but restarted after an 11-minute stop and Vettel - who had fresh rubber fitted to his car during the break - eased his Red Bull home with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button closely behind.

Earlier, Vettel made a clean start alongside Button and Alonso. From then on it turned into a battle of the strategies.

McLaren looked like they had one over their rivals when they pitted Button earlier than usual for supersofts and got him out in clean air. However, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton's crash with Felipe Massa probably cost Button a potential win after the Safety Car was deployed.

That allowed the field to bunch up and with Button forced to stop for a third time, he lost valuable time to the top two, but Red Bull and Ferrari's decision not to pit their drivers again gave the McLaren driver an opportunity to attack on fresher rubber.

The trio found themselves tail-to-tail for the best part of 15 laps, but more drama was to follow with eight laps to go after Adrian Sutil, Petrov and Hamilton got tangled up during their scrap for sixth place together with backmarker Jaime Alguersuari. Petrov and Alguersuari both crashed out and the Safety Car was deployed. The race was then red-flagged as the medical team was called to tend to Petrov.

Once the track was cleared, the race was restarted under the Safety Car and turned into a five-lap shoot-out. Vettel, Alonso and Button held station, but there was one final incident when Hamilton tried to squeeze past Pastor Maldonado in sixth place. The duo made contact and the Williams driver came off second best.

The McLaren driver finished sixth while Mark Webber fourth and Kamui Kobayashi was fifth.

Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2h09:38.373
02. Alonso Ferrari + 1.138
03. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 2.378
04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 23.100
05. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 26.900
06. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 27.200
07. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
08. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
09. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps
13. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
14. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
15. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
16. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
17. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 5 aps

Retirements
Petrov Renault 68
Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 68
Massa Ferrari 33
Schumacher Mercedes 33
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 31
Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC Monaco GP - Sebastian Vettel 'very happy' with Monaco pole position

Despite a "shadow hanging over qualifying" after Sergio Perez suffers a serious crash, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel is pleased with pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix



Source: FiftyBuckss

Not even Dennis was surprised over Räikkönen's switch

Kimi Räikkönen's surprising debut in USA:s Nascar-serie took place the same weekend as Spain GP. In spite of that the matter was on the wall even on the F1-paddock.

Ron Dennis is the man who came up with the nickname ’’Iceman’’ for Räikkönen.

How did the former team manager feel about Räikkönen's Nascar-switch?

– Kimi has always liked to do different things and what he himself wants. That's why I'm not at all surprised over what he is doing. He drove quite well rally too. I don't know more about the Nascar-thing except that he went there, Dennis replied.

Räikkönen's physical trainer from Sauber, Josef Leberer, admits that Kimi driving in USA was a pleasant surprise.

– Kimi was a pale and thin guy when he started with us but while he was driving the bike I immediately noticed his body's coordination. At that point I knew that since he has a natural talent to drive fast, the coordination skill will help him no matter where he drives. I'm sure it helps him in Nascar too, Leberer said.

Sebastian Vettel said beforehand that Räikkönen has an exceptional freedom to do whatever he wants and take all the fun out of it.

– Of course I have been completely concentrated on my own weekend but I did look at the results from Charlotte and I was surprised over how well Kimi did. I haven't had time to look into the details. Kimi really is a man who is a maker: no matter what he races with he always makes a *** No swearing *** good job, Vettel praised.

David Coulthard drove with Räikkönen for three years at McLaren.

– I am happy that Kimi has once again found something new. It's good for the F1-sport when a top driver like Kimi can go to rally or USA's ovals and make a good work there too.

– Kimi has shown that whatever he does, he has always made good choices.

Stefano Domenicali doesn't doubt that Räikkönen might become competitive also in USA.

– Maybe it will happen if Kimi feels that it's fun enough. I have to call him and ask how he is doing, Domenicali said.

Turun Sanomat, Barcelona

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Seb happy to have competition at last

Sebastian Vettel admits his victory in Barcelona was made sweeter by the fact that he was pushed until the very end by Lewis Hamilton

After winning three of the first four races, many thought the Spanish Grand Prix would be another walk in the park for the reigning World Champion after he started next to Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber on the front row of the grid.

