Vettel pips Button to Turkish GP pole

• Sebastian Vettel beats Jenson Button on final lap in Istanbul• Lewis Hamilton suffers oversteer and finishes a lowly 16thRed Bull's Sebastian Vettel claimed pole position for the Turkish grand Prix ahead of Brawn GP's Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello in this afternoon's qualifying session at Istanbul Park.The 21-year-old German driver left it until the final lap to post his fastest time of 1min 28.316secs and denied Button a hat-trick of starts from the front of the grid.It is the third pole of the 21-year-old German's career, with both his victories to date coming from the front of the grid, in Italy last year and China this season."It's quite a surprise to be quickest in all three sessions, but finally we have made it and we are ahead of the white cars," said Vettel. "It's been quite an effort by the team because we had some parts arrive late, but they've fixed them on and we've made it."The 2008 champion, Lewis Hamilton, had another afternoon to forget as he continued to struggle with his car which former constructor Eddie Jordan described as "simply hopeless, possibly the worst McLaren have ever designed".Hamilton struggled with his steering at corner eight and spun out of qualifying on the first round. He will start tomorrow's grand prix facing an uphill battle from 16th on the grid."Welcome to my world," said Hamilton in a rare display of gallows humour. "It's the car. It has got slower and slower throughout the weekend as the track has got hotter. It looked great yesterday, but this morning it didn't look fantastic."I don't think we should rush anything. It's better we take our time to refine it. It's not like we can claw back 60 points [in the championship]."Vettel's Red Bull team-mate, Mark Webber, will start the race fourth on the grid, ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli and the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.Leading grid positions after qualifying1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 28.316secs, 2 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:28.421, 3 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:28.579, 4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:28.613, 5 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:28.666, 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:28.815, 7 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:28.858, 8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:29.075, 9 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:29.191, 10 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:29.357, 11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:27.521, 12 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:27.629, 13 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:27.795, 14 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:28.207, 15 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:28.391, 16 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:28.318, 17 Nelson Piquet Jr (Bra) Renault 1:28.582, 18 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:28.708, 19 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:28.717, 20 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:28.918Formula oneMotor sportLewis HamiltonMcLarenguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Joy for Mark Webber in qualifying

• Webber scores first pole of career• Resurgent Hamilton will start fifthThe old 14-mile long Nürburgring Nordschleife long ago entered the motor racing history books as the stuff of legends, so when, in 1984, the sanitised new, current circuit was opened many hard-liners were left simply aghast that the old track's memory was being sullied by its replacement with such a sterile facility.Yet somehow this weekend, the ascetic new Nürburgring seemed strangely in tune with the tortured times of the sport. In contemporary Formula One, money talks even more than driving genius or engineering excellence, but the 2009 German Grand Prix might yet be remembered as the day the sport's commercial madness was laid to rest and the foundations were put down for a sane new future.A glance down the timing sheets offered little insight into the real story. At the end of a qualifying session rendered tantalisingly unpredictable by a succession of intermittent rain showers, Mark Webber stormed his Red Bull-Renault to the first pole position of his 128-race career, edging out the Brawn-Mercedes duo, Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, while local star Sebastian Vettel could manage only fourth ahead of the resurgent McLaren-Mercedes pair, Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen.Webber, a huge paddock favourite, could hardly contain his delight. "This is a very special day for me," said the 32-year-old. "I've been close to getting pole a few times in the past. It was very, very chaotic and to deliver the lap time when it absolutely counted was very important to me."We have been quick all weekend and I hope that it can be my first win tomorrow. Obviously these guys [Barrichello and Button] have had a very strong season and will push us, but I'm looking forward to a fight. I'm certainly up for trying to take the first win of my career."As for Button, third place was perhaps a little less than the world championship leader had been hoping for, but in terms of the strategic imperative to keep the upper hand over championship rival Vettel, he was certainly satisfied."Just getting into the final qualifying session was an achievement today," he said. "It was a pretty eventful hour and the second stint in particular was madness, but it was good fun. I thought it was too wet for slicks, but Rubens made it work and we were able to switch tyres with just enough time to make my own timed lap count."McLaren came into the weekend feeling that at last there was light at the end of the tunnel as far as the development of their troublesome MP4-24 was concerned. Hamilton's car was fitted with a new front wing and revised upper bodywork for Friday free practice, and a second new front wing was fitted to Kovalainen's car on Friday evening. In the end, the reigning world champion counted himself satisfied to have made it into the top 10."If it stays dry tomorrow, then we will definitely be in a good position," said Hamilton, "and we can shoot for the podium. We could even fight the Red Bulls. I think it will probably be wet, though. For Heikki and I to be in the top 10, that's all down to the work done back at the factory. It has made a huge difference."Yet that most pressing of agendas was being hammered out behind the smoked-glass windows of the lavish team motorhomes that lined the paddock. At the end of a week that had seen a rash of provocative exchanges between Max Mosley, the FIA president, and the eight-strong membership of the Formula One Teams' Association, over the future of the F1 world championship, it emerged that there had been a seismic shift in the balance of power within the motor racing community.Having started the weekend as the masters of their high-octane universe, Bernie Ecclestone and Mosley were reduced to the role of bit-part players as the realisation dawned that the sport's most pressing priority was servicing the $2.8bn bond that had been launched in 2007 by investors CVC Capital Partners to buy a stake in Ecclestone's F1 business.The only source of income available to service this debt is the future race and TV fees generated by the competing teams – and those teams had made it clear they had no intention of sticking around to be dictated to by an FIA under Mosley's stewardship. By this morning it was clear that time had run out for Mosley when Ari Vatanen, the 1981 world rally champion and a former member of the European parliament, arrived in the paddock to be greeted by a staged photocall shaking hands with Ecclestone.Of course, it is still possible that Mosley, or his approved nominee, the former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt, will offer themselves as candidates for the FIA presidential election in October. But Ecclestone's tacit endorsement of Vatanen – who proclaimed himself intent on restoring the governing body's somewhat tarnished reputation – renders this an unlikely dawn.Formula 1 has for too long been a cash cow milked dry by vested interests. If it is to survive and prosper, it needs a little breathing space in which to catch its breath.Formula OneRed BullLewis HamiltonJenson ButtonBrawnMcLarenMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Webber leads Red Bull one-two

• Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel take honours at Nürburgring• Felipe Massa finishes third with Jenson Button back in fifthMark Webber has won the German grand prix from pole, beating his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel into second place after strong challenges from Rubens Barrichello and third-placed Felipe Massa. The world championship leader Jenson Button finished in fifth place.It was Webber's maiden Formula One victory, on his 130th attempt, and Vettel's second-place finish cuts Button's championship lead to 21 points with eight races remaining. Button now has 68 points, Vettel moves up to second on 47 and Webber is third on 45.5.Lewis Hamilton had a bad day after being forced into the pits shortly after the start with a puncture. He made a strong start from fifth but ran wide after turn one. He returned to the track but was bumped from behind almost immediately.As the first Australian to win a grand prix since Alan Jones in 1981 in Las Vegas, Webber said: "It's an incredible day for me. I wanted to win so badly. The only thing I thought would beat me, or test me, would be the rain – but that held off. But it's a great day for me. The team have been incredibly patient with me, and I want to thank them and [owner] Dietrich [Mateschitz] and all the Australian people."Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Webber added: "There's no doubt about it, [the drivers' and constructors' championships] are both up for grabs. We're taking the fight to the big guys, who will be back. But it is a special time for our team, that's for sure."Vettel had no complaints with his second spot, saying: "He was unbeatable. But it's another one-two for the team, so I'm very happy. I wanted to win, but Mark did a better job in qualifying."Webber was deposed from pole on the first turn by Barrichello. The two clashed wheels, with the Brazilian coming out on top, and they led the pack for the next 10 laps until the stewards announced a drivethrough penalty for Webber for causing a collision, which he duly served at the end of lap 14. Barrichello made his first routine stop at the same time.Over the next few laps, with Massa and his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen heavy on fuel, they sandwiched Barrichello in first, second and third. The Finn eventually pitted at the end of lap 24, followed a lap later by Massa, allowing Barrichello to resume the lead, followed closely by the Force India of Adrian Sutil.The German had started from a career-high seventh on the grid, and was certainly in with a shout of giving his team their first points in their 27-race history. But after making his first stop at the end of lap 28, Sutil then emerged narrowly ahead of seventh-placed Raikkonen running down into turn one. As they swept round the sharp right-hand hairpin side by side, the Ferrari clipped the left side of the Force India's front wing, with the stewards again obliged to review the matter. It forced Sutil back into the pits at the end of that lap for a new nose cone, relegating him to 17th and out of the running for points.With the first round of stops finally completed at half-race distance, Barrichello held just a 2.8sec cushion over Webber. Button, running third at the time, pitted again on lap 31, as part of a clear three-stop strategy, unlike Barrichello who came in a lap later and was fuelled to the end.On lap 43, Webber made his third trip into the pits and second for fuel and tyres at a time when he held a 20-second lead over his team-mate Vettel – dropping in just behind the German. However, he soon regained the lead when Vettel pitted on lap 44 – soon followed by Massa on the 45th. On three-stop strategies and with the Brawn duo running in close attendance to one another, Barrichello surprisingly pitted first on lap 50 – followed by Button a lap later. Button then finished strongly to emerge just ahead of his team-mate in fifth place.Final positions1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1hr 36min 43.310sec2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:36:52.5623 Felipe Massa (Br) Ferrari 1:36:59.2164 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:37:04.4095 Jenson Button (GB) Brawn GP 1:37:06.9196 Rubens Barrichello (Br) Brawn GP 1:37:07.7987 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Renault 1:37:08.1668 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:37:41.4029 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:37:44.71010 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:37:45.21011 Giancarlo Fisichella (It) Force India 1:37:45.63712 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:37:46.18713 Nelson Piquet Jr (Br) Renault 1:37:51.63814 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:37:52.86515 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:37:55.21016 Sébastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38:13.51017 Jarno Trulli (It) Toyota 1:38:14.21018 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren at 1 LapNot Classified: 19 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 34 Laps completed, 20 Sébastien Bourdais (Fr) Scuderia Toro Rosso 18 Laps completedWorld championship standings after German grand prix:Drivers: 1 Jenson Button (GB) Brawn GP 68pts, 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 47, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 45.5, 4 Rubens Barrichello (Br) Brawn GP 44, 5 Felipe Massa (Br) Ferrari 22, 6 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 21.5, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 20.5, 8 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 13, 9 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Renault 13, 10 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 10, 11 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 9, 12 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 6, 13 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 5, 14 Sébastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 3, 15 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 2, 16 Sébastien Bourdais (Fr) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2, 17 Giancarlo Fisichella (It) Force India 0, 18 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 0, 19 Nelson Piquet Jr (Br) Renault 0, 20 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 0Manufacturers: 1 Brawn GP 112pts, 2 Red Bull 92.5, 3 Toyota 34.5, 4 Ferrari 32, 5 Williams 20.5, 6 McLaren 14, 7 Renault 13, 8 BMW Sauber 8, 9 Scuderia Toro Rosso 5, 10 Force India 0Formula OneRed BullBrawnMcLarenFerrariJenson ButtonSebastian VettelLewis HamiltonForce IndiaMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Vettel wins British Grand Prix in Red Bull one-two

