Sebastian Vettel was riding the wave of a dominant start to the 2011 season at Red Bull, when he won six of the first eight races of the season.
It was the year of the RB7 for the team, which utilised the highly efficient blown diffuser to force exhaust gasses into the floor and generate extra downforce.
Nearly every team had their own version of this brewing over the winter break after the concept started to gain traction at the end of the 2010 season. Red Bull had perfected their system, with the help of design guru Adrian Newey.
It helped Red Bull produce one of their most dominant seasons before the RB19, which would go on to be one of the most successful cars of all time with Max Verstappen at the wheel in 2011.
2011 Turkish GP produced F1 record for overtakes due to DRS
Vettel had won the first two races with ease and was second in China, after losing out to a late-charging Lewis Hamilton. Coming into Turkey, he suffered a slight setback in practice when he crashed in the wet conditions.
Despite this, Vettel still qualified on pole and was able to lead comfortably from teammate Mark Webber. The race previously held the record for the most overtakes, as it was also the first year the Drag Reduction system was used.
There were 79 overtakes and over 80 pit stops between the 24 drivers, a feat that would not be beaten until the 2016 Chinese GP which saw a total of 161 passes.
Vettel didn’t need to worry about the cars behind him, as he led the field through a lights-to-flag finish in his Red Bull. It was something else that would prove to be controversial for the German when he took to the podium to receive his trophy and participate in the regular traditions.
Sebastian Vettel banned from drinking champagne in Turkey
The champaign spray has been a regular fixture at F1 races since the 1950 French GP, with it being a celebration of the win while also giving teams good luck for the next event.
Vettel was used to the tradition having been on the podium numerous times this year. Leading up to the race, Turkey passed strict new alcohol laws that increased the minimum age to 24 years old due to a nationwide drinking crisis.
At the time, Vettel was only 23 years old and would not banned from drinking champagne under Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s laws.
“Seb is so young,” Red Bull boss Christian Horner told The Mirror. “He’s only 23 and he wasn’t allowed to drink champagne on the podium because he’s underage here.”
Regardless of the laws, Vettel drank on the podium anyway and celebrated his fourth win of the season. He would later go on to take 12 victories to seal his second Drivers’ Championship.
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