WORLD champion Sebastien Vettel won the Malaysian Grand Prix with a dominant drive yesterday as his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber came unstuck once again to finish fourth.
Vettel converted his pole position into back-to-back wins to open the season and take an early grip on the formula one driver's championship.
The 23-year-old German won from McLaren's Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, and Nick Heidfeld, who finished third for Renault.
Vettel's second start-to-finish win in two outings this year came despite further problems with Red Bull's faulty Kinetic Energy Regeneration System (KERS), which gave Webber a nightmare start.
The Australian dropped from third on the grid to 10th before storming back to finish fourth ahead of the two Ferraris of Brazilian Felipe Massa and two-time champion Fernando Alonso.
Alonso suffered damage to his car in a late charge for the podium when he collided with the rear of Briton Lewis Hamilton's McLaren, suffering a broken front wing that required a pit stop.
Hamilton, the 2008 champion, looked set for a podium spot but finished seventh after a slow pit stop and then a struggle with worn tyres in the closing stages.
Having won in Australia and Malaysia this season, Vettel is five from his past six races all up.
It was another stunning performance from Vettel after the Red Bull team told their drivers they could not use the KERS power-boost for most of the race.
''In the heat, we kept our heads cool,'' he told the Red Bull crew on his victory lap. ''It is a pleasure every week to drive with you boys and I'm loving it.''
The track temperature was 31 degrees at the start in 83 per cent humidity, a sure sign that rain was likely as Vettel led the cars on the formation lap to the grid.
Vettel made a smooth start, pulling clear of the pack as Hamilton, on the dirtier side of the circuit, struggled to retain second place and, running into turns one and two, was passed on the outside by Heidfeld.
At the same time, Webber was beset by problems. His car had suffered a pre-race KERS failure and this made him slow off the start, dropping seven places.
Webber was first in for new tyres after 11 laps and was followed by Hamilton, who was nine seconds behind Vettel when he pitted.
Webber swiftly set about making up ground and set the fastest lap, as did Hamilton and then Alonso soon after.
Read More
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsport/vettel-takes-the-cake-webber-gets-the-crumbs-20110410-1d9hz.html
No comments:
Post a Comment