Horner looks to diffuse tensions at Red Bull
1 June, 2010
Christian Horner acts to diffuse tensions within red Bull racing
Jun.01 (YallaF1.com) In an obvious effort diffuse tensions, in the wake of the headline grabbing collision between Mark Webber and Sebastian vettel during the Turkish Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing have released a Q&A with team principal Christian Horner.
Harmony within Red Bull Racing has been shattered after the collision between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in Turkey
Immediately after the incident Webber was made to look the culprit by team advisor Helmut Marko, with Vettel himself gesticulating as if to imply that the Australian was mad.
Horner claims that Marko has changed his tune with regards Webber’s role in the collision which saw the team throw away an excellent chance of a 1-2 in Istanbul. He is also adamant that the acrimonious situation that has developed between, the once harmonious drving pair, will be resolved before the next Grand Prix in Canada.
Here is the Q&A with Horner released by Red Bull:
What happened on lap 40 of the Turkish GP?
Christian Horner with Mark Webber
Horner: We had a unique situation during the Turkish GP where the first four cars were separated by two seconds, with Mark having led every lap until lap 40. The race was the fastest of the season to date with all four drivers pushing each other extremely hard. On lap 38, Mark changed his mixture setting based on his fuel consumption to a slightly leaner mode, which had an average lap time loss of about 0.18 seconds, whilst maintaining the same revs. Sebastian had conserved more fuel than Mark during the race and therefore was able to run in a slightly better mode for an additional couple of laps. On lap 38 and 39, Sebastian’s pace picked up and he closed right up to the back of Mark while under considerable pressure from Hamilton behind. After a very strong run through Turn 9, Sebastian got a run and strong tow and moved to the left to pass Mark. Mark held the inside line and adopted a defensive position, which he is entitled to do. When Sebastian was three quarters of the way past, he moved to the right. As Sebastian moved to the right, Mark held his position and the ensuing result was contact that resulted in Sebastian retiring, Mark damaging the front-end of his car and the team losing a one two finish. Ultimately both drivers should have given each other more room.
Was either driver to blame for the incident?
Christian Horner with Sebastian Vettel
Horner: What we expect from our drivers, as team mates, is that they show respect for each other and allow one another enough room on the race track. Unfortunately neither driver did this on Sunday and the net result was an incident between the two. During the previous six one-two finishes we have achieved, there have been many incidences of close racing between our drivers and they have previously always abided by this understanding.
What do you think about Sebastian’s actions when he got out of the car?
Horner: The adrenaline was flowing and obviously there’s a great deal of frustration when you’ve just crashed out of a race. It will be discussed and I am certain that the air will be cleared before Canada.
Some people commented after the race that Mark was to blame – why was that?
Helmut Marko speaks to the media after the incident in Istanbul
Horner: Ultimately we win as a team and we lose as a team and on Sunday we lost as a team, as a result of our two drivers having an incident. Having looked at all the information it’s clear that it was a racing accident that shouldn’t have happened between two team-mates. After looking at all the facts that weren’t available immediately after the race, Dr. Marko also fully shares this view.
What do you think would have happened if Mark and Sebastian hadn’t collided?
Horner: Our priority as a team is to finish first and second, irrelevant of the order. The Turkish GP was the closest race of probably the last twelve months with significant pressure coming from both of the McLarens. Sebastian’s pace improved from lap 37 onwards and he appeared to be the faster of the two Red Bull drivers. Had the incident not have happened, I believe we would have achieved a one-two finish and a maximum score for the second race in succession.
Were you happy that Sebastian challenged Mark for the lead at that point in the race? You had a one-two, so why not stick with that?
Mark webber and Sebastian Vettel were very happy not long ago
Horner: With the pace of the McLarens and with it looking like Sebastian was the quicker of the two Red Bull cars, the priority was to win the race. With intense pressure from Hamilton behind, who was in a McLaren that had a significant straight line speed advantage, it would have been impossible to back Sebastian off. Therefore it was acceptable to us for him to attempt an overtaking manoeuvre.
Were there any team orders given for Sebastian to pass Mark?
Horner: Neither driver was given any instruction to change position. There are no team orders within Red Bull Racing, other than that the drivers should race each other with respect.
How will you resolve the situation?
Horner: We’re a very strong team and we will sit down and discuss this openly with the drivers in order to learn from what has happened and avoid a situation like this arising again. One of the strengths of Red Bull Racing is the team spirit here, which has contributed to the performance that we have achieved so far this season. The drivers are both intelligent individuals and this issue will be resolved prior to the Canadian Grand Prix.
Source: Red Bull F1 Media
Related posts:
- Marko says Webber engineer had “blackout”
- McLaren set to pounce as Red Bull fumble
- Webber: Need to bounce back and be united
- Red Bull rampage grabs world headlines
- Horner on the collision: It was a shame
Why i don’t get is this:
RBR are saying that Vettel had to pass webber to get out of the claws of Hamilton. WEbber was only slower than Vettel because he turned the wick down.
now if RBR wanted to keep RBR ahead without compromising their one two, the logical thing to do is to tell Webber to turn the wick up again and up his pace so that he stops keeping Vettel within Hamilton’s grasp.
something in what RBR are saying doesn’t add up. why slow Webber down in the first place?
the only reason Vettel had 1 kilo of fuel more in his tank is because unlike Mark, his car hasn’t got to deal with as much wind resistance, he’s traveling very close to mark in disturbed air, meaning he’s burning slightly more fuel. and in case, Vettel’s car didn’t complete full race distance, so there is no way to really tell (as far i know) how much fuel Vettel had more exactly at lap 38 to 40.
I think RBR screwed up in communicating to both drivers, and from the outset needed someone to blame, first it was mark, now his engineer..