Red Bull refuses to name favourite for championship
Christian Horner, the team principal at Red Bull, insisted even though the Australian Mark Webber has accrued more points than his German teammate, Sebastian Vettel, no one from the organization will be
picking favourites.
Despite Red Bull’s disastrous double DNF (did not finish) in Korea, Webber is still second in the standings, trailing Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso by a mere 11 points. Vettel is adrift by 14 points, in fourth
behind McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. However, with 50 points still on the table, Horner doesn’t see a point in speaking in definitive terms.
"We have two fantastic drivers and we will continue to support both equally in line with Red Bull’s credible sporting ethos,” he said. “As we saw in Korea, it is impossible to predict what will happen
with five drivers being so closely in contention.”
The recent Korean race, which finished on Sunday, October 24, saw some surprising upsets. Mark Webber’s dash for the championship was cut short when he spun and hit the wall in Turn 13 on the 19th lap.
For much of the race, Vettel was enjoying the lead when his engine exploded, causing the Ferrari upstart, Alonso, to breeze to victory.
These unexpected twists at the Korean Grand Prix are responsible for the Red Bull team’s decision to keep their options open. As Horner confirmed, “with 10 laps to go, Sebastian [Vettel] had moved into
the lead of the championship, with Alonso then moving into the lead following our bad luck. It just goes to show that situations can change very quickly.”
Of course the other F1 teams don’t necessarily subscribe to Red Bull’s ‘credible sporting ethos.’ Ferrari recently publically endorsed Alonso’s bid for the championship, relegating Felipe Massa to the
role of team helper. Similarly, after Jenson Button’s poor showing in Korea, McLaren is throwing its weight behind Lewis Hamilton.
However, unlike these teams where one driver has a sizable point advantage over the other, the fact that Vettel and Webber both have a realistic shot at the title, demonstrates the prudent wisdom of Red Bull’s
decision. Of course, not everyone sees it that way. Allowing Vettel and Webber to compete against each other may be detrimental to the Red Bull team, conjuring up images of the 2007 McLaren rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton which resulted in Kimi Raikkonen’s
underdog championship victory.
For now, though, Horner is inclined to reserve judgement, letting the facts speak for themselves. “Ultimately as we now approach the end of the championship, the mathematics will speak and I’m certain
that both drivers will do everything possible to achieve the best result for the team."
Regardless of the outcome of the drivers’ championship, Red Bull is favoured to win the constructors’ crown, heading McLaren 426 points to 399.
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