Telegraph.co.uk

Massa: Mercedes a growing threat Yahoo! Eurosport UK Felipe Massa is encouraged by the progress that Ferrari has made with its car in recent weeks - but thinks the team needs to be wary of the step forward made by rival Mercedes GP. With Ferrari having got to the bottom of the windtunnel calibration ... Turkish Grand Prix 2011: Williams face long road before they can return to the ...Telegraph.co.uk Road back has been a long oneThe National Norbert Haug amused by reports about Nico Rosberg's link with Ferraribettor.com (blog) pitpass.com -Formula 1 all 121 news articles »

The Guardian

F1 2011 Turkish Grand Prix qualifying: Hamilton's target Times 24 FORMULA 1 star Lewis Hamilton is gunning for a podium finish in this weekend's 2011 Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park. To send a link to this page to a friend, simply enter their email address below ... Vettel crashes out in wet Turkish practiceCNN International Button's ready to shine in the rainMirror.co.uk VETTEL'S SOS TO WEBBERHerald Sun Telegraph.co.uk -Motor Authority (blog) -SPEEDtv.com all 1,175 news articles »

autosport.com

Formula 1 drivers hope they can continue racing at Istanbul Park in the future The Canadian Press ISTANBUL — Formula One drivers hope they will not be competing at the Turkish Grand Prix for the last time this weekend. Doubts were raised that Turkey may not host a race next year, after the head of Istanbul's Chamber of Commerce, Murat Yalcintas, ... DHL the official title sponsor of 2011 Turkish race 06 May 2011Formula 1 2011 Turkey GP: Renault Formula One (F1) Race PreviewPaddockTalk 2011 Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix PreviewMotor Authority (blog) autosport.com -F1SA -ESPN STAR Sports all 45 news articles »

The third and final practice session for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix starts at 0900 BST.

Formula 1

DHL the official title sponsor of 2011 Turkish race 06 May 2011 Formula 1 DHL, the world's leading logistics company and Official Logistics Partner of Formula 1™, has been officially announced as the title sponsor of this weekend's Istanbul race, which is now referred to as the 2011 FORMULA 1 DHL TURKISH GRAND PRIX. ... My tryst with Formula 1- A Tale of an Indian FanKeeda of Sports all 3 news articles »

Charles Coates/LAT Photographic F1 heads to the crossroads between Asia and Europe this weekend. The Turkish Grand Prix sets off at the Istanbul Park Circuit, a 3.3-mile, 14-turn course. Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel still sits atop the...

Telegraph.co.uk

Button sets Turkey pace SkySports Jenson Button took advantage of drier conditions to set the pace in Friday's second practice ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix. The McLaren racer was half a second quicker than team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who ended third, Nico Rosberg splitting the English ... Button backs Turkey to be season templateTimes of India Button's ready to shine in the rainMirror.co.uk F1: Button Fastest, Pleased With ProgressSPEEDtv.com FemaleFirst.co.uk -Telegraph.co.uk -www.worldbulletin.net all 90 news articles »

Turkish Grand Prix 2011: Free Practice 2 Pos No Driver Team Time Laps 1 4 Jenson Button McLaren 1:26.456 26 Report 2 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:26.521 29 Report 3 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:27.033 31 Report 4 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:27.063 21 Report 5 2 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:27.149 31 Report 6 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:27.340 37 7 10...

Independent Online

F1 : 2011 Turkey - HRT F1 - Istanbul Formula 1 Friday report F1SA Formula One report - On the first day of practice sessions in Istanbul Park, the drivers went up against a mix of weather conditions. With a wet track due to the rain, both Hispania Racing cars came out in the first session with wet tyres and in the ... Turkish GP: The test of the Pirelli tyresESPN STAR Sports Pirelli wants tyre allocation changeYahoo! Eurosport UK Turkish Grand Prix: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes - Day 1 Practice ReportAuto Racing Daily all 56 news articles »

Times LIVE

Button's ready to shine in the rain Mirror.co.uk As Formula 1 returns to Turkey, perhaps for the last time, the 2009 champion said he is overdue another visit to the top of the podium. Button warned his McLaren team to expect another drubbing by Red Bull in ... Live - Turkish GP practiceBBC News McLaren's Button tops practice two in Istanbulwww.worldbulletin.net LIVE COMMENTS - Turkish Grand Prix - Free Practice 1Eurosport.com AU Malaysia Star all 50 news articles »