However, the German was made to work hard for his win right from the start after Ferrari's Fernando Alonso beat the two Red Bulls and McLaren's Hamilton off the line.

Vettel, though, was able to sneak past Alonso after the second round of pit stops, but that was only half the battle won as Hamilton put in an incredible late charge to keep the Championship pacesetter honest.

"I'm very, very happy, a great result and after yesterday I think it's another confirmation that we're very strong," he said.

"Many people said today this will not be a race and that it will only be between Mark and myself, but we've seen at Turn 1 the Ferrari was there and then the McLarens gave us a very hard time.

"That's why I think I'm even happier today that we made it because these guys were pushing very hard."

It wasn't all plain sailing for Vettel as he first struggled to pass Alonso in the DRS zone early in the race and then he had problems with KERS late on as Hamilton closed in on him.

"It was pretty tough," he said. "At the beginning of the race I had a good start but I don't understand where Fernando Alonso came from. He was leading after the first lap and we could not get close enough in the DRS zone to pass him but we got him at the pit stop.

"McLaren were very strong, Lewis in particular. The last few laps I felt like China, with my tyres falling away. He was always getting in the DRS zone but in the last few laps I got a good run in the last sector to make it stick.

"I sometimes had KERS on, sometimes off. It was not an easy race. McLaren gave us a hard time. It was quite a big release when you cross the finish line."

Vettel leads the Championship on 118 points, 41 ahead of Hamilton.

Source: Planet-F1

Spanish GP: Seb Holds Off Hamilton

Sebastian Vettel refused to buckle under pressure as he held off a late charge from Lewis Hamilton at the Spanish Grand Prix to claim his fourth win of the season

The defending World Champion's latest win sees him stretch his lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship to 41 points ahead of the McLaren driver.

Unlike in previous races where Vettel was in cruise mode, he had to work hard for his victory in Barcelona. After starting P2 on the grid, he had to battle without KERS for the latter part of the race but did just enough to keep the charging McLaren driver at bay.

Jenson Button claimed the final podium place with Mark Webber fourth and Fernando Alonso fifth.

Alonso looked like he was up for the race as he made a sensational start from P4 to ease into the lead off the line. While the two Red Bull drivers were keeping an eye on each other, the Spaniard snuck through on the inside and he kept himself in the lead until the second round of pit stops.

Unfortunately for Ferrari, Alonso didn't just lose out to Vettel during the stop, but also to Hamilton. Alonso was quickly dropped by the two front-runners and it wasn't too long before Webber and Button caught up and overtook him.

Button, whose strategy cost him a possible podium place in Turkey, was vindicated for sticking to the three-stopper this time as he was able to hold off Webber for the final podium place.

Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h39:03.301
02. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 0.630
03. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 35.697
04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 47.966
05. Alonso Ferrari + 1 lap
06. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
07. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
08. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
09. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
13. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
14. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
15. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 2 laps
17. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps
18. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps
20. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps
21. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps

Not classified/retirements:
Massa Ferrari 60
Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 49
Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 29

Source: Planet-F1

Vettel: Not a big disappointment

Although Sebastian Vettel's run of pole positions came to an end in Barcelona, the reigning World Champion insists it's not a "big disappointment."

Arriving in Spain, Vettel had a four-nothing record in qualifying for the season, however, his impressive run came to an end when his team-mate Mark Webber pipped him to the coveted grid slot by 0.200s.

The German insists that being dethroned is not a massive loss as he is still on the front row, and has an extra set of soft tyres available to him for Sunday's 66-lap race.

"I don't think we can speak of big disappointment," said Vettel.

"At the end of the day we made a good step forward and Barcelona is usually a place where you bring lots of parts, and find out they work.

"In Q1 I didn't get into the rhythm immediately but made it on prime tyres, in Q2 I felt happier on the soft compound and in last qualifying I lost a little bit too much, wasn't happy with my lap.

"We had some problems and Mark did a good job. It was between us, he did a better job today. Tomorrow is a long race, we saved a set of tyres - as did the top three and Jenson (Button) - we will see what we can do tomorrow."

But while Vettel may have qualified in second place, Red Bull's Achilles Heel was once again present in Spain as the German lacked KERS for the better part of qualifying.

