Turkish Grand Prix:Preview

With the traditional three week gap in-between the curtain raising fly away races and the start of the European season been and gone, a lot has been made of the last fly away race in China, and this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix.

  As always, Red Bull was at the centre of analysis as is the norm in the modern era of Formula One, with scrutiny being placed significantly on their ultimate downfall during the Shanghai event three weeks ago. With a car still widely considered to be the quickest on raw pace, and a third consecutive pole position for Sebastian Vettel, it really was Red Bulls race to lose: as they eventually did. A wrong footed strategic decision midway through the race to place Vettel on a two stop strategy compared to the conventional three stop path was the main issue with Red Bulls race; not to mention the fact that the teams other driver Mark Webber was starting in a lowly 18th place. Teamed with a stunning performance of tyre management, clever strategy and some outstanding over-taking from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton who went on to become victorious, Red Bull were ultimately caught napping.

  Even after a frustrating time in China, the widely accepted theory is that going into Turkey; the RB7 is still the car to beat, even with a vast array of upgrade packages being placed on rival cars. Ferrari for example, arrive in Istanbul with a new front and rear wing, aswell as revised brake ducts in order to try and cure the 150º Italia's early season woes; often most noticeable on Saturday afternoon when the cars ultimate pace is most evident and important during Qualifying. Turkey has been kind to Ferrari in recent years, with Felipe Massa being the undisputed king of the Herman Tilke designed track, taking a hat-trick of wins since the venues introduction to the calendar in 2005.

 The media spotlight has been intense on the Williams team during the three week layoff, with an early season run of form going against pre-season predictions from both team insiders, aswell as the pre-season testing timesheets. With the team being recently being placed on flotation on the stock market, results this year are essential in order for the team’s long term and shirt term business plan to become a success. With a promising looking car and a fantastic blend of youth and experience in its driver line up, all was looking well for Williams, until a run of three disappointing fly away race results left the team scratching their heads. It would appear that a number of costly driver errors from both the normally reliably consistent Rubens Barichello and series debutant Pastor Maldonado, teamed with a car lacking downforce from the rear, have left the team way behind expectations, and in need of drastic action to get their season back on track. Prior to this weekend’s event, the team answered muted rumours within the press of a reshuffle in the departments at Williams, by announcing that long term Technical Director Sam Michael and Chief Aerodynamicist Jon Tomlinson are to leave their positions in the team come the end of the year. The team also raised paddock eyebrows by confirming that the shamed 'spy gate' protagonist from 2007, Mike Coughlan, is to join the team during June this year as Chief Engineer. This announcement and the introduction of a significant upgrade package for this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix, could well be defining factors in the fortunes of the team both on and off the track, come the end of the season.

  Going into this weekend’s racing, a lot of focus has been placed on how tyre degradation may influence the race’s outcome, as was very much the case in China three weeks ago. With McLaren being able to save an extra set of tyres from qualifying for Hamilton in the race, they saw there man cut through the field come the end of the race, prompting many analysts to predict a similar tactic being used in Turkey, where the Pirelli’s are thought to be under even greater pressure in terms of lasting condition than in China.  In particular, the Istanbul Speed Park’s turn eight is widely acknowledged among drivers, team personnel and fans alike as having one of the greatest turns on the calendar; the originally named ‘Turn 8’. With four apex’s, the corner will be a challenge throughout the weekend for all the drivers, with the cars downforce being tested to the absolute limit; especially in race trim when carrying heavy fuel loads, and when trying to reduce tyre degradation.

   It goes without saying then, that Turkey holds the answer to a lot of unanswered questions raised in the last three weeks: How will the team’s updates affect the pecking order? How far ahead actually is Red Bull Racing? How will the Pirellis hold up, on a track traditionally tough on tyres? All will be answered, come Sunday evening.