Button takes sixth win of season

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Jenson Button continued his domination of Formula 1 with his sixth victory of the season in Turkey.

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 the 29-year-old's fourth consecutive success, the first time that has been achieved by a Briton since Nigel Mansell went on to take the title in 1992.

Turkish GP in pictures

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: "Thankyou. You've built me a monster of a car. You guys are absolute legends."

And rightly so because only five times in Formula One's 60-year history has any driver won six out of the first seven races, notably 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.

As for Vettel, whose two previous victories had come from pole, the young German 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.

An emotional Button said: "It's the best the car has felt all year. "It's previously been a bit loose and not really suited my style, but today it was just incredible, and that's thanks to everyone in the team.

"I wish I could have have had all the boys on the podium with me, but in the end I could only have one of my engineers."

Looking ahead to the next race at Silverstone in a fortnight, Button said: "The British Grand Prix is always great.

"To lead the championship by 26 points is quite a nice feeling, so we'll see what happens."

A happy Webber, second for the second time this year, said: "It was a good afternoon for me. I had to hang in there at the start.

"I knew top spot was taken, so it was just a question of the other podium places.

"The second stint was crucial for me. I did enough in that to get the jump on Sebastian and finish second."

Vettel owned up to his mistake at the start, but despite that felt he would not have been able to have held off Button in any case.

"The start worked out okay, but then I lost the car at turns nine and 10, I think due to a bit of a tail wind," reflected Vettel.

"But it wouldn't have made a difference because Jenson was just too good today, so I think we can be satisfied with second and third."

Hamilton hopeful after practice

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Lewis Hamilton will continue to 'hustle and grind' tomorrow in a bid to cause a qualifying surprise ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix.

The reigning world champion and McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen perhaps raised a few eyebrows in today's practice sessions at the Istanbul Otodrom.

Hamilton was second quickest in first practice, knocked off the top in the dying embers by the latest showboating performance from Nico Rosberg as the Williams driver put in another low-fuel late blast.

Then in the second 90-minute run, Kovalainen set the fastest time of the day with a lap of one minute 28.841secs, although it is fair to suggest there is more to come from pre-race favourites Brawn GP, Red Bull and Ferrari.

Nevertheless, Hamilton was happy with his day's work, in particular as McLaren were not expected to be running anywhere near the top.

"I was quite surprised by the pace of the car," reflected Hamilton, who spun twice in the space of seven minutes in the second session.

"We definitely have better pace here than we anticipated, but every little bit that comes adds up bit by bit.

"I am not saying we have the speed of the other top guys, but we're getting closer.

"Heikki certainly did a great job and seems to be fast enough, so for this weekend's race we look like we may have the pace to be in the top 10, and that's a great step for us.

"It's been a complete hustle all year to get into the top 10. We're hustling and grinding to get every bit out of that car as possible.

"I feel we get a little more out of the car every time, and that's why I am happy with the work we have been doing.

"If we had been a lot closer at the start of the season we would have caught up by now, but we were a long way away.

"We'll get there eventually. We're working hard as we can. We know it's not a quick fix and it just takes time.

"We're churning away at it, still focusing on this year but keeping an eye on next year."

Another surprise was the sight of Jenson Button languishing in 11th and 12th at the end of the two sessions, by far his worst practice day of a season he has so far dominated.

The championship leader following five wins in six races conceded to enduring a "tough first day...trying to find a good balance with the car."

He added: "We tried many different set-up options over the course of the two sessions.

"But unfortunately we could not get the car to where I want it to be and struggled with a lack of grip.

"However, we now have a great deal of information to review after trying a few evaluations and believe we have some understanding of what is causing the problems.

"We need to have a good look at everything tonight and I'm hopeful we can resolve today's issues and have a better day tomorrow."

Renault's Fernando Alonso was second quickest overall on the day, finishing just six thousandths of a second behind Kovalainen.

Felipe Massa, winner of the last three races here from pole, was fifth and 11th in the two sessions, with his best lap half a second down on the Finn.