The Hindu

VETTEL'S SOS TO WEBBER Herald Sun Formula 1: THE tables have turned for a day at Formula 1 team Red Bull, with Sebastian Vettel needing Mark Webber's help after crashing his car during practice for the Turkish Grand Prix. Vettel will rely on Webber's car data when setting up his own ... DHL the official title sponsor of 2011 Turkish race 06 May 2011Formula 1 Formula 1 drivers hope they can continue racing at Istanbul Park in the futureThe Canadian Press Vettel crashes out in wet Turkish practiceCNN International Telegraph.co.uk -SPEEDtv.com -Motor Authority (blog) all 1,036 news articles »

Formula 1

Button sets fastest time on Friday in Turkey Motorsport.com Ferrari's Fernando Alonso topped the time sheets in a wet first practice for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul. It was useful to do some running in the wet because there is a chance that it might rain again at some point tomorrow. ... Practice One - Alonso tops wet Turkish session 06 May 2011Formula 1 F1: Too Early To Judge Our Pace Says AlonsoSPEEDtv.com F1 : 2011 Turkey - Ferrari - Istanbul Formula 1 Friday reportF1SA Planet-F1 -Badger GP -PaddockTalk all 152 news articles »

• Jenson Button attributes improvement to lessons from girlfriend
• Sebastian Vettel crashes out in morning session

Jenson Button was fastest in practice for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix after admitting that he had been taking driving lessons from his girlfriend, Jessica Michibata.

Button, who won here in 2009 and was second last year, dominated the dry afternoon practice session on Friday after Sebastian Vettel had crashed out in the rain in the morning session.

The McLaren driver, who parked in the Red Bull pit bay during the last race in China, said: "The missus took the piss out of me quite a bit. She's teaching me how to park.

"She can't drive either. She passed her test two years ago and she hasn't driven since. I have just bought her a car. It's a nice little Mini Cooper cabriolet, which is an awesome bit of kit. Really nice, cream with a hot chocolate roof and hot chocolate seats. They're even more chocolaty now after a couple of drives with her. The passenger seat anyway."

Button said she had been driving him near his home in Guernsey, where the speed limit is 35mph. "It felt quite quick from the passenger seat. Guernsey is the most difficult place to drive as well because the junctions are blind. She did well. I'm very proud of her. She can park better than me."

Button, who last won in China on 18 April last year, added: "I don't night and day think damn I haven't won a race for ages. I go out there and race and I enjoy myself. And if I win ... amazing.

"That's what I want to do. But if it doesn't happen and I have a great race and loads of overtaking moves and good fights, that's good too. It's not as good as winning but it's good. We should enjoy the moment and forget about the past and not look too far into the future. Just enjoy what we have."

Button took advantage of the absence of Vettel – whose car was badly damaged in the morning – to edge past Nico Rosberg in the second practice session. Vettel ran wide on turn eight, a triple-apex left-hander, and crashed into the barriers, severely damaging the front and right-hand side of his car.

Button's team-mate Lewis Hamilton was third, followed by Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber. Felipe Massa, who has won here three times, was sixth. Button, who last year lost out to Hamilton after one of their better battles, added: "There will be a lot of close racing here. I am looking forward to that."

Fernando Alonso had been fastest in the earlier session but was hampered by a hydraulics problem later in the day. The bottom four places were taken by the two Virgin Racing cars of Jérôme d'Ambrosio and Timo Glock, and the Hispanias of Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Jenson Button made the most of improved weather conditions to post the fastest time in the second practice for the Turkish Grand Prix, and his McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton was third quickest.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Istanbul, Turkey, May 06, 2011

The opening practice sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix took place in contrasting conditions at Istanbul Park today. Morning rain saw the teams using Pirelli wet tyres throughout P1 before the track dried out sufficiently for slicks in P2.


• P1 gave Michael and Nico a valuable opportunity to evaluate the car on the wet tyres for the first time since winter testing
• With a dry track in P2, the team completed initial dry tyre evaluations with the hard and soft compounds
• Nico completed 43 laps and finished the day in second place, with Michael completing 39 laps in fourth position

NICO ROSBERG
“We have made a decent start to the weekend and I am optimistic for tomorrow. We had a productive afternoon and tried a lot of things with the car. I didn’t have too many problems with the tyres on the long run and I was quite surprised by the grip levels, which were higher than I expected. The wet tyres had a lot of grip this morning too. I’m happy with what we learned and expecting a very interesting time tomorrow and on Sunday.”