However, he says that's not the reason he lost to his team-mate and expects Red Bull will have the issue resolved before the race gets underway.

"I didn't use KERS in Q2 and Q3, but it's not right to say I didn't have KERS and Mark got pole - he deserved pole.

"I am not afraid in the race, in the race I think we will be on top of it again. In the end it seems to be an endless story.

"The guys are pushing very hard, we did an exceptional job. Today we have proved our car has become quicker, we had a quick base but we made it even quicker - so big compliments to the aero guys."

Source: Planet-F1

Vettel says DRS will be effective in Spain

Sebastian Vettel believes that DRS will spice up racing on the Circuit de Catalunya which has traditionally delivered processional and boring races.

Speaking on the eve of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, the reigning World Champion said, “We know the Barcelona circuit well from winter testing, it should be suitable for our car and our plan is to get the best team result possible. Historically Barcelona is a circuit that is poor for overtaking, but with the DRS this will now be quite different.”

In the past three years, normal overtaking manoeuvres have been measured in single figures; on average, there have been 2.3 ‘normal’ passes for position per Spanish Grand Prix since 2008.

So if a circuit is going to provide a yardstick for the success of the 2011 regulations – which have so far seen an average of 24.5 ‘normal’ overtaking moves per race – then Barcelona is it.

Nevertheless, the Spanish race is popular with just about every driver. Vettel explains, “I like Spain and know Barcelona well from racing there, it’s a great modern city with lots of life and interesting architecture. I like the Spanish people and their culture, it’s always a fantastic atmosphere at Spanish sporting events, such as the grand prix and football matches.”

Vettel has won three of the four races so far this year in the pace setting Red Bull RB7 and arrives in Barcelona with 93 points to his name, 34 points up on his closest rival Lewis Hamilton.

Source: YallaF1

Vettel, Lauda & Marko on the Red Bull Ring

The Red Bull Ring is officially open in Spielberg, Austria and it has already tempted motor racing stars Sebastian Vettel and Niki Lauda to check it out, with the help of Helmut Marko. Here's what they had to say about the Ring...

Sebastian Vettel – Formula 1 World Champion
I was 14-years-old the first time I was at Spielberg for a Formula König race and I watched the drivers there with great enthusiasm, including the Austrian, Bernhard Auinger. At that time I was very new to the Red Bull family. A lot of time has passed since then and it has changed a lot. I like the new track very much, as the core of the circuit remains the same. The downhill sections with the curves, which are still hanging to the outside, are very tricky, especially because today the track was wet. It would be very nice to drive a race here and I would be very happy if Formula 1 should return to the Red Bull Ring – preferably during my career! ;)

Niki Lauda – Three times Formula 1 World Champion
I first raced in Spielberg in 1971 and in 1984 and celebrated a home victory in the Austrian F1 Grand Prix. Today I went back and competed in the legend's race again, winning narrowly from Dieter Quester. It's really impressive what's happened here. I am very happy that the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg has been revived – it's a huge asset to the racing scene in Austria. The basic route is the same, but the whole course is in perfect condition and has similar modern facilities to those in Bahrain.

Helmut Marko – Red Bull Motorsport
What has been rebuilt, is truly unique. Not just the ring itself, but the entire project in Spielberg. The area is harmoniously integrated into the landscape. Not only motor sports fans, but families can spend an entire weekend there. The mood among the surrounding population is very good, everybody is happy that the area here has been revived.

Souce: Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel's Dream Team

Source: AlessaFainello

Turkish GP winner Sebastian Vettel has to lay off booze after Istanbul victory

Sebastian Vettel romped to glory in Turkey to become the toast of Formula 1 – and was then banned from drinking the victory champagne.

The 23-year-old German was in a different class as he took his third win in four races this season with an awesome display of driving outside Istanbul.

And team-mate Mark Webber recovered from a bad start to snatch runners-up spot from Fernando Alonso.


But while the older duo could glug down the bubbly on the podium, the sport’s youngest star was too young to join in.

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has introduced strict new alcohol laws increasing the minimum age to 24 because of a nationwide drinking crisis.

“Seb is so young,” said Red Bull boss Christian Horner. “He’s only 23 and he wasn’t allowed to drink champagne on the podium because he’s under age here.”

