autoevolution
 

More Controversy Surrounds Webber/Vettel Incident in Turkey

The information coming from Turkey regarding the Mark Webber-Sebastian Vettel incident in the Sunday race at Istanbul Park seems to lead to a bit of a controversy inside the Milton Keynes based team. The Australian racer had led the entire race from beginning to Lap 41 yesterday afternoon, until Vettel believed his top straight speed entitles him to 1st place and went on to pass his teammate for 1st place.

As you all know what happened next, we're not going to elaborate on it. The thing is that, after the race was over, Webber told reporters that his teammate had “big top speed advantage” over him at that stage of the race. Asked if there was a reason for the sudden drop in top speed as compared to Vettel, the 33-year old Aussie answered rhetorically.

Hmm, maybe. You guys need to dig more, somewhere else,” said Webber.

Immediately after the race, neither team principal Christian Horner, nor Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko told the media that Webber was apparently instructed from the pits he needs to save fuel. The latter actually suggested it was the tires that made Vettel that much quicker at that stage of the race.

However, once the truth came out, people inside the paddock started rumoring about Red Bull's strategy in Turkey, given that Webber ran out of fuel much sooner than Vettel. This could mean different engine configurations for the two driver for the Istanbul race, which would have eventually given Vettel the edge in the last part of the race.

Rumor has it that Red Bull preferred to have Vettel win the race, as the pair was equal on points in the overall classification. That would have given the German driver the sole lead in the standings, a strategy that the team plans to keep throughout the season. Marko quickly denied the rumors – after both him and Horner publicly blamed Webber for the incident, despite the opinions of most F1 analysts – saying that no one inside the team suggested Webber should let Vettel pass him.

That is not correct because that would mean a team order. We informed Mark about the situation and it is for the driver to decide. The fact is that if Sebastian hadn't passed he would have been overtaken by Hamilton,” said the Austrian advisor.

See the F1 drivers' view on the incident here.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories