07 May,2011 07:36 AM IST | | AFP
Defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel was unhurt and unfazed about his prospects on Friday after a major crash during practice ahead of Sunday's Turkish GP.
Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel's car is loaded onto a truck after he
crashed at Istanbul Park during practice for the Turkish F1 GP yesterday
On a day of heavy rain followed by dry conditions, Briton Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, topped the afternoon times for McLaren after Spanish two-time champion Fernando Alonso had dominated the rain-hit morning for Ferrari.
Button clocked a best lap of one minute and 26.456 seconds at the Istanbul Park race circuit to outpace German Nico Rosberg of Mercedes and the 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren. But it was the sight of current leader Vettel, 23, in his jeans and watching from the sidelines that overshadowed the day, his shunt in the final 15 minutes of morning practice having wrecked his Red Bull car.
Vettel, winner of the opening two races of the season, lost control on a kerb at Turn Eight and went into the barriers at high speed, tearing off the front wing of his car and damaging all four wheels and other parts. He was uninjured and walked away, later saying he was not at all upset at sitting out the afternoon session.