A year after both Red Bull team-mates crashed out here while duelling for the lead, they proved they were back in command and in a different class to the rest.

Vettel moved a staggering 34 points clear of Britain’s Lewis Hamilton after just four races and could win the title in record time unless things change.

“This was a really sweet result today, especially after the problems we had last year,” added Horner. “Seb was dominant and Mark drove well.”

Hamilton trailed home fourth, 40 seconds after his German rival, with Jenson Button sixth. “The start was a disaster, so it was damage limitation after that really,” said Hamilton.


Although there was a feast of overtaking for the fans – and a record 82 pitstops to savour – it was all sound and fury signifying nothing. Overtaking used to be too difficult, now it’s too easy.

But the joy of one German at the top end of the grid was book-ended by the sorry tale of another at the back. It was a heartbreaking sight as Michael Schumacher, winner of so many legendary races, was elbowed down to 12th.

A chastened Schumacher said: “The big joy is not there at the moment, I have to say.”

But gazing up at his winner a happy Horner said that when it came to the sport’s current star player Vettel’s only error was made long before he arrived. “That’s some dodgy haircut,” he grinned.

Source: The Daily Mirror

Vettel warns against complacency

After three wins in four races, reigning Champ Sebastian Vettel had every right to celebrate on Sunday following his triumphant performance in Turkey

But instead of revelling in his Red Bull team's dramatic one-two finish - Mark Webber claiming his highest finish of the season - ahead of all their rivals, the 23-year-old German said he was keen to make sure everyone kept their feet on the ground and remained calm.

He now leads the title race by 34 points ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who could only manage fourth place on Sunday.

"It's good to get as many points as you can at every single race," said the reigning World Champion. "But we see how quickly it can change.

"We saw it last year with this guy (Fernando Alonso) coming and going, so we have to really go step by step, see every race as its own and try and maximise our points.

"A good start to the season always helps, but there is a long way to go. Four out of 19. So, you can work out how many more points there are to get so we have to keep focused."

Vettel thanked his team for their hard work in repairing his car, dubbed 'Kinky Kylie' after he had almost destroyed it in a major accident during Friday's rain-hit first practice session.

"All in all I am very happy," he said.

"On Friday, I had an accident and crashed the car badly. All the guys, even Mark's guys helped and fixed the car. It meant some extra hours which I am sorry for, but yesterday and today made up for it.

"I am pleased with the results and a big 'thanks' to the team."

He admitted he was open about his strategy and said the Red Bull team had learned from their mistakes in China where they were beaten by Hamilton.

He said: "It wasn't easy from the start to know what is going to happen.

"You have an idea about the tyres and how long they will last, but you have to wait for the first and second stints to see the trend. I could have stayed out on primes (soft), but if the safety car comes out you are on used tyres.

"So I had a another short stint. I was very much in control, I am very happy with how we communicated with the race and how we reacted.

"I am very pleased and since China we have definitely made a step forward. We have learned our lesson and have to make sure we keep momentum into the next race."

Source: Planet-F1

Turkish GP: Vettel Cruises To His Third

Sebastian Vettel demonstrated his maturity and Red Bull their pace as the German put in a faultless drive to take his third win of the season

Starting from pole position, the defending World Champion stormed into the lead, completely untroubled by those behind him.

From there it was but a walk in the park for the Red Bull driver, who only reliquished the lead when he stopped for fresh tyres.

Cruising across the line, having opted for a four-stop strategy, which included a late stop to ensure that no one on fresher tyres could take the victory away from him ala China style, Vettel bagged another 25 points towards his title defense.

Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso were involved in a thrilling battling seven laps from the end of the grand prix. It started earlier in the race when Alonso past Nico Rosberg in the opening few laps and then later took Webber with the use of his adjustable rear wing.

The Aussie had no answer for the Ferrari driver as he stormed by and had to settle in behind him. Both drivers opted for four-stop strategies to give them the edge in the closing stages but it seemed to give Webber more of the edge and paid Alonso back, overtaking the Spaniard to finish second in a Red Bull 1-2.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton lost his chance of fighting for a podium finish when his third stop took precious extra seconds+ due to a problem with his front right wheel nut.