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
“We had quite a positive Friday, and it was especially good that we were able to test both wet and dry tyres. I hadn't really driven the wets so I am pleased I finally had some opportunity to use them. Also, my sessions were quite eventful with three spins in Turn 11. All in all, our car confirmed the performance improvement from China, so we can look forward to the rest of the weekend. We still have some questions relating to the set-up but I am confident we will sort them out tomorrow.”

ROSS BRAWN
“We had a reasonably good day and it was nice to get a lot of work done. We had a good opportunity this morning to see what the car was like in the wet conditions. It was also the first time that Michael had really driven the car in the wet, so that’s useful as the conditions this weekend could still be mixed. Then we had a nice dry session this afternoon and completed a lot of work on low and high fuel. The balance of the car isn’t there yet and there is a lot of work ahead, but the team and drivers have worked very well today.”

NORBERT HAUG
“The morning session in the wet saw Nico and Michael complete 32 laps and the lap times on wet tyres looked quite good. In dry conditions this afternoon, we ran 50 laps and worked through our planned programme. I would not read too much into today's positions in both sessions; there is more work to do for tomorrow.”





























* Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS *
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

May 6, 2011 – Peter Windsor looks back at Turkey's FP1 and FP2 Amusing to see Pastor Maldonado describe his Friday in Turkey as 'unlucky', bearing in mind he spun three times at more or less the same corner (Turn 8). I'm a bit of a Pastor fan, having seen him win at Monaco in GP2 and excel also on great circuits like Spa (WSR), and I think...

In this latest episode of the Inside Track with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button look back at the Chinese GP and forward to the Turkish GP. Check out The F1 Times YouTube channel for all the latest video content. Join The F1 Times Facebook page for all the latest!

Mercedes had a positive start to their Turkish Grand Prix as Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher finished the Friday practice sessions as, respectively, the second and fourth fastest drivers. A very wet start to the day gave both drivers the chance to do some laps on the extreme wet Pirelli tyre, before evaluating the hard and soft compounds of...

Q: Robert, Paul di Resta seems to be doing a particularly good job with the team, I think you will agree. Tell us how you came to get him and how he is in the team. Of course, he came from a slightly strange background in DTM. Norbert Haug: “Strange?” Q: Well, shall we say [...]

Eurosport.com ASIA

Formula 1: Turkish Grand Prix - Friday Practice Quotes Auto Racing Daily For me it is the first time in an F1 car here and it is sensational.” “We had the wing to try on my car this afternoon, which was quite interesting, but now we have to look at the data and try to really understand it. At the moment it's too early to ... F1 : 2011 Turkey - HRT F1 - Istanbul Formula 1 Friday reportF1SA Turkish GP: The test of the Pirelli tyresESPN STAR Sports Pirelli wants tyre allocation changeYahoo! Eurosport UK all 46 news articles »

Telegraph.co.uk

F1 Champ Sebastian Vettel Crashes During Practice At Wet Turkish GP Motor Authority (blog) Formula 1 championship leader Sebastian Vettel suffered a setback today on day one of practice at the very wet 2011 Turkish Grand Prix, crashing at high speed into a barrier at Istanbul Park Circuit's dreaded Turn Eight, a sharp left-hand corner with ... Formula 1 drivers hope they can continue racing at Istanbul Park in the futureThe Canadian Press Vettel crashes out in wet Turkish practiceCNN International 2011 Turkey GP: Renault Formula One (F1) Race PreviewPaddockTalk Telegraph.co.uk -SPEEDtv.com -Monsters and Critics.com all 1,042 news articles »

Jérôme d'Ambrosio has been given a 5-place grid penalty for this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix, with the Belgian driver falling foul of yellow flag rules during the second practice session at Istanbul Park on Friday afternoon.

Jerome d'Ambrosio has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the Turkish Grand Prix after ignoring yellow flags in second practice

McLaren's Jenson Button was fastest in practice for the Turkish Grand Prix, while Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel suffered a nasty crash.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel remains confident of success at the Turkish Grand Prix, despite crashing out in the first practice session.

