Gift-wrapped victory

McLaren's pair of British world champions could scarcely believe their luck in Istanbul, when an inter-team crash ahead of them left them with an easy one-two finish at the Turkish Grand Prix.

Red Bull's Mark Webber was leading at roughly two-thirds race distance, ahead of German team mate Sebastian Vettel, with the McLarens pressuring behind in third and fourth places.

Then the Red Bull duo evidently forgot motor sport's golden rule: never take out your team mate.

Vettel tried an ambitious overtaking maneuver on Webber's Red Bull, and the pair collided. The German retired immediately, while Webber had to pit for repairs and finished up in third place.

"It's stupid between team mates, but I should have been given the necessary space," Vettel lamented in the pit lane after retiring, blaming Webber for the collision.

"It was a disaster," Webber said afterwards, although he didn't share Vettel's interpretation of the crash. "It can happen. He had a slight speed advantage, but he turned right into me and made contact and … well, that was it."

The crash was the latest in a string of problems that have stopped Red Bull, whose car still seems the class of the field, from converting their pace into results.

"All we ask for"

After the crash, McLaren's British world champions Hamilton and Button had their own wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead, but they managed to keep it fairly clean, with only minimal contact between the pair.

Hamilton watched the Red Bull crash from his cockpit, saying it was "like an action movie in 3D.

"I don't know what happened," he said in the winner's press conference, "but they collided and we got past them, and then we had a bit of a battle - a fair one, I must say - before the end."

Button, who succeeded Hamilton as world champion in 2009, also complemented his team mate for keeping the battle between them clean.

Meanwhile, a disappointed Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also offered indirect praise to the McLaren duo, saying he wished his drivers had shown similar restraint under pressure.

"We saw Lewis (Hamilton) and Jenson (Button) racing each other and giving each other space. That's all we ask for," he said.

Schumacher's best of the season

Returning seven-time champion Michael Schumacher finished in fourth for Mercedes, with his German team mate Nico Rosberg glued to his gearbox in fifth.

Fourth position is the best result of 2010 for Schumacher, who is still looking for his first podium finish since launching a comeback this season.

The two Mercedes drivers managed to keep the hard-charging Renault of Robert Kubica at bay throughout the race, but lacked the pace to challenge the leaders.

Adrian Sutil finished ninth for Force India, behind the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, meaning that three of the six Germans on the grid scored points in Turkey.

In the race for the world championship, third place was enough to maintain Mark Webber's lead in the standings, but the McLaren duo of Button and Hamilton are close behind. Vettel's retirement means he drops to fifth in the standings, behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

But Vettel, Webber, and Red Bull will all be wondering how large their leads over the competition might have been, had the first seven races of the season ran more smoothly.

Author: Mark Hallam
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar