The British Grand Prix last Sunday was, apart from an incident strewn first couple of corners, lacking of any real drama and a straight forward win for Red Bull. The big question before the race was not which team would win but which driver. Most pundits were clearly in the Sebastian Vettel camp, I wanted Mark Webber to win.
Despite a wonderful looking Silverstone cicrcuit, I am missing the cutting edge of the pitstops this season. Refuelling stops are a thing of the past and have taken a little drama and tactics out of the race. Will the fuel hose work? How quick can we refuel and get them out and will we remember to take the hose off the car before our intrepid drivers drive down pit straight oblivious to the flames following him as he “speeds” away!
There’s no drama anymore, or is there? Am I missing something? At the conclusion of the British Grand Prix and Mark Webber’s win the BBC broadcast those immortal words “Not bad for a number two driver”. Webber was clearly annoyed all week at what appeared to be team orders and a preference to Seb Vettel who was a handful of points ahead of the Australian in the standings.
It spurred Webber on and when he failed to take pole position in qualifying on Saturday (something that probably helped him on race day due to more grip on the outside) Webber was seething. The difference between a world class driver and a regular driver is he (or she) can keep his (or her) emotions in check at the business end – for this Webber must be applauded.
Red Bull Team Principal Horner claimed there weren’t any team orders but Webber wasn’t having any of it! However according to Webber’s website he has cleared the air saying
“The respect within the team extends to the drivers. Seb and I are not enemies. We’re just two drivers pushing hard.”
“We’ve debriefed and have cleared the air.
Of course things get said in the heat of the moment which, with hindsight goggles on, probably shouldn’t have been said,” Webber added.
“Formula 1 is a highly charged and fiercely competitive arena where emotions and adrenalin do run high from time to time.
“My comment on the radio after the race was an example of Australian sarcasm – either at its best or worst depending on how you choose to take it.”
Mark went on to say
“Sebastian received the newer front wing for reasons which were not clearly explained to me until Saturday late afternoon. Obviously I can see why a team may at certain points have to favour a driver with more points in the championship, if there are only enough resources to fully support one of us. It’s now understood that, should we face this unlikely dilemma again, preference will go to the championship points leader.