Germany’s Sebastian Vettel ran away with the British Grand Prix in a Red Bull one-two while championship leader Jenson Button struggled home in sixth place on Sunday. Australian Mark Webber finished runner-up, 15.1 seconds behind the 21-year-old, with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in third place for Brawn GP

Vettel wins British Grand Prix in Red Bull one-two

Germany’s Sebastian Vettel ran away with the British Grand Prix in a Red Bull one-two while championship leader Jenson Button struggled home in sixth place on Sunday. Australian Mark Webber finished runner-up, 15.1 seconds behind the 21-year-old, with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in third place for Brawn GP

Button wins Turkish grand prix

• Sixth win in seven races for Brawn driver• Webber and Vettel finish second and thirdJenson Button continued his domination of the current Formula One season with his sixth victory in seven races to move a step closer to clinching his maiden world championship.A mistake from Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello off the line and an error from pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel in his Red Bull on the opening lap allowed Button to cruise to the line in the Turkish Grand Prix.It was his fourth consecutive success, the first time that has been achieved by a Briton since Nigel Mansell went on to take the title in 1992.Button now has a 26-point cushion over Barrichello at the top of the standings as the Brazilian retired on lap 49, with Vettel 32 points adrift as he finished third behind team-mate Mark Webber.After crossing the line, Button was told over the pit-to-car radio he had produced an "awesome drive," to which he replied: "Thank you. You've built me a monster of a car. You guys are absolute legends."Only five times in Formula One's 60-year history had any driver won six out of the first seven races: Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher (twice).Button could not have asked for it to be any easier, either, thanks to Barrichello initially as he stalled from his third place on the grid, relegating him down to 13th by the end of the first lap.Vettel, whose two previous victories had come from pole, ran wide onto a painted kerb coming out of turn nine.That forced him into running onto the grass approaching turn 10, which was all the invitation Button needed to take the lead, and ultimately the victory.Not even switching Vettel to a three-stop strategy then worked for although he ran behind Button's exhaust at the midway point of the race, his failure to pass the championship leader also cost him.It was not even good enough for the runner-up spot as Webber did enough in his stints to take the line just 0.7secs clear of the 21-year-old.Toyota's Jarno Trulli finished fourth, followed by Nico Rosberg in his Williams, matching his best performance of the season.Winner of this race from pole for the last three years in Felipe Massa in his Ferrari was sixth, with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica finally ending his points duck with seventh.The second Toyota of Timo Glock completed the top eight, with Lewis Hamilton 13th in his pitiful McLaren, finishing 80.4 seconds adrift of runaway winner and championship leader Button.As for the constructors, Brawn's first failure of the season means Red Bull have closed the gap by four points to 39.5.In the build-up immediately before the race at Istanbul's Otodrom, there had been wild rumours the FOTA eight would boycott it at the end of the formation lap.It had been suggested as a protest to their ongoing feud with the FIA over the budget cap, but as expected it failed to materialise – thankfully so for Button, who marches on.Final positions1 Jenson Button (Brawn)2 Mark Webber (Red Bull) +6.7143 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) +7.4614 Jarno Trulli (Toyota) +27.8435 Nico Rosberg (Williams) +31.5396 Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +39.9967 Robert Kubica (BMW) +46.2478 Timo Glock (Toyota) +46.959Jenson ButtonBrawnLewis HamiltonForce IndiaRed BullMcLarenSauberRenaultToro RossoToyotaWilliamsMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds