Red Bull Deny "Harmony" Between Drivers

Although Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber brought Red Bull Racing their first 1-2 F1 finish in the history of the team, the relationship between the two drivers is not at all harmonious. Team advisor Helmut Marko was the first to declare it, suggesting the pair are not good friends but push one another to the limit in order to achieve better results.

Vettel scored his first win at Red Bull after only 3 races, while Webber has been a consistent presence inside the Top 8 – while also in Q3 – although he is not fully recovered from his leg injury last November.

“No. Rather, I would call it healthy competition. In the beginning Mark resisted using Vettel's setup. He would not accept it. Now he uses it because it is just faster,” said Marko in an interview for Austrian site sportnet.at.

Talking about his relationship with Vettel, Webber insisted he should be given a partial credit for the German's great performances this season. The Australian said it was his “giving a hard time” to Vettel that boosted the youngster's results in the first 3 races of the year.

“I have been incredibly determined to get in the best condition I can and the best shape possible to overcome the injuries that I have had to give this youngster (Vettel) a hard time and so far it is working and we are pushing each other hard,” said Webber, who is 11 years older than his German teammate.

Vettel is currently 3rd overall in the championships standings, only half of point ahead of teammate Webber. Hadn't it been for the accident in the dying laps of the Aussie GP (with Robert Kubica), Vettel would have now trailed series' leader Jenson Button in 2nd place. In the constructor's race, Red Bull's double in Shanghai boosted the team's rankings to 2nd overall, 16.5 points behind Brawn GP.