Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz promises 2012 will not have a team order – Formula 1 news
Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz has promised that Red Bull will not indulge in any team orders in 2012.
He went on to add that he has full faith in Mark Webber’s ability and sees no reason why the Aussie cannot challenge last year’s title winner and his teammate Sebastian Vettel for this year’s title.
Webber was recently asked about his retirement plans at the end of the 2012 season, suggesting that the Aussie might be at the end of his career. Webber though has shrugged off any such notion and has said he has no intentions of retiring any time soon.
Webber had a fruitful 2010 season and was on track to win his first world title, but before the final four races of the season suffered a collar bone fracture and could not match up the pace he had going for him all through the season. The injury caused
Webber to slow down and Vettel grasped the opportunity to record his first ever world title.
2011 proved to be a one sided game as Vettel dominated the season throughout taking 11 Grands Prix wins and Webber only managed a single Grand Prix win at the final race of the season when the German had to go through some technical difficulties with the
car.
Red Bull boss Mateschitz said that the management is not going to favour one driver this season, “Our attitude has not changed - there are no team orders,” he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper. “It starts at zero again, for both of them.”
“From today's point of view it is difficult to say. But why not [Webber]? I'm curious to know how hard or difficult or impossible it will be for Vettel to defend his dominance. These tests are not to scale,” said Mateschitz. “Everyone drives with their own
goals and plans or to meet certain criteria. But I do think the balance of power has stayed about the same,” he said.
Red Bull still have two pre-season test sessions remaining which will be integral to their positive season which begins with the Australian Grand Prix on March 18, 2012.
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