He dropped down the order but fought back to fourth place before coming in for his fourth stop, which put him behind team-mate Jenson Button, who was on a three-stopper to Hamilton's four. With Hamilton on fresh rubber, Button had no answer to his team-mate, who took the position off him without a breaking a sweat.

Nico Rosberg, another four-stopper, was the next to take Button, a welcome feeling for the Mercedes GP driver, who seemed to spend much of the race dropping down the order. He had been P2 after the opening lap.

Nick Heidfeld, Vitaly Petrov, Sebastien Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi completed the points.

Results
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:30:17.558
02. Mark Webber Red Bull +8.807
03. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +10.075
04. Lewis Hamilton McLaren + 40.232
05. Nico Rosberg Mercedes + 47.539
06. Jenson Button McLaren + 59.431
07. Nick Heidfeld Renault + 1:00.857
08. Vitaly Petrov Renault + 1:08.168
09. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso + 1:09.300
10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber + 1:18.000
11. Felipe Massa Ferrari + 1:19.800
12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes + 1:25.400
13. Adrian Sutil Force India + 1 lap
14. Sergio Perez Sauber + 1 lap
15. Rubens Barrichello Williams + 1 lap
16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso +1 lap
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams + 1 lap
18. Jarno Trulli Lotus + 1 lap
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus + 2 laps
20. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin + 2 laps
21. Narain Karthikeyan HRT + 3 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT + 5 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Video: Seb throwing his cap to Tommi Pärmäkoski

Source: AlessaFainello

Vettel: Strange but it worked

Sebastian Vettel says it was an "odd feeling" sitting in the pits during qualifying while watching his rivals try for his pole position

Vettel was in a class of his own in qualifying for the Turkish GP, putting in a 1:25.049 to take provisional pole by 0.405s over his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber.

And because of the German's margin over his rivals, Red Bull opted to keep both him and Webber in the pits instead of putting in a late charge.

But, while the Red Bull duo were in the pits, their rivals where out on track, unsuccessfully attempting to put an end to Red Bull's front row lock-out.

"I am very happy with the result," said the defending World Champion.

"We did not have a trouble-free morning, so we had a bit to catch up. I like the track so that helps and it was nice to see that without that many laps I was able to come back and find the rhythm.

"It was funny because Mark and myself decided to skip the second run. It is strange the feeling. The others are on track and you know they can beat you.

"You can just watch and there is nothing you can do. It is good to save a set of tyres but it is an odd feeling. I'm very happy.

"Of course we talked about it before qualifying, we talked about what can happen, you never know, you don't know how quicker the others will be, how much fuels the others have on board.

"We saw in the last race and in the other races, we see this year the races have changed and important to handle the tyre situation, for both of us after the first run we had the feeling that we might be safe but you never know, you do that again until the day arrived, and other people prove you wrong.

"In the end you never know, if it works you are a hero if it doesn't you are not."

As a result of the team's decision, both drivers have an extra set of the softer option tyres available to them for Sunday's grand prix, a move that proved to be a race-winning decision for Lewis Hamilton last time out in China.

The reigning World Champ also took the time to once again apologise to his team for Friday morning's accident, which not only gave his mechanics a lot of extra work but also meant he had to play catch-up after sitting out the afternoon session.

"Apologies to the team and mechanics - obviously I damaged the car pretty much yesterday and we couldn't run at all, we missed the session in the afternoon," said Vettel.

"But they fixed it for today and I think they did a very good job.

"So I'm very happy with the result.

"It was not a trouble-free morning, we had a bit to catch up. It was nice to see that without that many laps I was able to come back and find the rhythm, so all in all I'm very happy today."

Source: Planet-F1

Qualifying Turkish GP: No stopping Vettel

Sebastian Vettel's advantage over his rivals in qualifying continued in Turkey as the German claimed his fourth pole position of the campaign

Despite losing valuable track-time on Friday afternoon after crashing his RB7 earlier in the day, the Red Bull driver proved to have measure over his rivals in qualifying.

Vettel clocked a 1:25.049 to beat team-mate Mark Webber to the coveted grid slot at the Istanbul Park circuit.

