Red Bull gives Vettel and Webber the green light in Abu Dhabi
Determined to stop Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso at all costs, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber have been told by their Red Bull superiors that they are free to give it their all on the Yas Marina circuit at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend.
Given that there has been considerable chatter as to whether or not Red Bull would instruct Vettel to provide support for Webber’s bid for the championship, team principal Christian Horner made it explicitly clear that there will be no team instructions
before the race.
Standing apart from other teams like Ferrari and Mercedes, throughout this hotly contested 2010 season, Red Bull has consistently refused to throw its backing behind either of its drivers. Rather, they have chosen to hedge their bets by supporting Vettel
and Webber equally. While both drivers are under a strict mandate to prevent Alonso from winning at all costs, once that objective is achieved, Horner says his two racers will be left unencumbered to pursue the prized Drivers’ Championship title as aggressively
as each team member wants.
"Our priority is to really go for it, as both our drivers have nothing to lose," Horner said. "From a team point of view, we've bagged the team championship, and it would be fantastic to come away from here with the drivers' championship.
However, not everyone is in favour of Red Bull’s egalitarian ethos. Given that Webber and Vettel trail Alonso by 8 and 15 points respectively, many wonder why the team doesn’t simply back Webber and instruct Vettel to protect his teammate’s proverbial flank.
Given that the championship is so hotly contested, such a move by Red Bull would prevent Alonso from using the age-old divide-and-conquer technique to seize the title from the two racers who run the risk of squabbling over the spoils of war.
While Horner acknowledges this potential danger, he remains unconcerned. Winning the Constructors’ title in Brazil, Red Bull cars have dominated this F1 season, leading the pack in terms of design, innovation and manoeuvrability. Given the team’s well-deserved
faith in their cars and the professionalism of the racers driving them, Horner believes it only makes sense to encourage both Webber and Vettel to do everything possible to try and secure a decisive victory.
"For us it doesn't matter which one [wins]. It would be fantastic for a Red Bull driver to win it, as they would both be deserving champions. We're just going to give it everything we can and see how it pans out."
While Vettel has not openly stated that he would pull over for Webber if required, Horner has little doubt that both teammates will do what needs to be done in order to ensure that a Red Bull driver will stand at the top of the podium by the race’s end.
"We can't control what our rivals do but for [us] the objective is to win,” he declared. “Ultimately if one of our drivers can't do that, if he's in a position to help the other, I would expect that both drivers recognise that they drive for a great team
and are big team players. I've got no doubt that they would do the right thing to help their team-mate."
As Formula One fever heats up in Abu Dhabi this weekend, fans and racing enthusiasts everywhere will be watching to see if Red Bull’s strategy pays off.
Tags: