Penalty for Webber

Hmmn, Nobbled Again???

MARK Webber was relegated from third spot to eighth on the grid for the formula one German Grand Prix after incurring a penalty for a gearbox change.

Red Bull star Webber, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Lotus' Romain Grosjean were all dropped five positions from their final qualifying results for making gearbox changes.

The winner of two races this season including the British Grand Prix last start, Webber was third fastest in qualifying for last night's race, behind only championship leader and fastest qualifier Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Alonso managed a time of one minute and 40.621 seconds for the 4.574-kilometre Hockenheim course, to beat defending champion Vettel by 0.405 seconds.

Vettel, who managed to beat his teammate for the first time in qualifying on the track, said that he lost a lap as he ran into Webber towards the end.

''I think we had the pace to put the car on pole, but the conditions were very tricky. In many ways, driving in conditions like that make it like a lottery,'' he said.

Read more: http://www.theage.co...l#ixzz21giRpRbc

They really don't want Webber as the face of Red Bull.

Gearbox change after MidNight! Ha!

from july 11, 2011. Mark Webber ignores team orders as he claims British Grand Prix podium place.

SILVERSTONE: Frustrated Mark Webber admitted he ignored team orders not to overtake his Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel during the final stages of Sunday's British Grand Prix.

The 34-year-old Australian caught German Vettel in the final laps and despite instructions from his team telling him to 'maintain the gap', he mounted several unsuccessful overtaking attempts before settling for third behind winner Fernando Alonso.

Read more: http://www.theage.co...l#ixzz21nYP5SLT

Guinea Pig.

AN ongoing investigation into Red Bull Racing's engine mapping could hamper Mark Webber's bid to re-ignite his Formula One title fight in Hungary this weekend.

extracts from the the daily telegraph -

"Webber struggled for pace in Sunday night's German Grand Prix, eventually finishing eighth in a race won by championship leader Fernando Alonso, who holds a 34-point lead over the Australian."

_________________________________

"And with the Hungarian Grand Prix being held on Sunday, Webber will be hoping the issue doesn't distract his team from solving the speed issues which dogged him in Germany.

Having to start from eighth on the grid after a five-spot penalty for replacing a gearbox before qualifying, Webber never threatened to challenge during the race.

He said he was at a loss to explain why his RB8 was so slow.

"I just couldn't do the lap times," Webber said.

"We thought about doing something different strategy-wise, but if you don't have the pace you can't even do that.

"What happened this afternoon is bizarre because we've been so competitive in the last few races and here I finished 40 seconds behind the winner."

Despite the disappointing weekend in Germany, Webber was staying positive going into Hungary."

http://www.dailytele...u-1226432936018

# Comment : Marks car was underpowered for Raceday, the day after his Quick qualifying, & the curious midnight gearbox change, causing his losing 5 grid places? And the sudden loss of Power... Again... Did they de-tune his Mapping???

# Thankfully Vettell passed illegally and has been penalised 20 seconds reducing his points... Mark is still in with a chance.

i do agree with you DL that Webber is the true number 2 driver, as was Rubens & Eddie Irvine at Ferrari.

But do not Forget that Mark had a broken collarbone during those last 4 races that he kept fairly quiet, if not for that...he may have won the Championship!!

That said Sebastion is the chosen boy at Red Bull. No doubt

No broken colar bone now WYL.

He drove his way to head Vettell in the championship, & now mysteriously under powered again.

Webber wins British GP on the 8th July 2012... well done mark.

signs new contract with Red Bull (10th July 2012), http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/18780239

Since the British Win & the signed new contract, he's well & truly back in the back seat. Fool...

Every excuse imaginable happens to his car, numerous times he's had midnight gearbox changes losing 5 grid positions to start with.

tyres experiments, engine mapping?

They just wanted to keep him as the backup man.

Should have taken the offering at Ferrari with Alonso.

Yeah it's disappointing to see how much he can struggle at times.