Nico Rosberg continued Mercedes GP's good run by taking third place while his team-mate Michael Schumacher finally made it into the top ten shoot-out, qualifying in eighth place.

Lewis Hamilton will start the grand prix from fourth place on the grid with his team-mate Jenson Button P6. The two McLarens were split by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 01:25.049 12 laps
02. Mark Webber Red Bull 01:25.454 10 laps

03. Nico Rosberg Mercedes Grand Prix 01:25.574 15 laps
04. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 01:25.595 13 laps

05. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:25.851 16 laps
06. Jenson Button McLaren 01:25.982 14 laps

07. Vitaly Petrov Renault 01:26.296 15 laps
08. Michael Schumacher Mercedes Grand Prix 01:26.646 13 laps

09. Nick Heidfeld Renault 01:26.659 13 laps
10. Felipe Massa Ferrari no time 16 laps

11. Rubens Barrichello Williams 01:26.764 10 laps
12. Adrian Sutil Force India F1 01:27.027 14 laps

13. Paul di Resta Force India F1 01:27.145 11 laps
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams 01:27.236 14 laps

15. Sergio Perez Sauber 01:27.244 11 laps
16. Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 01:27.255 9 laps

17. Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 01:27.572 7 laps
18. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 01:28.780 8 laps

19. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 01:29.673 8 laps
20. Jerome d' Ambrosio Virgin Racing 01:30.445 7 laps

21. Vitantonio Liuzzi Hispania 01:30.692 8 laps
22. Timo Glock Virgin Racing 01:30.813 8 laps

23. Narain Karthikeyan Hispania 01:31.564 2 laps
24. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber no time

Source: Planet-F1

Vettel: A bit more difficult but not much

Sebastian Vettel is adamant his accident on Friday morning will not hurt his chances of winning the Turkish Grand Prix

With two race wins and a second-placed finish to his name, the defending World Champion is sitting at the top of the standings heading into Sunday's grand prix.

However, he blotted his good record for this campaign when he crashed his RB7, dubbed 'Kinky Kylie', in Friday's opening practice at the Istanbul Park.

Venturing out for his first shot at a lap time, Vettel ran wide at the exit of Turn 8, sending him spinning across the track before slamming hard into the barriers.

The German's car was badly damaged, forcing him to sit out Friday's second session.

However, Vettel insists it won't put too much of a spanner in the works as he bids for his first Turkish GP win.

"Unfortunately we couldn't get the car ready in time, I'm sorry for the guys," the defending World Champion said.

"It makes it a bit more difficult no doubt, but I don't think it will be a big problem. We know the track quite well from the last years. In the end it was only one afternoon we had in the dry. Tomorrow I think it will be dry.

"We'll see. I'm still confident for tomorrow. Everything is open. It looks fairly close, this afternoon I had a bit more time to watch the times than usually. I think it will be quite exciting tomorrow."

The German has already admitted the accident was a driver error but instead of hiding away in his team's motorhome, he spent Friday afternoon with his mechanics in the garage.

"It was only fair," he said. "Obviously I apologised, because it was not my intention to damage the car. But this is racing, this can happen. The most important thing is that we are still here.

"Of course this means a lot of work for the mechanics now, but it's only fair to show them that I am with them, because if I'm struggling or I have a problem they are with me as well."

Source: Planet-F1

Sebastian Vettel not worried about KERS in Turkey

World champion Sebastian Vettel insists he is not worried about KERS in Turkey this weekend, despite the problems that have afflicted the system on the Red Bull this year.

Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Vettel said, “We have had some problems but have had. That’s why for this next race I am not worried.”

Red Bull left China three weeks ago with clearly the fastest car but far from the best KERS system, after Adrian Newey repackaged the Renault based unit over the winter for best aerodynamic performance, which has been the RB7′s strength.

The repositioning of KERS elements caused cooling problems at the first three races of 2011, but team consultant Helmut Marko insisted this week that the team used the Easter break to fix the system.

The world championship leader also revealed that the RB7 will have some other upgrades for Turkey this weekend.

“When I asked the team what (new) to expect, I received many answers,” Vettel answered cryptically. “You’ll have to ask them for yourself.”

Source: YallaF1