Girls Like F1 Too!: Sunday May 8th, 2011: Turkish Grand Prix

The 2011 Turkish Grand Prix was something... different. Yes, the Istanbul Circuit is world renowned for Turn 8, but other than that, Istanbul Circuit is just known for its empty grandstands. The 2011 Grand Prix gave a new light to the world class circuit. It is now known for team battles.

In 2010, we saw the clash of the Red Bulls and in 2011 we watched both McLaren and Lotus-Renault have it out on track.

When the season began and the FIA relinquished the ban on team orders, Jenson Button took a stand against both his team and the FIA. If he is to race under the assumption that he is McLaren's 'second' driver, he wouldn't race at all. Turkey proved just how willing he was to keep to his word. He was not going to stand aside as his teammate passed by.

There were many times within the race that you found yourself in allegiance with one of the two McLaren drivers, even if you never considered yourself a fan before. Both McLaren drivers had a fantastic run, but thinking back on the race, Button proved that he has what it takes to drive for one of the best teams. Lap 22, Rosberg and Massa were fighting it out for 4th position and Button took full advantage of the situation by putting himself right in the middle of it and gained 5th position.

The Lotus-Renaults do not seem to have the impression of a first and second driver and with the German going head-to-head with the Russian during the course of the race, it looked as if they were fighting to figure out just that. It may just come down to the thought that Robert Kubica has made it clear that he intends to be back at the wheel and both Heidfeld and Petrov know that there is only one seat left. Leaving the two drivers to prove on track just who deserves that second seat.

What proved most interesting in Turkey though was the idea that the broadcasters believed it more exciting or more important to keep eyes on the action on track than to broadcast the race leaders pitting. With Pirelli's on the rims, every fan and spectator knows that within this season, races can be won (or lost) in the pits. McLaren's pitcrew, with Hamilton's car proved just that with a 'sticky' tyre nut on lap 35. An extra 10 seconds can put you well back on race time and possibly even cost you a podium finish.

What I find most memorable at the 2011 Turkish Grand Prix would be something that many people may have missed. It was in the first half of the race, lap 17, when the BBC's coverage had eyes on the battle for 5th between Rosberg and Massa when suddenly, stage entrance left, comes Liuzzi in the HRT seemingly out of nowhere. (Liuzzi had gone off track and stopped short of the Vodafone sign before re-entering the race). It was something simple and yet made the whole race just that much more enjoyable!

The main thing that the 2011 Turkey Grand Prix proved is that Formula One Racing is back. It's no longer a burst of speed to the first corner and whomever makes it 'round first can hold the lead till the chequered flag. Formula One Racing, all components of the team working in perfect unison, the driver working nearto his limits, the strategists planning the perfect Sunday race, the pitcrews working to their full potential and the pitwall holding it all together. This is why I get up Sunday mornings for, "this is Formula One."

Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	58	1:30:17.558	1	25
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	58	+8.807	2	18
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	58	+10.075	5	15
4	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	58	+40.232	4	12
5	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	58	+47.539	3	10
6	4	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	58	+59.431	6	8
7	9	Nick Heidfeld	Renault	58	+1:00.857	9	6
8	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	58	+1:08.168	7	4
9	18	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	58	+1:09.394	16	2
10	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber-Ferrari	58	+1:18.021	24	1
11	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	58	+1:19.823	10
12	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	58	+1:25.444	8
13	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	56	+1 lap	12
14	17	Sergio Pérez	Sauber-Ferrari	56	+1 lap	15
15	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	55	+1 lap	11
16	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	55	+1 lap	17
17	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Cosworth	55	+1 lap	14
18	21	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Renault	55	+1 lap	19
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Renault	55	+2 laps	18
20	25	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Virgin-Cosworth	54	+2 laps	23
21	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT-Cosworth	54	+3 laps	22
22	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT-Cosworth	54	+5 laps	20
RET	15	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	54	Hydraulics	13
DNS	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	0	Gearbox	21