Hello and welcome to the latest edition of TGTB&TB, and first of all many apologies about the lateness this week. Laptop issues. But, I’m back to give my views on what, in my eyes, was the best dry race of the season so far. I’ll be covering the collision between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber and the fallout, McLaren’s increased pace and lucky 1-2, as well as other stories that caught my eye over the race weekend. See anything you agree/disagree with? Let me know in the comments box!       

The Good

The way McLaren has closed the gap between themselves and Red Bull since Barcelona has been very impressive indeed. At the next GP, in Canada, Red Bull will have to keep one eye over their shoulder as the Woking team have now got a car that can compete with them in terms of race pace. Qualifying may be another matter though, as the Red Bull is still supreme in low fuel trim. Lewis Hamilton took the victory in Turkey, with Jenson Button in second, but no matter how fortunate people make it out to be he still had to have put his car in the right place to benefit. If Michael Schumacher hadn’t stacked it in Q3 and brought out the yellow flags then Jenson may have been higher than fourth, and been in a stronger position on Sunday also. It bodes well that after a few rounds of Red Bull dominance, teams like McLaren (and to a lesser extent Mercedes and Renault) can pt the work in and claw some time back. Maybe this season won’t be as one-sided as some doom-mongers are predicting. 

 Felipe Massa made a positive statement considering his seat at Ferrari was the subject of The Good last week. Going into Ferrari’s 800th Grand Prix, he needed to make sure he qualified and finished either in front of, or within touching distance, of Fernando Alonso. Achieving the former gives Massa the confidence that he needs to build on to make sure the Ferrari hierarchy keep him at Maranello for 2011 and beyond. Vitaly Petrov’s stck continues to rise, duelling with a yet again disappointing  Alonso until a puncture dropped him out of the points. The Russian rookie is proving that Robert Kubica isn’t just performing out of skin this year; Renault are real contenders for major points at each race weekend.      

The Bad

Before I autopsy the Webber-Vettel incident just how unenthusiastic was the podium on Sunday? Hamilton look peeved with Button, who in turn looked sheepish, and Webber wanted to be anywhere but in the public eye. Very strange indeed. 

And now we conduct the post-mortem of the Red Bull implosion on lap 41. Here’s the video for those who haven’t seen it yet :   

embedded by Embedded Video

My point of view on the matter is this; Sebastian Vettel was completely in the wrong, no excuses. It was a bold move where the space was extremly minimal, going down to a hairpin with a bumpy braking zone. But it was just too tight. Mark Webber had every right to defend the line, and Vettel turned right into his path either due to him thinking he was past and clear, or that Webber would feel intimidated and concede the place. Don’t forget, these two have history from the first corner in Malaysia where Webber did concede and ultimately lost out on a Grand Prix win. That may have fuelled the fire that started when Vettel cost Webber a maiden win in Fuji 2007.    

What the most interesting story that is comgin out of this clash is the overwhelming support the Red bull team, from owner to team principal to the pit-wall, has for Sebastian Vettel. As Martin Whitmarsh said, why were they consoling a driver who nearly cost them the whole race? I’m sure Mark Webber wouldve seen that footage by now and be thinking what has he got to do to get that kind of backing? When the title comes down to the wire, will Webber have the team’s full support?  Ulitmately, it seems the only real enemy Red Bull has this season is themselves, whether it be fielding a fragile car, getting it wrong with strategies in mixed weather races, and now driver relationship issues. The championship truly is theirs to lose. 

Fernando Alonso had yet another weekend to forget for Ferrari. He is making quite the habit of them to be honest. By my count, his error on his final qualifying lap in Q2 was his fifth enforced error in seven rounds of this years championship. As I mentioned last week, the man is pushing too hard to be at the front, costing him valuable grind places and points finishes. If anything, he win in Bahrain may have been the catalyst to this, as early success for any driver in a new team can breed expectation as the season progresses. If you don’t continually deliver however, the pressure only increases. Having the expectation of the Tifosi on your shoulders only magnifies that pressure a hundred-fold. Unless Alonso settle down soon, he’s in for a rough few months racing.       

The Backmarkers 

Finally, Sauber has delivered. The outfit has been threatening a top-ten finish since Barcelona and Kumai Kobayashi duly delivered after once again putting his car into Q3. There’s a real sense of progress emanating from the Swiss-based squad since the arrival of new technical director Robert Key from Force India, and continued results like this weekend’s double finish may move them up the grid. Perhaps even out of The Backmarkers. 

Another team celebrating a double finish was the much maligned Virgin Racing. Although beset by problems all season, the new updated chassis is proving reliable and can last a whole race distance. While other teams are focusing on speed, reliable is the main aim of Virgin. Rumours have it that their car is running at almost 20kg over the minimum weight restriction, so shedding a few pounds is the priority over the next race or two. From all reports both cars were stuck in fifth gear towards the end so the hydraulic issues plaguing all the new teams may have struck again.     

Hispania were another team looking for progress after splitting from chassis-maker Dallara. Johnathon Legard may not be my favourite commentator, but even he made me laugh when stating Hispania’s new upgrade for Turkey consisted of “a good polish”. All jokes aside the team managed to outqualify Virgin on merit for the first time. Colin Kolles technical operations team has a history of sportscar success, and with Geoff Willis at the helm the only way is up for the Spanish team. If Virgin are focusing on reliablilty at the moment, then Lotus are at the other end of the spectrum concentrating on pure speed. On Saturday in Istanbul, the team managed to get the gap between them and the slowest established team to just under 1.4 seconds, which is a massive achievement in itself. If a new team is going to challenge any of the current teams throughout this season it will be Lotus. Recent news has stated that they have signed some design staff from Force India as well, and if they can impart their knowledge onto the 2010 car then the gap will be ever decreasing.       

That’s it for this weeks edition, many thanks for reading. For those of you who want to take part in future articles, feel free to comment in the large blank box below! Anthing I missed? Anything you disagree with? I want to know! Have a good seven days and catch you next week.

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