Do you think Ricciardo has what it takes to be a good driver? He can often do well in Qualifying, but can't seem to keep it up with a full weight car and other drivers out on the track...

Yeah it's disappointing to see how much he can struggle at times.

Do you think Ricciardo has what it takes to be a good driver? He can often do well in Qualifying, but can't seem to keep it up with a full weight car and other drivers out on the track...

Webber has grown to be a fantastic driver, but without the charisma of Alonso.

Webber is one level below Alonso, alongside drivers like Button, Hamilton, etc.

He needs a team who'll look after his needs as a driver instead of keeping him as the constructors points driver.

Every time Webber looks like overtaking Vettel, the boss pulls Webbers reigns back on him. Thru mapping, or stupid midnight gearbox changes.

Webber has grown to be a fantastic driver, but without the charisma of Alonso.

Webber is one level below Alonso, alongside drivers like Button, Hamilton, etc.

He needs a team who'll look after his needs as a driver instead of keeping him as the constructors points driver.

Every time Webber looks like overtaking Vettel, the boss pulls Webbers reigns back on him. Thru mapping, or stupid midnight gearbox changes.

But you put Webber and Hamilton next to each other on the track and Hamilton will always be able to overtake or pull away with the faster car... It's frustrating to watch

But you put Webber and Hamilton next to each other on the track and Hamilton will always be able to overtake or pull away with the faster car... It's frustrating to watch

Webber is also heavier than most drivers, a small thing but it helps being lighter.

There are a few newer drivers who are very quick in a great car but Poor in a car that's a bit off. Vettell, Button, Hamilton are very quick when they're cars are pitch perfect, but when the cars a bit sour, they can't get near it.

Alonso's the best allround driver, & IMO Webber & Raikkonan are in the next bracket.

But Webber doesn't have the charisma to be the 'Face', of the team.

Webber has grown to be a fantastic driver, but without the charisma of Alonso.

Webber is one level below Alonso, alongside drivers like Button, Hamilton, etc.

He needs a team who'll look after his needs as a driver instead of keeping him as the constructors points driver.

Every time Webber looks like overtaking Vettel, the boss pulls Webbers reigns back on him. Thru mapping, or stupid midnight gearbox changes.

Isn't it amazing how Webber has all the team mechanical failings, & midnight gearbox changes when Webber is leading Vettel on the drivers championship ladder, (the bad luck happens to mark until Vettel has got back in front), then Marks issues disappear again.

Constructors points are important after all.

Webber you fool, you should have gone to Ferrari when you had the chance. Leading the red Bull team on points, they weren't planning on letting you become the World Champion.

So you should have signed that Ferrari contract, & ended it with Red Bull. They've shafted you again.

But you put Webber and Hamilton next to each other on the track and Hamilton will always be able to overtake or pull away with the faster car... It's frustrating to watch

Yeah Hamilton & vettell are the quickest drivers, but not the best all round drivers.

When they're cars are absolutely cherry ripe, pitch perfect, they are sublime, & they're lighter than Webber. But when they're cars are a bit of a handful, they go to crap, a drop way off.

On the other hand Alonso is the best driver & best all round driver with Webber just back a bit, Raikonen & Rosberg I think, also. These drivers drive well in all conditions & never drop off much.

When conditions are poor you'll see the best all rounders.

A good car helps, & Red Bull want one driver to charge at the Drivers championship & the other driver to drive as backup to keep the constructors points rolling in, & for the Brand name being seen often.

Webber should have gone to Ferrari & stop the red bull charade.

Title 'toast', says Webber

Mark Webber says his chances of winning this year's formula one drivers' championship are ''pretty much toast'', with his sights now set on securing a third constructors' title for his team.

Sitting in fourth spot and 73 points behind Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel, Webber will need to win Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit to have any chance of taking out the 2012 title.

