Turkey 2009: Live Race Notes

To keep track of the race, the pitstops and the incidents, the live notes return and will be updated as the Turkish Grand Prix unfolds before us. Jenson Button was fastest in qualifying after the fuel levels were taken into account, but Sebastian Vettel has shown he is capable of winning from pole, although so far the German has only managed victory in the rain. The soft tyre tends to fall off quickly once the track reaches 45°C, but yesterday the circuit cooled slightly as qualifying progressed. Expect some one-stoppers, although it would appear that two stops is the favourable strategy for the front-runners.

• Track temperature is 49°C. The tyre blankets are still on, but I suspect most will start on the harder compound tyre.
• All on hard tyres.
• VET, BUT TRU. Good starts from Ferrari.
• ROS had a good start as well.
• WEB attacking TRU.
• BUT is leading. Got past VET. VET ran wide over dirt on T10 corner exit.
• L1: RAI tagged ALO.
• L2: BAR and KOV fighting.
• L2: WEB past TRU.
• L3: HAM in P17.
• L3: BUT edging out lead over VET.
• RAI says he lost part of the front left wing while attacking ALO.
• L4: BUT about 1s faster than VET.
• L4: BAR desperate to pass KOV for P11.
• BAR was very slow off the start. Anti-stall kicked in.
• L4: KOV is consistently locking up front-left in the final complex.
• L4: FIS pits. Turned the engine off.
• L6: FIS had brake and hydraulic problems on the grid. Officially retired now.
• L7: BAR finally got past KOV in the final corner. KOV went wide. KOV repassed thanks to KERS down the straight. KOV still ahead.
• L8: BAR went up inside of KOV at T9. KOV moved over and they tagged. BAR spun. KOV continued. BAR recovered, now in P17.
• L10: BAR moving up to P15. Passed HAM and PIQ.
• L11: BUT told to turn engine revs down a little to ensure the car is kept as cool as possible in the searing Turkish heat.
• L12: BAR says he has no seventh gear.
• L13: BAR knocks SUT in final corner. Something is flapping on the front-right of the Brawn. Front wing endplate knocked off.
• L14: BUT lead up to 5.6s. VET ahead of WEB by 5.2s.
• L14: BAR pits. Hard tyres.
• L15: ALO pits.
• L16: Smedley tells MAS to brake less in final corner.
• L16: VET pits. Hard tyres.
• Kravitz reckons ALO started on soft tyres and changed to hard at first stop.
• L17: TRU pits. Ran past stop mark. Hard tyres.
• L17: BUT pits. Hard tyres.
• L17: MAS pits.
• L18: WEB pits. Hard tyres.
• L18: ROS pits. Hard tyres.
• BUT back in lead.
• L18: RAI pits.
• WEB exited pits behind KUB.
• L19: KOV pits. Hard tyres.
• F1.com reckon KOV started on soft tyres.
• L20: BUT is heavy to minimise time spent on soft tyre at the end. VET is catching BUT.
• L21: KUB pits. HArd tyres.
• L21: SUT pits.
• BUT lead down to 3.2s.
• L22: HAM passes RAI into T1. HAM is yet to stop.
• L23: BUT lead down to 1.6s
• L24: BUT lead down to 1.1s
• L24: NAK in P4, yet to stop.
• L25: BUT ran wide into final corner. VET just can’t get close enough into T1 though.
• L25: BUE pits.
• L26: NAK pits.
• L27: GLO passes TRU for P6.
• L28: HEI pits.
• L29: VET pits. He was boxed up behind BUT. Hard tyres.
• L30: BUT has upped pace.
• L31: GLO pits.
• L32: PIQ pits.
• L33: HAM pits. Soft tyres.
• L33: BOU pits.
• L34: PIQ challenging HAM. PIQ barges way around outside through final complex. HAM gets a squirt on, but PIQ maintains position.
• L35: ALO told that if he can’t pass KUB, he is to move out of slipstream to keep engine cool. ALO responds with “I can’t do that.”
• L37: SUT pits.
• L37: BUE passes HAM.
• L38: HAM’s soft tyres don’t appear to be holding up too well. HAM in P17.
• L39: BAR pits. Soft tyres.
• L40: ALO pits.
• L40: ROS pits. Soft tyres.
• L41: Cameraman in Williams garage likes the blonde who stands under the picture of ROS. Saw the same shot yesterday in qualifying.
• L42: MAS pits. Soft tyres.
• L43: BUT pits. Soft tyres.
• L43: WEB (soft) and KOV pit.
• L43: TRU pits. BUE pits as well.
• L43: NAK pits. Had problem with front-left wheel bin not going on properly.
• L44: KUB and RAI pit.
• L45: VET is 11s ahead of WEB but has another stop to make.
• L46: TRU got ahead of ROS in the pitstops.
• L46: VET is now racing WEB for P2.
• L46: HEI pits.
• L47: ALO pits.
• L47: GLO challenging ROS for P5.
• L47: GLO pits.
• L48: VET pits. Soft tyres.
• L48: BAR and PIQ pit.
• L48: BAR retires. Brawn’s first retirement.
• L49: BOU pits.
• L50: VET 3s behind WEB and catching.
• L51: PIQ given blue flags early. He is sitting between WEB and VET.
• L51: PIQ moves well out of the way of VET. Gap down to 2.5s to WEB.
• L53: Red Bull engineer tells VET to save his car and that WEB is faster. Code for the race is over.
• L54: BUT is saving his engine by easing off – he has a 17s lead. Short shifting as well.
• L55: BUT took fastest lap on L40 with a 1m27.579s
• L58: BUT wins his sixth race from seven attempts this year. WEB finishes second, VET third.