SkySports

Button backs Turkey to be season template Times of India ISTANBUL: Jenson Button believes the outcome of this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix will be a solid indicator of which teams have the fastest cars for the rest of this year's Formula One world championship. The 2009 champion, who topped the times for ... F1: Button Fastest, Pleased With ProgressSPEEDtv.com Wet weather complicates Turkey for F1 teamsGrandPrix Mercedes chase positives in TurkeyRacers Republic all 93 news articles »

The races are exciting, but with talks of a takeover rampant and Bernie Ecclestone distracted, F1 is in a worrying state of flux

There is a streak of insanity in the world of Formula One but this week in Istanbul – a city with its own complicated personality split by the Bosphorus – it has seemed in imminent danger of surpassing even its own extremes.

Part sport, part trade fair and part raucous fashion parade F1 has been kept on track by the collective will of its many watchers and the astounding juggling skills of Bernie Ecclestone, the commercial rights holder.

But there is an increasing awareness that the 80-year-old Ecclestone will not go on forever. He has run his exorbitant roost for more than three decades but is distracted by an investigation by German authorities into alleged bribes in connection with the purchase of F1 by the private equity firm CVC in 2005.

This week there have been more reports of takeover talks suggesting that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, together with Italy's Agnelli dynasty, the owners of Fiat and Ferrari, are hoping to wrest control from CVC. There is renewed speculation too that this may be Turkey's last race, even though the Hermann Tilke-designed circuit, opened only six years ago, is one of the best on the calendar.

And, despite the original deadline for a decision on the future of this year's Bahrain Grand Prix being postponed until next month, there are ridiculous mutterings the race may be resurrected; the season's March pipe-opener was cancelled in an uncharacteristic moment of common sense, given the violent civil unrest in the country.

Rumour, as much as the specially refined fuel, energises this giddy circus and, on the eve of the Turkish Grand Prix, rumour has never been so rife. And all the time there is a self-importance about the sport that borders on solipsism; it is full of charming, bright young men.

Istanbul Park is traditionally billed as F1's return to Europe, even though it takes place on the Asian side of this opulent city. On arrival there were more security guards than spectators.

It has been Ecclestone's genius to persuade various governments that they are in urgent need of a grand prix. So another stadium is erected on some wasteland far removed from the main city; there are now a herd of these white elephants scattered across the globe. It is hardly surprising that few bother to turn up at Bahrain, South Korea, Valencia, Malaysia, China and Turkey, while traditional centres, such as France, Portugal and South Africa are now off the schedule.

But at least the poor turnout in the build-up made it easier to get to one of the sport's saner voices. John Booth is team principal of the unfailingly genial Virgin team, who live at the far end of the paddock, well away from the big names, McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari.

In relation to the takeover talks, Yorkshireman Booth said: "Sometimes the speculation is put out there for political reasons so we don't try to second-guess what people are up to – especially people with the nous of Bernie Ecclestone. So we concentrate on what we can control.

"Even with the talk of the sale of Formula One we don't know whether it's a red herring or there is genuine interest or even the possibility. Obviously we crave stability and sustainability. The sustainability is driven by the TV figures and as far as I understand they're as strong as ever, if not getting stronger."

Like most people in the sport, he is strongly opposed to the idea of F1 moving to Sky. "I think it would be a disaster for F1 to go on to pay-for-view. I'm not a fan of pay-for-view for any sport. I love my boxing but I wouldn't pay for it. I think it works great on the BBC and it would be fantastic to see it stay there. They're pretty lucky, of course, because the racing over the past two years has been really exciting.

"The sport is in good shape. The last race, in China, was one of the best races I've ever seen. The combination of the rear wing and the tyres has made it made it the most exciting F1 has been for 20 years. But I think Kers is a total waste of time. McLaren and Ferrari will each spend £10m or whatever on Kers just to cancel each other out. We're disadvantaged because we haven't got the resources to run it."

At the other end of the paddock, McLaren's team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "I think it's clear that the business model of all the teams relies on free-to-air. We're selling a large, broad, media exposure. That's the business model and I'm sure that that's the business model all the Formula One teams will require going forward."

But he added: "From a different angle, I think that for the last 20 years perhaps we, collectively, have not managed the sport as well as we can. There's been in-fighting, there's a competitive spirit in Formula One that sometimes has been quite damaging. But recently there's been a period of unprecedented co-operation between the teams."

