Why Red Bull will still have the edge in Turkey
With Sebastian Vettel losing all his dry running to a crash and Mark Webber only fifth, it was a tough start for Red Bull in Turkey. But Mark Hughes still expects RBR to lead McLaren and Mercedes this weekend
"I'll give it another try next lap," said Sebastian Vettel over the radio, having just gone off on standing water through Turn 11 part-way through first practice. Running on intermediates on a track that was becoming wetter once more, having earlier dried from full-wet levels, he was pushing hard.
He never got to complete that next lap, because from the moment he got his front right onto the astro-turf on the exit of Turn 8, he was a passenger. The Red Bull clattered hard off the barrier and was sufficiently damaged to prevent him taking part in the dry afternoon session. This left Mark Webber to compress the donkey work of what would normally be four sessions of dry running (two cars x two dry sessions) into a single afternoon session. With him concentrating on long runs, we didn't get a direct comparison of Red Bull raw pace with that of the McLarens and Mercedes, leaving a tantalising question hanging in the damp air.
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