Vettel dominates in Turkey

World champion Sebastian Vettel scored a lights-to-flag victory in Istanbul, with Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber finishing second.

German claims third win in four races as Red Bull take one-two

Sebastian Vettel continued to dominate the 2011 Formula One season on Sunday when he scored a lights-to-flag victory in the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park. Starting from pole position, the defending world champion was never challenged during the 58-lap race and took the chequered flag comfortably ahead of Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber. Fernando Alonso finished third to claim Ferrari's first podium finish of the season, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton coming home fourth ahead of Mercedes GP's Nico Rosberg and his own team-mate Jenson Button. Renault's Nick Heidfeld finished seventh ahead of team-mate Vitaly Petrov, who passed Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi on the final lap of what was another hectic race - albeit from second place on down. Kamui Kobayashi was in the thick of it as usual, the Sauber driver claiming the final championship point with 10th place after starting at the back of the grid following the engine problems he experienced in qualifying. Most of the leaders made four pit stops, with Button alone among them in opting for three and losing out as a result during the closing laps. With Vettel leading off the line, Webber made a slow start and was passed by Rosberg into turn one. Hamilton also tried to pass the second Red Bull on the opening lap but instead ran wide exiting turn three and fell to sixth behind Alonso and Button.

Damage

He briefly fell into the clutches of Michael Schumacher but he in turn came under attack from Petrov on lap two, with the pair touching under braking into turn 12 - the Mercedes driver suffering front wing damage and pitting immediately. Webber took second place back from Rosberg under braking into turn 12 on lap five, while Hamilton made a move on Button at the same spot one lap later. Although Button got a run on his team-mate through the remainder of the lap and briefly took the place back, Hamilton regained it into turn one. Button used the same corner at the start of lap eight to move ahead once more, with the McLaren pair's duel allowing seventh-placed Massa to close up. The Brazilian passed Hamilton at the end of lap nine, with both drivers immediately pitting. Smart work by McLaren's pit crew allowed Hamilton to take the position back, although the pair almost touched as they exited the pitlane. Webber and Alonso, who had earlier taken third place from Rosberg, pitted soon after, with Vettel stopping from the lead on lap 12 and taking over at the front once more when Button stopped two laps later. He fell to seventh place, with the order now Vettel leading from Webber, Alonso, Hamilton, Rosberg - who was passed by the McLaren driver on lap 14 - Massa, Button and Petrov, who had earlier barged team-mate Heidfeld out of the way for eighth place. As Hamilton and Webber stopped again, Button joined Massa and Rosberg's battle and passed the Mercedes around the outside of the final turn at the end of lap 22, with Rosberg ducking into the pits almost immediately. Massa then stopped after his duel with Button ended with a flat-spotted tyre - Ferrari having to work hard to deal with Alonso first before his team-mate arrived at their pit box. Vettel, meanwhile, rejoined in the lead after stopping on lap 26.

All or nothing

Button just stayed ahead of Rosberg after he stopped one lap later and set about closing on fifth-placed Petrov and Massa. Meanwhile, Alonso snatched second from Webber with an all-or-nothing move into turn 12 on lap 29. Button passed Massa on lap 34 but Hamilton lost ground when he visited the pitlane for a third time - McLaren's pit crew struggling with a right-front wheel nut and then having to hold him in situ as Massa's car flashed past. Webber pitted on lap 36, one lap ahead of nearest rival Alonso, who kept second place. Button stopped four laps later and once more just kept seventh, this time from Petrov. Meanwhile, Vettel made his third stop and rejoined seven seconds ahead of Alonso. Starting with Rosberg and Webber, all the leaders decided to make fourth stops between laps 45 and 48 - all bar Button, that is, who entered the closing laps holding fourth place ahead of Hamilton but soon ceded ground and then lost fifth to Rosberg three laps from home. Webber re-engaged in his battle with Alonso and took second place - eventually - at the start of lap 51 having initially made his move into turn 12 the previous lap. However, by that stage Vettel was eight seconds down the road, never having been challenged. Elsewhere, Massa and Schumacher eventually finished 11th and 12th respectively, while Force India's Paul Di Resta pulled off the track and into retirement on lap 45. The result means that Vettel now has 93 points in the drivers' championship, with Hamilton second on 59, four ahead of Webber. Red Bull lead the constructors' championship with 148 points to McLaren's 105. Result 1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull - Renault 1:30:17.558
2. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault +00:08.807
3. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 00:10.075
4. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 00:40.232
5. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 00:47.539
6. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 00:59.431
7. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Renault 01:00.857
8. Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault 01:08.168
9. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 01:09.394
10. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Sauber - Ferrari 01:18.021
11. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 01:19.823
12. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes 01:25.444
13. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 1 lap
14. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Sauber - Ferrari 1 lap
15. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Williams - Cosworth 1 lap
16. Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1 lap
17. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Williams - Cosworth 1 lap
18. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Lotus - Renault 1 lap
19. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Lotus - Renault 2 laps
20. Jerome d'Ambrosio (Belgium) Virgin - Cosworth 2 laps
21. Narain Karthikeyan (India) HRT - Cosworth 3 laps
22. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) HRT - Cosworth 5 laps
r. Paul Di Resta (Britain) Force India-Mercedes 14 laps
r. Timo Glock (Germany) Virgin - Cosworth 58 laps
(rank: r = retired, nc = not classified)
Fastest Lap: Mark Webber,1:29.703, lap 48.