Dominant Button closes in on title

MOTOR SPORT FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: JENSON BUTTON'S seemingly unstoppable march to the Formula One title continued in Turkey yesterday as the Brawn GP driver eased to a sixth win from seven races after pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel's race was compromised by a first lap error and poor decisions from his pit wall.

Vettel, Button’s only realistic challenger, had claimed the pre-eminent grid position on Saturday and, starting on the cleaner side of the track and fuelled slightly lighter than the championship leader, looked set to maintain his advantage at race start.

Vettel did just that, holding his lead through turn one and almost immediately pulling marginally away from Button. But the edge evaporated in turn nine when Vettel overcooked his entry and slid off the track, allowing Button to steal through.

Button’s pace thereafter was stunningly quick and Vettel’s recovery simply amounted to hanging on to the Brawn driver’s coat-tails as the gap widened to close on five seconds. It should have prompted Vettel’s Red Bull Racing team to abandon the three-stop strategy the German had started on, a plan obviously predicated on the lighter Vettel holding his lead and building a gap he could maintain despite a stop more than the Brawns.

But, when Vettel entered the pits for the first time, his team short-fuelled him and sent him on his way, sticking fast to the three-stop plan. Brawn, reading the signs, brought Button in soon after, filled his car to the brim and sent the Briton out to hold the gap and stymie the German.

“It’s all about the lap time Sebastian, just keep putting in the laps,” Vettel’s engineer urged and the German responded. He closed to within a couple of car lengths of Button, but unable to find a way past, the race as a battle ended when Vettel dived for his second stop and Button stormed to a 20-second lead over Mark Webber,

In the end Vettel was forced to settle for third, his redundant strategy even dropping him behind Webber in the closing stages, the Australian going on to claim his second second-place finish of the year.

So dominant was Button in the closing stages he could afford to turn down the engine’s almost cruise to a halt before the finish line, zig-zagging past the chequered flag and taking time out to praise the car to his team over his pit-to-car radio. “You’ve built me a monster of a car,” he gushed. “You guys are absolute legends.”

Afterwards he continued the eulogy. “It’s the best the car has felt all year,” he said. “It’s previously been a bit loose and not really suited my style, but today it was just incredible. This is the first race where the car has been absolutely perfect for me. We’ve had very good pace in other races but I’ve still found it difficult to drive. Here it’s been fantastic.”

Vettel, though, was less pleased with his day’s work, reckoning that his first-lap mistake should have resulted in a change of strategy. “Turns nine and 10 were the most critical corners of the day because we had a change in the wind direction there, getting a tail-wind, and it was very slippery and very difficult to get the entrance right,” he said. “I just lost the car and pretty much went straight, I was lucky not to lose it altogether. But I lost the position immediately.”

The championship now increasingly looks a foregone conclusion. Button, however, would not be drawn on suggestions that he could wrap up the title early. “I’ve got a 26-point lead. I’m still going to do the best I can in every race and make every move I can to win every race.”

Turkish Grand Prix

1. Jenson Button (Britain) Brawn - Mercedes 1:26:24.848

2. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 00:06.714

3. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull - Renault 00:07.461

4. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 00:27.843

5. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams-Toyota 00:31.539

6. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 00:39.996

7. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 00:46.246

8. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 00:46.959

9. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 00:50.246

10. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 01:02.420

11. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 01:04.327

12. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams-Toyota 01:06.376

13. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren-Mercedes 01:20.454

14. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren - Mercedes 1 lap

15. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 lap

16. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1 lap

17. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India-Mercedes 1 lap

18. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 lap, Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Brawn-Mercedes 11 lapsr. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India-Mercedes 54 laps. Fastest Lap: Jenson Button, 1:27.579, lap 40.

Driver standings:

1. Jenson Button (Britain) Brawn 61 points

2. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Brawn 35

3. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 29

4. Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 27.5

5. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 19.5

Constructor standings:

1. Brawn-Mercedes 96 points

2. RedBull-Renault 56.5

3. Toyota 32.5

4. Ferrari 20