Red Bulls hand Lewis Hamilton race victory
Just when it looked like Red Bull would secure another one-two finish of the 2010 Formula One season and continue to dominate both drivers’ and constructors’ championships, it only took a split second for disaster to strike.
Mark Webber was on course for three wins in a row, but a collision with teammate Sebastian Vettel at the end of the back straight on lap 40 cost him the race victory, and handed McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton his first win of the season.
Webber had been leading for the whole race up until the collision after storming to pole position on Saturday. Hamilton had started in second, but was jumped by Vettel when the start lights went out. Hamilton regained the position, and was on Webber’s tail up until the first pit stop. A mistake on Hamilton’s stop allowed Vettel to climb up to second and challenge his teammate.
Before the crash, Vettel had been significantly faster than Webber in the second sector, and with 18 laps to go he managed to pick up the slipstream and get on the inside of Webber’s car, but as the two approached the end of the straight, both hit each other, leaving Vettel spinning out of the race and Webber losing two positions to the McLaren duo of Hamilton and Jenson Button.
The collision left Red Bull team principal Christian Horner extremely frustrated: “It’s disappointing for the team to have got into that position today. The one thing I always ask the drivers is that, yes, they can race each other, but give each other room, and that’s exactly what didn’t happen. They were too far over on the left, Sebastian got a run on the inside of Mark, but then came across too early. They didn’t give each other room; it’s as simple as that. Sebastian was a bit happier on the prime tyre than Mark and was looking quicker at that point in the race. He got a run on Mark up the inside and we saw what happened.
“It’s massively disappointing and the situation shouldn’t have occurred. To give McLaren 28 points on a plate is very frustrating for everyone in the team - especially after so much hard work. We’ve lost a lot of points today with what’s happened. We need to learn from it, so we don’t find ourselves in this position again,” said Horner.
Vettel had the inside line, and Webber tried to squeeze him out. Vettel believed he was entitled to attempt the move on the Australian. “If you watch it on the TV, you can see what happened. I’m not in the happiest of moods. I was on the inside going into the corner. I was there, I was ahead and focusing on the braking point and then we touched. We were all on the same pace during the race. I think I was a bit quicker than Mark for two or three laps. I was catching him and thought I could get him on the back straight. I was very close and passed him on the left, that’s the story. I had the corner. This is something that happens, no one needs it, but there’s not much you can do now. Mark’s car hit my rear right wheel and I went off – there’s not much more to say,” said Vettel.
Webber - who was aiming for three race victories in a row after Spain and Monaco - felt that Vettel didn’t need to turn into him. “Sebastian had a bit of a top speed advantage, he went down the inside and we were side by side. I was surprised when he came right suddenly, as I was holding my racing line. It happened very, very fast and it’s a shame for the team. Not an ideal day,” said Webber.
Although Webber was on course for the win, his collision only cost him 10 points, as he was able to finish third, unlike Vettel who retired from the race. The Red Bulls taking each other out paved the way for Hamilton to get himself back into the championship hunt and win the race, but he was made to work hard by reigning world champion Button in the closing stages. On lap 48, Button overtook Hamilton in turn 11, but couldn’t hold the position, and Hamilton came back on the start-finish straight. Both cars were side by side, but unlike the Red Bulls, the Britons didn’t collide, and once Hamilton regained first position, he was able to get to the finish line unscathed. It was a good battle between the two previous world champions.
“It was quite an eventful race. I didn’t get a great start. I had to battle two Red Bulls rather than just one; it was hard enough trying to overtake one of them, so trying to overtaking two was really tough. But anyway, unfortunately for them, they collided – and enabled us to get past. The [laptime] target they gave me was perhaps a little bit slower than they’d meant, so Jenson was suddenly on my tail. I had a great battle with him, and was happy to get past because it was quite a surprise. We’re allowed to race out there, but we have to be sensible. At the end of the day we’re a team: we both want to win the constructors’ title and we both want to win the drivers’ title. But we’re not stupid. I wouldn’t do anything dangerous to touch Jenson - and vice versa - and that’s the great thing about racing each other,” said Hamilton.
Ferrari - on their 800th grand prix - failed to make an impression, with Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso finishing seventh and eighth. The lack of pace is a concern for the Scuderia outfit, and Alonso concedes they have a lot of work to do. “We have been a bit surprised, as both in Barcelona and here we were not too competitive. We have an improvement for Canada and then for Valencia we have a bigger package. But we know McLaren and Red Bull are very far away, and we don't know if that's enough, so we have to work very hard. We don't have the fastest car, and yet we are one point ahead of Vettel, so we aren't doing too bad,” said Alonso.
It was a better weekend for Michael Schumacher, who finished fourth and is now looking comfortable after enduring a difficult seven races on his return from retirement. “It was a straightforward race for me without any more possibilities. I understand at the front there was quite a bit happening so for the fans, it was a good show. All in all, I think we had a positive race and we clearly made a step forward towards Red Bull and in front of Ferrari, so we can be quite happy about that,” said Schumacher.
Webber is still top of the drivers’ standings with 93 points, with Button in second on 88 points and Hamilton on 84 points.
The battle between Vettel and Webber has been fierce all season, and their collision is a lesson that both drivers must learn from, otherwise they stand the chance of losing both drivers’ and constructors’ titles.
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