Progress by Inches

Sometimes, giving out too much factual information can be a bad thing. A prime example was Lewis Hamilton's performance in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix. As the race unfolded and strategies became clear, it seemed that Hamilton had resorted to a three-stop strategy in order to shake up the championship-leading Ferraris.

When Hamilton blazed past race leader and overwhelming favourite Felipe Massa under braking for turn 12, and then proceeded to pull out an advantage of around one second per lap, it was immediately reminiscent of some of Michael Schumacher's most thrilling victories.

It also echoed a truism of modern Formula One - that if you can't beat the opposition using a conventional strategy, then switch to the unorthodox.

Even though he wasn't able to stay ahead of Massa, the Turkish performance would still have marked Hamilton as a bold campaigner who isn't afraid to try the unconventional, who goes out and creates his own luck on the track.

The illusion was shattered when both Hamilton and McLaren team chief Ron Dennis admitted, after the fact, that the three-stopper was not the result of daring strategic innovation. Instead, the shorter stints were mandated by tyre supplier Bridgestone's fears that Hamilton would again suffer a tyre failure (as he did in Turkey last year) if he ran a conventional two-stopper.

Perhaps McLaren and Hamilton would have been better served just staying quiet on the issue and letting spectators draw their own conclusions. However, the admission did reflect a race weekend in which slow and steady progress trumped spectacular gains. For once, not even the fabled four-apex turn eight claimed any victims.

First among the gainers were race winner Massa and Hamilton himself. They may not have managed to keep comfortable championship leader Kimi Raikkonen off the podium. But they did inch incrementally into the reigning champion's points advantage.

Raikkonen himself would have expected that. Despite winning the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix for McLaren in 2005, Raikkonen has since been overshadowed in Turkey by Massa's mastery of the demanding Hermann Tilke layout.

Going into the weekend, the Finn may not have expected to finish behind Hamilton. But a scant two point difference, and another podium finish, was an acceptable result that sees him grind another notch closer to a second title.

Raikkonen's new approach was illustrated at the race start. Given a half-chance by the slower-starting Heikki Kovalainen ahead, the Raikkonen of 2005 or earlier would have risked all to win the place under braking for the hazardous first turn. The more conservative Raikkonen of 2008 hesitated then backed off, leading to the merest touch between his car and Kovalainen's McLaren.

Ostensibly, the only loser among the top four was Kovalainen, who proved once again that he has the measure of Hamilton in one-lap qualifying speed.

Yet it was no surprise when Hamilton catapulted into second place right from the start, leaving Kovalainen to hobble back to the pits with a left rear tyre puncture caused by the brush with Kimi Raikkonen's front wing. It typified the sort of season that Kovalainen is having.

Heikki Kovalainen © XPB/LAT

While it was optimistic of McLaren to claim that Kovalainen could have won the race, his first front-row start in Formula One had set him up for another solid podium finish.

Instead, his eventual twelfth place has almost ended Kovalainen's hopes of challenging strongly for the drivers' championship. Now 21 points off leader Raikkonen, he is still talking up his chances of getting back into the hunt. In these times of grinding consistency, it already seems a lost cause.

However, there were positive aspects to his afternoon as well. For the first time since passing Fernando Alonso in the final stages of the Australian GP, Kovalainen looked as racy as his qualifying times indicate. His pass on Williams' Nico Rosberg was a test of wills and car positioning that provided the best racing moment of the weekend.

Falling off the championship pace may reduce the pressure on Kovalainen, allow him to take more chances and race for wins rather than consistent podiums. He already has the raw speed in qualifying. Sunday's forceful drive up through the field was an indicator that he is ready to apply it during the race.

If failing to score was a blow for Kovalainen, the same cannot be said for Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel. For Vettel, just getting to the chequered flag was an achievement, even if he came home in last place.

Prior to Turkey, Vettel's season had consisted of three first-corner incidents in Australia, Bahrain and Spain, and a 39th lap retirement in Malaysia.

For a driver who ended 2007 on a high, recording Toro Rosso's highest-ever finish (fourth) in China, and being tipped as a possible future Ferrari star, Vettel's stock has plummeted during the opening months of 2008.

He was never expected to replicate his form of China 2007, particularly considering that Toro Rosso started the season with last year's car. However, the first corner incidents have drawn attention to Vettel for all the wrong reasons. Getting back to full distance racing, albeit right at the back of the field, would have been a welcome change for the young German.

Another driver on the comeback is Red Bull's Mark Webber. His seventh place finish in Turkey was his fourth consecutive points finish, a feat that he had achieved only once before in Formula One, with Williams in 2005.

In his debut 2007 season for Red Bull, Webber achieved only three points finishes. He's surpassed that already, and has equalled his final 2007 tally of 10 points just five races into the season.

Mark Webber at speed in the Renault © XPB/LAT

At last, Webber looks set to shake off the miserable mechanical misfortunes that have dogged his every move in Formula One.

Perhaps a string of seventh places, punctuated by fifth in Spain, wasn't quite what the Australian envisaged when he started his Formula One career.

But there are signs that the development work undertaken by Red Bull may result in the team regularly getting to the finish, and challenging for higher positions than they have ever done before. Small wonder, then, that Webber is keen to extend his Red Bull contract.

Another reliable showing from the Red Bull at Monaco should see Webber establishing a new career best of five consecutive points finishes. He has always performed well around the streets of the Principality, recording one of only two career podium finishes at Monaco in 2005, and being robbed of another by unreliability a year later.

Webber may feel that Monaco owes him one, but so will Hamilton. Exactly a year ago, his public grumblings about not being given a fair chance to win at Monaco ignited the intra-team conflict that grew steadily worse over the year. A victory in 2008 would help to erase that memory.

Even if Hamilton does win at Monaco, he cannot expect to close the gap to Raikkonen by more than two points. Still, if that is all that is on offer, Hamilton will gladly take it.