Germany’s Sebastian Vettel put Red Bull on pole position for the Turkish Grand Prix yesterday after pushing Formula One championship leader Jenson Button off his pedestal.
Button’s Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello qualified third for today’s race, with Red Bull’s Australian Mark Webber completing the second row.
The pole was Vettel’s career third and established the 21-year-old as race favorite at a circuit where the winner has always started from the top slot on the grid since Turkey joined the calendar in 2005.
PHOTO: EPA
“Finally we made it; in the last couple of races we tried very hard and now we are ahead of these white cars,” said Vettel, the only driver other than Button to have won this year.
“I think we have a very good chance here, a very good car. I expected more difficulties in qualifying, it wasn’t easy but we made it,” added the German, whose two previous wins came from pole position.
“As you say, every pole man has won here,” said Button, who had been going for his third pole in a row after winning five of the season’s six races. “We’re going to try and change that tomorrow.”
The Briton’s team boss Ross Brawn reserved judgement.
“Obviously we would’ve liked pole position, but it will be interesting to see what the fuel loads are,” he told reporters. “If early season form is anything to go by, the Red Bulls are lighter than we are, but we will have to see.”
Only a sprinkling of spectators turned out to enjoy a gloriously sunny afternoon at the Istanbul Park circuit, with rows of empty seats in the grandstands reflecting the credit crunch and an apparent lack of interest among locals.
Italian Jarno Trulli qualified fifth for Toyota, a boost for the Japanese team after a dismal Monaco Grand Prix weekend, with Ferrari’s 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen alongside him.
Ferrari’s Brazilian Felipe Massa, who is chasing his fourth successive Turkish Grand Prix after taking pole position for the past three years, qualified seventh.
McLaren’s world champion Lewis Hamilton had another difficult afternoon and will start 16th after failing to make it through the first qualifying session.
The Briton was beaten by Force India’s Adrian Sutil, who will start 15th after reaching the second part of qualifying for the second race in a row.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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