But the 36-year-old isn't very optimistic. ''But, you know, I want to still finish the year with the best results possible. Obviously the battle is between Sebastian [Vettel] and Fernando [Alonso].''

Only 13 points separate Vettel and Ferrari's Alonso on the ladder's top end, with Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen a further 54 points back in third.

Red Bull will not impose team orders on Webber, with team boss Christian Horner saying they expect him to obey his best instincts as ''a team player''.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/title-toast-says-webber-20121102-28pqt.html#ixzz2B7AzUl2o

What are you saying ?

That they're not giving him a car that is 100% ? Or giving him a slower car ?

Or when he is in no danger in taking vettels position, they flick a switch and the car becomes reliable all of a sudden ?

What tripe.

Yes.

Ferrari should shed Massa and put Webber with Alonso.

That said, Webber would never approve of being the number 2 to Fernando.

I think he would have been happy to do that, but was tempted by the Lure of the championship & a reliable car, leading g=his teamamte on points & battling with alonso.

Then he signs the New contract to stay, & aim at the championship.

All of a sudden his car goes backwards like a blocked sewer.

WEBBER HITS ABU DHABI SNAG

F1 - As if things weren't already hard enough for Australian Red Bull driver Mark Webber.

Overnight Webber was forced to retire his car during the Abu Dhabi GP practice session because of technical issues.

MARK Webber Abu Dhabi Grand prix weekend got off to a shaky start, forced to retire his Red Bull with technical trouble in Friday practice.

The Australian completed only 21 laps in the evening session, 13 fewer than his teammate and the quickest man on the Yas marina track Sebastian Vettel.

Webber was called back to the pits after water was seen leaking from his car as he left the garage for a heavy fuel run.

He later confirmed it was a KERS issue, although different from that suffered in India the previous week.

''(It's) a pain. Obviously it's not great when your mileage is limited, it's nice to have as much as you can in,'' Webber said.

``We're not to the bottom of the fault yet, that's for sure.

``I think the guys will be working on it, trying to work out what's going on tonight and go from there.''

The 36-year-old only managed to get through 21 laps in the evening session, 13 fewer than his teammate and the quickest man on the Yas marina track Sebastian Vettel.

But you put Webber and Hamilton next to each other on the track and Hamilton will always be able to overtake or pull away with the faster car... It's frustrating to watch

Formula 1 Drivers are Lightweight Again

It used to be common lore that a Formula 1 driver was a little, lightweight, horse racing jockey sort of guy. Think Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart or Alain Prost.

Then, however, as the car rules changed and car weights and sizes changed the driver height and weight ceased to matter much anymore. Suddenly, it was all right to be tall like Gerhard Berger, Alexander Wurz, Mark Webber, and even Michael Schumacher was only slightly shorter than these 6 footers. Ayrton Senna was taller than Prost and still beat him. David Coulthard was another 6 footer or more and won lots of races.

KERS Induces Return of the Lightweight Drivers:

But suddenly, a rule change in 2009 led to a return of the advantage given to the short, lightweight drivers: The FIA created a new technological element, known as the Kinetic Energy Recover Systems, or KERS, without changing another essential factor in the car's makeup. KERS is designed to save energy on braking and reuse it in short power bursts rather than drawing purely on fuel. Sure, but what does that have to do with driver height and weight?

The problem was that the rules of car weights from the pre-KERS time were not changed. That is to say, a Formula 1 car must weigh no more than 605 kilograms, or 1334 pounds, with the driver aboard during a race. Those are the rules. If the car and driver weigh more than that, they are disqualified from the race or race results. Where that created problems in 2009 was that a KERS system weighs some 30 kilograms.

http://formula1.about.com/od/drivers/a/Driver_Weights.htm

---------------------------------------------

Name: Lewis Hamilton

Born: January 7, 1985 in Stevenage, England

Team: McLaren Mercedes

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 150 lbs.

--------------------------------------------------------

Name: Sebastian Vettel

Born: July 3, 1987 in Heppenheim, Germany

Team: Red Bull

Height: 5'7"

Weight:132 lbs.

------------------------

Name: Mark Webber

Born: August 17, 1976 in Queanbeyan, Australia

Team: Red Bull Racing

Height: 6'

Weight: 165 lbs.

---------------------------------------------

Mark needs a new challenge.

Webber has grown to be a fantastic driver, but without the charisma of Alonso.

Webber is one level below Alonso, alongside drivers like Button, Hamilton, etc.

He needs a team who'll look after his needs as a driver instead of keeping him as the constructors points driver.

Every time Webber looks like overtaking Vettel, the boss pulls Webbers reigns back on him. Thru mapping, or stupid midnight gearbox changes.

Here > http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/motor-sport/ferrari-tactics-leave-rivals-unruffled-in-title-battle/story-fne7mteu-1226520014894

Ferrari tactics leave rivals unruffled in title battle

FERRARI'S chief F1 opponents say they have no deep objections to the Italians' deliberate gearbox destruction.

A pragmatic decision to conjure up a deliberate gearbox penalty for Felipe Massa ahead of Sunday's United States Grand Prix Formula One drivers' world championship drew no serious objections.

Briton Lewis Hamilton won the race for McLaren ahead of defending champion and current series leader German Sebatian Vettel of Red Bull with Spaniard Fernando Alonso finishing third for Ferrari, thanks largely to starting from seventh on the grid after qualifying ninth.

His promotion was due to the five-place grid penalties given to both Frenchman Romain Grosjean of Lotus and, on Sunday morning, Brazilian Massa for gearbox irregularities - in the latter's case a deliberate breaking of his gearbox seal to incur a penalty.

But as many paddock observers argued about the ethics of the Ferrari decision which was fiercely defended by the team, both Red Bull and McLaren avoided any direct criticism of their strategy.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "It is within the regulations, and it was a tactical move. They obviously made that decision to get Fernando on to the right hand side of the grid and it worked well for them.

"It was within the rules, and while it was hard on Felipe, their priority is Fernando."

When asked if Red Bull considered doing something similar for Australian Mark Webber, which would have put Alonso back on to the dirty side of the grid, Horner replied: "Well then someone else would do it, and before you know it Fernando would start on the front row. We never considered it."

The Maranello-based outfit was concerned about having Alonso start on the dirty left side of the grid for the race.

Their decision enabled the switch of Alonso to the clean side and cruise round the outside of the field at the start to take fourth place in the first corner.

MARK Webber V Helmut Marko.

MARK Webber has defiantly insisted he has what it takes to become a formula one world champion despite recent disparaging remarks from his boss, Helmut Marko.

In an interview last month, the company's head of motor sport questioned Webber's mental strength, suggesting the Australian

cracks under pressure.

Webber responded in kind by claiming the Austrian has his own agenda, the inference being Marko has sided with reigning triple world champion Sebastian Vettel for a long time. Despite Vettel emerging as champion in the past three years, Webber is in no doubt he can still challenge the German, and at the age of 35 - as he will be later this year - take over the crown.

''I do believe I can have a crack at the championship again this year, as I have done in previous seasons,'' said Webber at Sunday's
launch of the team's latest car, the RB9.

''That is my goal and what I think about each day when I get up, and I'm working hard with the team on doing that.

''They know I need 100 per cent support. You cannot win a world title with only 90, you need 100, and we're going into 2013 with this in place, and I'm comfortable with that.''

Team principal Christian Horner reiterated Webber is given equal support as Vettel, and that there is no favouritism towards the 25-year-old.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/webber-eyes-f1-world-title-20130204-2duh7.html#ixzz2JzBMvlgB

There's nothing I would like more than seeing Webber pull away from Vettel, but for the last few years Vettel just seemed to have everyone covered...

