Into the Sunset; JENSON BUTTON EXTENDS HIS POINTS LEAD IN TURKEY.(NEWS)

Byline: ADAM COOPER

The Turkish Grand Prix pole sitter had won each of the four Formula One races held in Istanbul, but Jenson Button ended that streak this year by winning from second on the grid.

The Brawn GP driver put in another flawless performance, made easier when pole winner Sebastian Vettel slid off the road halfway around lap one. Vettel may be a mercurial talent, but Red Bull Racing's wunderkind has made more than his fair share of mistakes now that he's in the spotlight.

This one was very expensive, because the German had a genuine chance to add a dry-weather win to the two wet-race victories on his resume. He came close to taking pole in a few dry races this year, give or take a lap or two of fuel in the tank. But this time, the team got its math right, and he beat Button by the slenderest of margins. With the Englishman on the unfavorable dirty side of the track, Vettel had a great chance to break away at the start.

He did so, getting to turn one ahead and opening up a few car-lengths. But he ran wide at turn 10 and got a little out of shape on the grass. Vettel needed all of his talent to get back on the track in one piece, but by then, Button had charged into the lead. The champion-ship leader didn't put a foot wrong for the rest of the afternoon, even when he briefly came under attack from Vettel. This was Button's sixth win in seven starts, and it set him up perfectly for the upcoming British Grand Prix, his home event.

Red Bull planned to run Vettel on a three-stop strategya ploy that bumped Lewis Hamilton up the order in Turkey last year but one not normally favored. It probably would have worked if he had not thrown away the lead. But to even Vettel's surprise, the team stuck with the plan.

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