Formula One: Vettel and Webber reignite war at Silverstone Grand Prix
As the sun sets over the Silverstone circuit, it seems that the dust hasn’t settled. Red Bull, who thought they would be dominating the race didn’t see the script being followed. It was drama, it was action, it was entertainment, but it wasn’t very pretty. It seems the pre-season speculations of an epic teammate war have come true. It was predicted that the woes would take place at the McLaren camp, where the current World Champion would be joining the ex World Champion, instead it’s Red Bull who seem to be at the crux of things.
It seemed like the picture perfect start for the Grand Prix as the grid order showed Red Bull occupying the first row with a dominating qualifying performance. Considering the pace of the car, easy money would have been on both the drivers finishing on the podium, if not in formation to take the first two places. This seemed like the charge that Red Bull was going to make on the McLarens to cut down their advantage in the constructors championship. However, as the drivers went into the first corner, Sebastian Vettel was forced wide by his teammate, saw him taking a puncture and pulled into the pits after the first lap and come out in twenty-fourth and last place. Not the kind of start that the pole position holder had in mind. Not the kind of start the Red Bulls had in mind but given the state of affairs at the camp, it came as no surprise.
The drama had already started even before the qualifying session had started. The Red Bulls seemed to like the circuit; in fact, the Red Bulls seemed to love the circuit! Their pace had been on the rise as the practice sessions went on. After Vettel topped the third practice session, it seemed he had a problem with his front wing. The team had only brought four wings to the race, which had the new upgrades and was the only wing on the grid to have a five piece configuration. With one wing out of commission, it seemed like that only one driver would be able to use the wing for the race. It was decided between practices and qualifying that the wing would go to Vettel, based on his performance in practice and his standing in the Championship. If both the drivers had gone with the new wing and both had damaged it in the race, it would have meant that one of them would have to revert to the old wing mid race. Changing the front wing of the car has a huge impact on the set up of the car and this was a gamble that could not be taken in the middle of the race.
Therefore, it was no surprise that Mark Webber was furious over the incident. Webber had just returned from a horrific crash in the European Grand Prix at Valencia and it seemed that the team had started forming behind Vettel, a little more eagerly than he expected. He seemed very bitter at being given the number 2 position in the team. As the two went into the first corner, it was very clear that Webber was not following any team orders. Webber had the inside line and Vettel gave him space as they turned in, but as the two were exiting the corner, it seemed that Webber swerved slightly in the direction of Vettel. This is something you would expect had it been any two rivals heading into the first corner, but not something that you would expect from a teammate.
Vettel managed to put in a patient and stellar performance to end up in seventh place, as he made his way through the field from dead last place after the first lap. But it seems that all the talk that downplayed the incident that saw Vettel and Webber collide in Turkey, have come to the surface with renewed venom.
Will this season end up the same way as the solo Alonso-Hamilton season at McLaren. It appears right now that a Red Bull is the Red Bulls worst enemy, and that Vettel seems to end up second best in these spats. If they can’t find some common ground to settle their dispute it looks as if the team as a whole are poised to throw away a season, where no one doubts they have the fastest car on the grid.
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