Formula 1 Drivers are Lightweight Again

It used to be common lore that a Formula 1 driver was a little, lightweight, horse racing jockey sort of guy. Think Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart or Alain Prost.

Then, however, as the car rules changed and car weights and sizes changed the driver height and weight ceased to matter much anymore. Suddenly, it was all right to be tall like Gerhard Berger, Alexander Wurz, Mark Webber, and even Michael Schumacher was only slightly shorter than these 6 footers. Ayrton Senna was taller than Prost and still beat him. David Coulthard was another 6 footer or more and won lots of races.

KERS Induces Return of the Lightweight Drivers:

But suddenly, a rule change in 2009 led to a return of the advantage given to the short, lightweight drivers: The FIA created a new technological element, known as the Kinetic Energy Recover Systems, or KERS, without changing another essential factor in the car's makeup. KERS is designed to save energy on braking and reuse it in short power bursts rather than drawing purely on fuel. Sure, but what does that have to do with driver height and weight?

The problem was that the rules of car weights from the pre-KERS time were not changed. That is to say, a Formula 1 car must weigh no more than 605 kilograms, or 1334 pounds, with the driver aboard during a race. Those are the rules. If the car and driver weigh more than that, they are disqualified from the race or race results. Where that created problems in 2009 was that a KERS system weighs some 30 kilograms.

http://formula1.about.com/od/drivers/a/Driver_Weights.htm

---------------------------------------------

Name: Lewis Hamilton

Born: January 7, 1985 in Stevenage, England

Team: McLaren Mercedes

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 150 lbs.

--------------------------------------------------------

Name: Sebastian Vettel

Born: July 3, 1987 in Heppenheim, Germany

Team: Red Bull

Height: 5'7"

Weight:132 lbs.

------------------------

Name: Mark Webber

Born: August 17, 1976 in Queanbeyan, Australia

Team: Red Bull Racing

Height: 6'

Weight: 165 lbs.

---------------------------------------------

Heres an indication of size difference, heavier, & harder to get off the start grid, & keep up with the other lightweight Top Drivers.

Webber goes alright on the rolling start qualifications for the Starting Grid.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/motor-sport/things-went-against-me-from-the-start-writes-mark-webber/story-fnec3tzi-1226599586959

Things went against me from the start in the Australian GP, writes Mark Webber

Mark Webber Herald Sun March 18, 2013 9:33AM

I FELT like I drove well all weekend at Albert Park, so it was frustrating to come away from my home Grand Prix in sixth position.

My goal was to finish on the podium, but things went against me from the start: we had no telemetry on the grid, we had no KERS for the opening 20 laps and the car fall off the jacks at the first pitstop, costing me time.

You have to have all your ducks in a row if you want to win at this level and all credit to Lotus because they did exactly that.

Kimi (Raikkonen) executed a very clean race and it didn’t matter that he didn’t have a strong qualifying; he had the range in his tyres to do a two-stop strategy and that made life pretty easy for him.

I couldn’t hide the fact that I had high tyre deg' and I had to pit when I needed.

The frequency of my pitstops came as a bit of a surprise because you might have expected the cooler track temperatures on race day to make life easier. But that wasn’t the case and we go to Malaysia next week with our eyes completely open.

While I didn’t get the result I wanted, it was still fantastic to be racing at home. Once again, the race was beautifully organised and the crowd gave me a really warm reception on the slow down lap. That meant a lot.

To see all the flags waving and to feel people’s appreciation for the hard work I’d put in was really appreciated.

I hope to give them plenty more to shout about in the coming races.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/motor-sport/mclaren-apologises-to-mark-webber-after-software-problem/story-e6frfgb6-1226601123196

McLaren apologises to Mark Webber after software problem

Australia's Mark Webber prepares to drive during practice at the Albert Park circuit.

Source: Getty Images

MCLAREN has apologised to Red Bull and Mark Webber after a software problem with an Engine Control Unit supplied by the team affected the Australian in the season-opening Melbourne Grand Prix.

Webber qualified second on the grid for his home race last Sunday, but a software-related issue with his car's ECU saw him make a poor start and drop to seventh place by the end of the opening lap. McLaren say they are working with Red Bull to prevent a repeat of the problem at future races.

"The electronic units themselves ran without incident in Melbourne, but there was a software-related issue that meant that Mark Webber's Red
Bull Racing car's garage data system had to be re-started during the formation lap," a statement from McLaren Group read. "That disrupted
his preparations for the start of the race, for which Mark and the team has our apology.

"We are working together with them to prevent any recurrence." McLaren Electronics Systems, a division of the McLaren Group that also comprises the Formula One team, supplies standard ECUs to all teams on the 2013 grid. The new ECUs were run for the first time on the track by most teams during winter testing in February. The ECU - which acts as a car's primary data system - powers this season's 2.4-litre V8 engines and will also be used for the new 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged units coming in from 2014.

###### I can't believe all the negative reliability issues end up on Marks car...

Ever since they were scavenging bits from Marks car, to put on Vettells car, about 4 years back, mark has been having car issues, & when hes going well & threatening Vettells standing, they pull a midnight gearbox change.

I hope mark leaves them this year if he gets an opportunity with Ferrari, McLaren or Mercedes.

Well Vettel certainly opened a can of worms last night... Will be very interesting to see what comes of all of this.

Well Vettel certainly opened a can of worms last night... Will be very interesting to see what comes of all of this.

hmmn, webber may lose his spot.

dietrick Massiveshitz is the German boss of the Red Bullsh company, & the German Minishitz, is his fair haired boy.

This one sidedness has been going on over 3 years now, & Mark should have taken the option with Ferrari mid last year, instead of re-signing with RB.

They (RB) have been slowing Mark down when it suits they're points, & drivers championship, over the last 3 years off & on.

They can alter the cars operations the telemetry from the pit lane, & alter the computer & mapping during setup works. Tyre choices & Tyre pressures.

they do not want Mark spoiling their party... just underpinning it.

Former F1 driver John Watson says Sebastian Vettel should be suspended for disobeying team orders

FORMULA One world champIon Sebastian Vettel should be forced to sit out next month's Chinese Grand Prix for ignoring team orders, according to former McLaren driver John Watson.

Watson, a winner of five grands prix, says Red Bull must take immediate action against their three-time world champion for passing teammate Mark Webber late in last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.

"The question is, what are the team going to do to sanction Sebastian Vettel? And the only solution I would find is suspending him for the next grand prix," Watson told BBC Radio 4, The Guardian reports.

"You can't take the points away from him and give them to Mark Webber, a fine would be irrelevant, so the only purposeful way to bring him to

book is to say 'you will stand out one race'.

"I know that if other drivers in other teams disobeyed a team order they would be suspended or even fired."

F1 tactics a race to the bottom

Whether or not Vettel is allowed to play a part in next month's Chinese Grand Prix, Webber's father insists his son will be on the grid.

Webber was reported to be contemplating missing the April 14 race but his father, Alan, insisted today he would take part. "We'll be up in China for the next one,'' Alan Webber told the ABC.

Webber's father said he believed triple world champion Vettel was sincere in his apology to his son but the damage to the already fractured relationship was unlikely to be repaired.

"I think it will take a while to earn the respect and trust again,'' he said. Webber said it was not just his son who was upset with Vettel, highlighting that the Britain-based Red Bull team had also expressed their displeasure.

"Sebastian disobeyed team orders and most, if not all the team, are disappointed with him,'' he said. "Up and down pit lane Mark has not lost any credibility at all. It's probably Sebastian who has lost an awful lot.'' Alan Webber said Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz confirmed his son's position on the team was "assured''.

Red Bull cancelled their victory photo in the aftermath of the weekend controversy while it has been reported that Webber needed to be

persuaded to participate in the podium ceremony.