By a combination of accident and contrived design, modern Formula One presents a compelling package. But it is flawed and its future is uncertain. And that is what Ecclestone – or others – must address.

Formula 1 championship leader Sebastian Vettel suffered a setback today on day one of practice at the very wet 2011 Turkish Grand Prix, crashing at high speed into a barrier at Istanbul Park Circuit’s dreaded Turn Eight, a sharp left-hand corner with no less than three apexes. Fortunately the German youngster was unhurt in the crash, though...

Mark Webber says he is pleased with the performance of Red Bull's KERS system during practice for the Turkish Grand Prix

Jenson Button has likened sections of the bumpy Istanbul Park circuit to a motocross track after both McLarens visibly struggled under braking for turn 12 during Friday practice for the Turkish Grand Prix

Pirelli insists there is no danger the teams will run short of wet tyres at the Turkish Grand Prix despite some drivers restricting their running in the wet first practice to save sets in case of rain later in the weekend

Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are hopeful of making an impact at the Turkish Grand Prix after the second practice.

British driver Jenson Button quickest in practice as F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel crashes in the rain.

Fernando Alonso posted the fastest time Friday in a rainy first practice for the Turkish Grand Prix, while Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel crashed and was unharmed.

Pole Position: The world behind F1 teams The National You would be forgiven for thinking that Mercedes has a completely German heritage. But no, the current Mercedes GP team is based in Brackley, England, having taken over Brawn GP, which used to be Honda F1, which used to be BAR, which used to be Tyrrell ... Turkish Grand Prix first free practice timesIBNLive.com all 2 news articles »

The Hindu

Button's the Istanbullet as Mercedes power rules the roost in Turkey Badger GP They were then trumped by Mercedes pairing Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, the seven-time champ heading his team-mate on the hour mark. Three-time Turkish victor Felipe Massa was quickest at halfway point, before being toppled by Vitaly Petrov and ... Lewis Hamilton says 2011 not McLaren vs. Red Bull because Ferrari and Mercedes ...bettor.com (blog) Jenson Button was quickest in practice for the Turkish Grand PrixESPN F1 Button sets pace in Turkish GP practiceMonsters and Critics.com SkySports -Ct Post -PaddockTalk all 1,025 news articles »

Mark Webber has confirmed Red Bull's KERS worked well during free practice for the Turkish Grand Prix on Friday. Red Bull has struggled with its KERS reliablility this season and Webber's car has borne the brunt of the teething problems. After working tirelessly on the problems over the Easter break however, Webber reported that the team had made...

Jenson Button leads the way in Friday practice for the Turkish Grand Prix Jenson Button declared himself 'pretty happy' after setting the pace on the first day of running in Istanbul ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix.After the team elected to sit out much of the opening session of the weekend due to the wet conditions, Button proved to be the...

McLaren’s Jenson Button was the fastest man on track in the second free practice ahead of this season’s Turkish Grand Prix. The Briton clocked a best time of (1:26.456, 26 laps), beating by 0.065 seconds Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg (1:26.521, 29 laps) and by 0.577 team-mate Lewis Hamilton (1:27.033, 31 laps). Fourth fastest time for [...]

Telegraph.co.uk

Turkish Grand Prix 2011: McLaren's Jenson Button sets the pace ahead of ... Telegraph.co.uk British driver Jenson Button set the pace in Turkish Grand Prix practice on Friday while Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel crashed in the morning and missed the entire second session. By Telegraph staff and agencies 4:13PM BST 06 May 2011 ... Formula 1 drivers hope they can continue racing at Istanbul Park in the futureThe Canadian Press Vettel crashes out in wet Turkish practiceCNN International 2011 Turkey GP: Renault Formula One (F1) Race PreviewPaddockTalk SPEEDtv.com -Taipei Times -Monsters and Critics.com all 760 news articles »

Mark Webber has confirmed Red Bull's KERS worked well during free practice for the Turkish Grand Prix on Friday

Rubens Barrichello says that qualifying in the top ten is a realistic proposition for Williams following Friday practice for the Turkish Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso said a mix of mechanical problems and driver error cost him running time in the dry afternoon practice session for the Turkish Grand Prix.

Felipe Massa insists Ferrari has made a step forward with its latest set of upgrades but is not expecting to be challenge the front runners during this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix

Jenson Button declares himself happy with the quickest time in Friday practice for the Turkish Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel says he isn't worried by a loss of track time after practice crash ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix