With Turkey, Vettel cruises into third win

In the eyes of many, Adrian Newey has been the brains behind Red Bulls’ remarkable success during the 2011 Formula One season. As chief technical officer of the team, he has been responsible for the pushing the limits of vehicle design and making them the absolute best in the grid. But no matter how good the car is – it all comes down to nought if the drivers can’t do the trick on the track. Red Bull, however, has no problems in that regard with Sebastian Vettel showing everyone on the circuit just how it’s done. [caption id=“attachment_6023” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany celebrates after winning the Turkish F1 Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park circuit on May 8. Murad Sezer/Reuters “] [/caption] “Yes! Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!” Vettel shouted after winning the Turkish Grand Prix as he cruised to his third victory of the season. He was so good that former F1 World champion David Coulthard just couldn’t hide his admiration: “He is flawless at the moment. He is setting the standards in qualifying and how to win a Grand Prix.” Vettel’s third win in four races this season stretched his overall lead to 34 points over McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, a distant fourth on Sunday, Reuters reports. The 23-year-old German led from pole position, his fifth in a row dating back to last year, and looked trouble-free on a sunny afternoon at Istanbul Park, where spectators witnessed a resurgent Ferrari and a disappointing McLaren. Australian Mark Webber, whose hopes of victory last year evaporated after the two Red Bull teammates collided while fighting for the lead late in the race, finished second after a thrilling battle with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard might have hoped for second place but had to settle for third, his team’s first podium finish since last November in Brazil. Vettel’s 13th career win, and sixth from his last eight starts, was third time lucky for champions Red Bull who celebrated their first Turkish success despite starting the previous two Istanbul races on pole. “You beauty, Seb,” shouted team boss Christian Horner as his driver took the chequered flag and whooped in delight from the cockpit. Vettel has 93 points to Hamilton’s 59 and Webber’s 55. The German kept up a Turkish tradition, with the winner in Istanbul coming from the front row in all seven of the races held here to date. Germany’s Nico Rosberg was fifth for Mercedes with Britain’s Jenson Button sixth. He was the only driver in the top six to do three stops rather than four. The Renaults of Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov were seventh and eighth while Sebastien Buemi was ninth for Toro Rosso. Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi, starting from the back of the grid after failing to set a time in qualifying, snatched the final point for Sauber. Mercedes had a disappointing afternoon after seeming to have made a big step up in qualifying. Seven-times champion Michael Schumacher collided with Petrov and finished 12th and last of the unlapped drivers. “It was mostly my mistake – suddenly we got together and I lost my front wing,” the German told the BBC. “There was lots of fighting and lots of action, but all for nothing.” With inputs from Reuters