Watson says Red Bull team principal Christian Horner must take action or risk his position being undermined by Vettel.

Former world champion Lewis Hamilton said the problems arose because Red Bull persisted with a system where one driver was favoured over another.

"They (Red Bull) have a clear one and two, they always have," Hamilton said. "And that is why they have the problems they have always had.

"We don't have a one and two (at Mercedes). I have always said, from the moment I was speaking to the team, that I wanted equality and that I

didn't want to be favoured.

"They didn't even offer to favour me, but I just wanted to make the point that I am not a driver that comes and requests that like a lot of other drivers do.

"You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and say you won fair and square.

"Just like in Malaysia, I don't feel like I won my spot fair and square. Although I did drive a decent race, I don't feel spectacular about it."

Hamilton apologised to Nico Rosberg after the race and heaped praise on his teammate and good friend for the manner in which he had dealt with being denied what would have been a certain podium finish.

Webber and Vettel have a strained relationship, with the Australian openly questioning the support he gets from the team hierarchy as opposed to the German.

There is a history of bad blood going back to Vettel's crash with Webber at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix that ended the German's race and wrecked the Australian's chance of victory.

Webber showed Vettel his disgust prior to the podium presentation at Sepang last weekend, saying only "Multi-21, Seb Multi-21'' in reference to Red Bull's race instructions over the team radio.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/motor-sport/former-f1-driver-john-watson-says-sebastian-vettel-should-be-suspended-for-disobeying-team-orders/story-fne7mteu-1226606486125

Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone slam Red Bull's handling of their warring drivers

FORMER F1 team boss Flavio Briatore says Red Bull management has handled the stoush between its drivers badly and Mark Webber will leave at the end of the season.

Sebastian Vettel defied the team's orders to stay behind Mark Webber during the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, passing his teammate in the closing laps to win the race, sparking outrage from Webber, the Red Bull team, and fans.

Briatore, the disgraced former boss of the Renault team, has slammed Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner for not ordering Vettel to give the lead back to Webber after the contentious pass was made.

"If there was a manager with balls, he would have had them switch positions again," Briatore told Italy's RAI Radio.

"The problem is that there are two people with different ideas on the pit wall, with Helmut [Marko] behind them doing the talking with [Dietrich] Mateschitz, so you understand they are all scared."

Briatore, who formerly managed Webber but was run out of the sport following the 2008 "Crashgate" scandal, expects the Australian to leave Red Bull at the end of the season.

"I don't think this relationship can be fixed. They are two professionals, they will win races and so on, but it's unthinkable that Mark may help Vettel in the future and I don't think Vettel will help Mark.

"So we'll have two enemies inside a single team, and this will hopefully give an advantage to Ferrari."

Ecclestone: 'Too early for team orders'

Meanwhile, Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's commercial boss, concedes the use of team orders is acceptable when a squad is in the middle of

a heated championship battle, but with the Sepang race marking just the second event on a 19-race F1 calendar, it is far too soon to be putting one driver's interests ahead of another's.

"At this stage of the championship, I do not believe there should be any team orders. It does not matter who it is," Ecclestone told British paper The Telegraph.

"When you are three-quarters of the way through the year, then it's important. If there is only one guy who could get enough points to win the title, then the other guy should be helping him, for sure."

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/motor-sport/flavio-briatore-and-bernie-ecclestone-slam-red-bulls-handling-of-their-warring-drivers/story-fne7mteu-1226607558702

--------------------------------------------------

Ecclestone, what are you doing,? so it's fair play for the second car to interfere with opponents of the number 1 car, to run shotgun to holdup the opposition?

### It's time for only 1 Car Teams, with more teams, & different sponsors.

Manipulation of races by friendly 'Cars', should be severely dealt with, & both friendlies should lose drivers championship points & constructors title points.

Drivers found guilty of interference, should be suspended from races, or banned outright from the F-1 sport.