Red Bull teammates lock horns after Turkish Grand Prix
The major talking point of the Turkish Grand Prix was without question the coming together of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, which gifted the victory to Lewis Hamilton.
Teammates are supposed to be close, but that was just ridiculous.
Although, when you look at team sports the object of the game is to win as one, Formula One is about individual success first and foremost. No young racer dreams of growing up and lifting the constructors’ trophy, they have their eyes solely on becoming world champion.
Gone are the days when Eddie Irvine or Rubens Barrichello would hold first place for Michael Schumacher while he leisurely cruised along taking in the sights and having a cup of coffee, before nipping in front on the last lap as a fellow Ferrari’s rapidly decreased speed to let him through.
There is obviously an element of team ethic within the sport, they race under the same banner and there is camaraderie, but ultimately it’s every man for himself. Regardless of what the team owner may want.
Sunday’s crash was a perfect example of how team work and individual glory can contradict one another in motorsport. Vettel was well within his rights to challenge Webber as they approached turn 12. Had Vettel viewed this as a team-race he would have surely relented, but he wouldn’t be a professional sportsman if he didn’t go for the victory.
From Webber’s perspective he had every right to hold his ground and, as the lead car, he was never going to give in easily. They were wheel-to-wheel, but Vettel had the top speed while Webber was decreasing. Again if it was about the team Webber would have let the young German pass, instead he ignored him as if he wasn’t there, braked for the corner and the two came together.
So who’s to blame? Well you could argue that Vettel shouldn’t have tried that manoeuvre so close to a turn, Webber had the racing line so where was he supposed to go, just swerve off the track and allow mini-Schumi through? It was quite reckless from that perspective and even though Vettel’s Red Bull was going the faster, he wasn’t clear of the Australian and tried to duck back into the racing line before the corner despite the fact that there was no room.
On the other hand Webber was detuning his engine at that point to save fuel and so he was not capable of hitting the speeds Vettel was. He could have conceded the position and waved his hand at Vettel in the manner you would if you were cut up at a roundabout by some lunatic in a Volvo. I’m sure he would have rather second place than his eventual third and they could have just had it out with each other at the finishing line in the form of a good old fashioned shouting match.
I’d suggest neither was to blame, they both wanted the win and it was a coming together of cars. It is professional sport, neither were going to concede. At most you could argue that Vettel shouldn’t have tried it and Webber shouldn’t have been so stubborn.
It’s hardly the first time this sort of high-jinks has gone down in a Formula One race. At least theirs wasn’t pre-planned; look at Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. The two had arguably the best rivalry in Formula One history and the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix showed that neither cared about the team as Senna careered into the back of fellow McLaren driver Prost. The next year he said he’d run his now former teammate off the road on the same track and he did. Senna didn’t beat about the bush when it came to collisions.
Then you have rival teammates like Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, Jim Clark and Graham Hill, so Vettel and Webber aren’t treading new ground with their falling out.
With rumours sweeping around of favouritism within the Red Bull camp and now a disagreement that will probably last forever about this incident, Vettel and Webber could be set to form an interesting and intense rivalry. Vettel has arguably driven better this season, but Webber has the more points, both have the best car on the grid so it’s all to race for and it will be exciting to see how this all pans out in Canada.
One thing’s for sure though, Hamilton won’t care one iota whose fault it was.
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